A/N: I'm feeling the love. Thank you for the positive feedback on the story and I hope that you continue to enjoy the work. Not all of you will but that's okay also. I went back to look at the overall life of this story and, to date, there have been 198,966 views so thank you for at least taking an interest in it. Every writer, even a part-time amateur one like me, likes to know that people kinda-sorta are interested (even if most of you buggered off somewhere else). Then it hit me.
What if 1 percent of the people that viewed this story left a review? Anywho...
For the poor soul that can't tell the difference between a Dothraki and a Mandalorian... I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps binge some Netflix this weekend? Expand your horizons? It's not like the show just started yesterday.
For the rest of you, enjoy as you will.
~Siva'a-tasi
~III~
Standard Disclaimer: "Did you know that the human head weighs 8lbs?"
Chapter 47: Seduction, Lies, and Custodial Monitoring
~III~
~ Previously on No More ~
The sharp sounds of combat reached her ears even as she entered the open-aired box filled with her contemporaries. A pained, and somewhat surprised, shout from the arena floor drew Keina's sight for a brief moment as she glided quietly past the very focused attention of the Yondaime Kazekage, her lips quirking into a half-smile at the sound of Neji's muttered cursing.
Sound, any sound, really carried in the perfect acoustics of the great fight dome but the Hyūga's loss of decorum brought a special warmth to her heart. While she understood Naruto's desire to help the oppressed and dysfunctional family, she thought the uppity branch member needed a severe kick in the rear for his behavior over the previous year.
Naruto, in her opinion, was still too much of a softy at heart.
Pausing to present the Sandaime Hokage with the briefest of head nods, she silently padded past him to take her reserved seat on the far side of Mei Terumī willing herself not to stab the traitorous wench in the boob. No, her father's actions during the war were not her fault. Yes, Keina was old enough to know better than to transfer that blame to someone barely a child at the time. The fact that Mei knew where the Fang originated from yet did nothing about it still rankled the Uzumaki Blade Grand Master but she'd have to let it slide.
Sochi would take care of it. Sochi had a plan to take care of it all.
"Uzukage-Dono."
The warm greeting from her fellow redhead almost caught Keina by surprise.
"Mizukage-dono," she nodded back but did not linger in the conversation. Both women locked eyes on the combatants below and listened intently to the grunted-slash-bell ringing sounds from the two fighters.
"His clones are powerful," Mei opened up with idle chit chat only to be disappointed at the grunting response from her fellow kunoichi. A quick glance, a flicker of her eyes proved that the stubborn Uzumaki hadn't looked up from the fight once since she sat down. A grim thought flitted across Mei's mind at that moment.
'Our histories as villages aren't the greatest. Am I trying too hard to make amends?'
The sound of the clone disappearing with an audible "pop" caught everyone's attention.
"What is he doing? He had the boy contained and could have won the fight without lifting a finger?!" Ay seemed confused until Keina finally spoke up.
"He's sending a message, Raikage-dono."
Four pairs of eyes glanced her way simultaneously wondering what kind of message the broody and isolated Whirlpool Genin felt the need to send and to whom? Four disappointed frowns spawned when she refused to elaborate further.
Behind his Kage, a one-eyed shinobi hoped that the soon-to-be-sent message was not directed towards his ruler as he sent a furtive glance to the disguised figure imitating Suna's Kazekage. He'd provided his warning to Mei the night before and could only hope they both made it out of this mess in one piece once all hell broke out.
~III~
"You can't make the same mistake twice; the second time you make it, it's no longer a mistake. It's a choice."
– Unknown.
~ Chunin Exam Festival, Quarter Finals, Konoha Stadium ~
"Greetings, Daimyo-sama," Shiroi noted that his gaze was remarkably focused as she stepped from her mirror - almost as if he knew she was coming to see him. 'Peculiar.'
Tenten quietly seethed at the rude hussy literally cock-blocking her in the cheap seats.
Naruto motioned that she should continue with a brief nod of his head.
Steadfastly ignoring the two masked women seated just behind her target, Shiroi, in turn, bowed until she was sure he could see the slightly opened neckline of her kimono framed between her flowing curtain of chocolate hair. Mei-sama was planning to offer her up as a political marriage anyway so, loyal kunoichi that she was, she figured now to be the perfect time to get a jump on the pending nuptials with a little seduction. He was a fresh Genin still so what could he know of seduction? 'Every male loves the soft curves of feminine charms.'
Her normal jitters before a mission began started to fade with her growing confidence. 'It's a shame I'll have to kill him once we conceive. He's sexy but I wonder what he looks like up close without the mask?'
"Kiri offers his greetings with the following salutations as endorsed by the Yondaime Mizukage, Mei Terumī."
~oOOo~
From the Kage Box, Mei's breath caught in her throat enough to catch Keina's amused interest, the barest corner of her lips turning upward.
"Everything okay, Mizukage-dono? Mizukage-dono?" Keina had to call her a second time just to catch her very focused attention.
"Huh? Oh! Oh, yes... everything is-. I was just surprised by the Uzu Daimyo's combat skills."
The woman was clearly focused on the hunched over form of the kunoichi trying desperately to win her sochi's attention. 'The girl was most likely an assassin.' While Keina admitted the girl had a nice shape, it wouldn't be enough to earn the Terumī traitor the alliance she so desperately needed.
Keina leaned back to enjoy the show as her Siren guard stepped away to get them refreshments available at the buffet behind the gathered leaders.
~oOOo~
Shiroi had loosened her chest bindings enough during the break to show more of her admittedly modest just-shy-of-C-cup assets since she wouldn't be fighting anymore. It would allow her elbows to push her meager holdings together enough to hopefully gain a physical response. Boys were simple creatures and liked cleavage, didn't they? Well, Haku was barely a B-cup so maybe he was more of a butt guy and her lack of back pain-inducing hooters wouldn't be a problem? Hoping her slightly larger chest would give her an edge, she gently clasped her hands between her thighs and pressed inward with her elbows ever so gently so as to not make her intentions blatant.
She inhaled deeply to produce a noticeable swelling and continued since he didn't interrupt her and she couldn't see his face with her head bowed.
"First, Kiri recognizes your grudge against the Seven and will set aside claim to the Severing Blade, the Kage herself viewing your upcoming match with Suigetsu, should he win, as an honorable duel per the standing rules - should you accept of course."
In the corner, the so-named Genin was grinning like a shark hoping the worthless Genin wouldn't chicken out, his grin (and Tenten's gaping mouth) both growing wider as he verbalized his consent.
Neither one saw Ino fumbling to snatch a kunai from her holster while her spiky-haired teammate struggled to restrain her.
"Second, I will officially withdraw from our match and Kiri - win or lose in the aforementioned duel - officially requests a meeting to discuss their third stipulation intended as a peace offering between our two nations in the hopes that it will foster goodwill between Umi and Uzu."
She couldn't see Naruto's eyebrow rise as his interest piqued but she could see his rock-hard core flex as his head tilted to one side, his movements and the blood rushing to her head making it harder to fight down the rushing warmth to her cheeks. She also couldn't see Tenten Higurashi's eyes bulge as the bun-haired girl's arm shot up to interrupt only to be cut off by Naruto's own curiosity.
"What could Kirigakure possibly offer to garner such goodwill?"
The mask didn't muffle his voice and her prospect of a husband didn't suddenly seem so bleak. 'Must be seals keeping things together?' He was powerful and either came from true Uzumaki blood or had one working for him. The possible gains for Kiri looked bright indeed. While she found the crystal lenses of his mask slightly intimidating, up close she could still make out the irises of his eyes as they shamelessly raked over her figure.
'No different than any other would-be dictator,' she mused briefly in disappointment. 'Please let this work.' She hoped he was just enough of a smut monger to make all of this public humiliation worth it. Kami how she hated seduction missions - even if he was a cutie.
The silky mane of her hair shifted as her head rose just enough to show her eyes taking in his muscular body with definite feminine interest, her mouth curling up to one side in what could only be considered a naughty smirk. Her elbows squeezed once more just enough to catch his obvious attention as his eyes dipped without shame once again to her neckline.
'Shameless pervert,' she thought in disappointment.
"Why, me of course," she voiced in victory.
~oOOo~
You could have heard a pin drop in the observation deck.
Both Tenten and Ino stood locked in place, mouths agape as their minds processed what was happening before their very eyes. Anko, bordered by her closest friends and colleagues, narrowed her eyes and gnashed her teeth as she no longer saw a harmless nameless Genin from another country but a very real political threat to a young man she'd yet to answer about a marriage proposal, one that desperately needed to have her body invaded by sharp, metal objects intent on her destruction. Oddly enough, a suddenly green-eyed Suigetsu was less focused on just murdering the fool besmirching the honor of his beloved Seven Swordsman and more concerned with murdering the fool for stealing his secret-not secret crush right out from underneath him with his Kage's blessing.
Nevermind that he spent the first two nights of the festival unsuccessfully chasing skirts. That was completely irrelevant and, if you disagreed with him, he'd happily explain it at sword-point.
Repeatedly.
Suddenly the cutesie scene that should have produced a sputtering, red-faced blond unfamiliar with feminine charms became considerably less funny.
~III~
Four figures erupted from the command tent scurrying off in different directions to relay final orders to their troops. Though each figure was draped in Iwa colors, they bore the gold bars on the right shoulder strap of their flak vests indicating the rank of a High Commander.
Tensions were already high deep in the Konoha forest knowing if a Leaf patrol found them it would impossible to explain why a Stone force of five-hundred strong was bunkered down not twenty miles from the hidden village of their long time enemy.
"Are we sure that this is the right course, grandfather?"
Kurotsuchi's voice lacked its normal bravado as she stared down upon the earth table in the middle of their command tent, her fingers wiggling across the surface of the uneven terrain map while she used minute traces of chakra to move the figures back and forth. The smell of deep, rich soil always put her in a good mood despite the current tension weighing down everything around her. Having faced the blond bastard's hellspawn, she wasn't as eager to see him a second time and it showed.
"I thought you wanted your other Jiji back?" Ōnoki's brow wrinkled as he studied the shell-shocked kunoichi. To be honest, he hoped the tree huggers had already killed to old bastard.
It would bolster his "liberation force" once they became a "vengeance force."
"I do, it's just..."
"They won't have time to focus on us with Oto and Suna standing on their necks." He sounded so sure of himself as if he'd weighed every possible outcome and rationalized his near-term losses for the long-term betterment of Iwa.
"It's not wise to poke the demon," she countered, her voice a very faint whisper.
"Hah! We have one of our own today." He grinned up at his taller granddaughter. "You should worry less."
Ōnoki strode from the tent the spitting image of a fearless leader so he didn't hear her whispered response.
"And you should worry more." Kurotsuchi left to make sure her last will and testament was up to date.
~III~
"As a reminder, intermission will end in the next five minutes. At that time, we'll need both Shiroi Yuki of Kiri and Naruto Uzumaki of Uzu in the arena for the first match of the second round."
Genma's voice reverberated through the entire village amplified as it was by both jutsu and loudspeakers and Naruto's deep blue eyes (buried behind ruby-colored crystals) locked with the dark brown pools of the pretty young woman still bent over at the waist.
He had to admit the Yuki Clan produced gorgeous kunoichi. It was because he was looking at her face this time and not her partially-wrapped chest that he caught the nervous flash of worry and smirked.
"How much did they tell you about me?" His question appeared to catch her off-guard as her eyebrows puckered cutely.
"Huh? Wha-what are you talking about? Who-."
His raised palm cut her off gently, her back straightening a little as confusion altered her smooth features.
"Don't bother denying it. I know for a fact that there are at least three spies for Kiri, two of which reside in Konoha itself as your go-between supplies them with fish from Sutirū-ōtā as part of their information relay back to Kiri so, please, if we're going to attempt civility, let's dispense with the outright lying. Let's at least try for now in the hopes that any chance for an alliance starts off on a partial bed of honesty."
Several sets of eyes narrowed at that comment including one very pretty pair of milk-chocolate ones framed in a purple pineapple hair-do.
"Two minutes, people! Two minutes until showtime so get your bets placed!"
Genma's voice seemed to snap her out of a partial daze and those cute wrinkles in her brow became something deeper. She seemed to make a decision and her hands began to move, one shifting quickly to the sleeve of her left arm.
SNIKT!
"Ah, ah, aaaaaaah! Slowly~ does it! Let's keep things nice and slow, shall we?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as the frozen kunoichi glanced down to the slim blade gripped easily in his left hand once it suddenly kissed the soft skin of her neck.
Though the Kages couldn't see it, everyone in the observation deck could and several tensed. Suigetsu was gripping the pommel of his sword in helplessness. Most hadn't even seen the boy's hand move until the blade was far too close to do anything about it.
Most of those that saw the blur began revamping their opinion of the Genin that most of his peers spent the better part of two days bad mouthing and writing off as irrelevant. Anko, who knew better, scowled and began making mental notes she could later share with Ibiki once today's idiocy was all over.
Shiroi gulped very slowly.
"I-I have a final gift to sweeten the deal." Her eyes flickered down to his hand holding the Stinger to her throat.
"May I?"
Naruto had to admire her courage. As things stood, he could kill her and claim self-defense, not that anyone of note in Konoha would take his side and he'd still be arrested for an unsanctioned killing during the exams. Instead, he nodded his permission and she withdrew an ivory scroll case trimmed in ocean blue rings bearing the official seal of the Mizukage.
"Consider this an official peace offering should you find Kiri's," she paused as her cheeks flushed in both shame and disappointment with herself, "initial offer insufficient."
Without moving either of his hands, a Shadow Clone shimmered into existence next to her and gently took the scroll from her hands. With a soft, "Tch," it stomped off to stand in the far corner.
'Really getting tired of being fodder for this guy's lack of balls...'
The clone grumbled and swore almost non-stop worse than any sailor even as it lifted the scroll to face level, scrunched its eyes shut as tight as it could, then tore the scroll open...
Shiroi blinked repeatedly as she tried to peek as far to her right side without moving her neck in an attempt to follow the clone's odd behavior. In the end, her curiosity overcame her sudden uncomfortableness.
"Are... are your clones normally so... grumpy?"
He grinned back never taking his eyes from her face. She really was a very pretty kunoichi.
"They don't appreciate being used to break traps and unknown scrolls. Would you?"
She had to admit he had a valid point.
'Hnh, it didn't blow,' the clone cracked open one eye, '...up. Oh! What's this?'
The chakra construct pushed a bit of energy into his finger after molding the proper flow to activate its originator's [Scholarly Eye of Kagura] seal, a deconstruction technique he used to break down and develop a counter to Orochimaru's snake hickey during his first slide.
Before the clone's eye, the Fūin-Gen hybrid expanded the seal into a three-dimensional hologram it could freely manipulate. It also provided ghost-like representations of the items linked to the extra-dimensional pocket of the Stage I military-grade storage seal just below the Mizukage's flowing signature.
"Now," Naruto's smile broadened while the still shocked Shiroi returned to lock eyes with him, "while he takes care of that, let's wrap this up. Shall we?"
His right hand came up to gently tip her chin up and pull the slender kunoichi forward just enough to tip her off-balance. As predicted, her hands slapped down on his thighs to keep her from falling into his lap. Naruto leaned in and tilted her chin up and to his right so that he could glance at the unblemished skin of her neck to make sure he had not cut her with the weapon in his left hand.
Not wanting to make any sudden moves, Shiroi allowed it to happen and, as a result to their intimately close position, flushed a healthy shade of red up from her chest and neck to her glowing cheeks. She didn't start to get uncomfortable until the sudden rush of warmth to her lower abdomen made her blush worse.
"Like I was saying, I know you have some information on me so I'm guessing you have some idea how I feel about indentured servitude?"
Shiroi blinked in surprise and whispered a soft affirmation. A small corner of her mind registered that he'd hidden the knife blade and that the only thing keeping her face inches from his own was the gentle touch of his hand on her chin as he turned her face back to meet his with a very warm thumb.
"If you were doing this of your own free will, I'd be tempted," he paused to look deep into her eyes and she smelled a rush of cinnamon dusting his breath, "sorely tempted to accept your offer." He released a soft huff of air and his warm, spicy breath - pleasant as it was - washed across her skin and made her shiver.
"However, your mission to win me over can't completely fail if we're to stay amicable so you can meet with your cousin later. You need some hope to take back to your Kage, so..."
Shiroi tried not to let her rising hopes show but he had to see it in her eyes, the shine they now carried...
"So, I'll take this as payment and allow you to tell your Mizukage that I look forward to speaking with her at the final feast."
Without another word, he gently pulled once more on her chin until their lips touched and, chaste though the kiss was, his lips lightly grabbed onto the kunoichi's top one as he gently pushed chakra to his mouth amplifying the work Kyūbi started to make her "more compliant" at the start of the encounter.
Tenten, Ino, and Anko all squawked their disapproval.
'He should be pleased with-.' The clone paused in his return, the scroll held in one hand as its eyes flickered from the locked lips of his creator and the melting kunoichi palming his thighs.
Then his eyes took in the shocked and either jealous or angry faces belonging to several of the kunoichi sharing the fighter's observation deck.
'Oh, hell. He's on his own here. Nothing I can do to save him from them.'
The copy set the roll of paper down next to his suicidal boss, drew out a chakra kunai from his holster, then fled by stabbing himself in the neck hoping his sacrifice would detract the others from mauling his boss.
Shiroi broke the kiss with a moan and tried to regroup once the clone killed itself off - since her eyes were wide open in shock until her entire body started to tingle. She could ask why it chose that method over simply dispelling itself later. For now, he seemed distracted with her final gift and that was enough to recompose herself with a nervous pat of her long hair.
Inside she was elated. So it cost her a kiss. So what? It wasn't her first nor would it be her last - not to mention he wasn't a bad smoocher. She wasn't quite off the sacrificial marriage block but he just might let her slide by. Plus, if his other bedroom activities were as adequate as that liplock...
'Was it hot in the bleachers all of a sudden?' She felt flushed with heat.
More importantly, he had all but promised to let her see Haku again. She hadn't failed the mission her family had given her and that would go a long way to the few remaining survivors of their clan.
She slowly backed away after he accepted the case, bowed once, then lightly jumped over the railing to the floor below, the entire time berating herself for underestimating her target and being caught by surprise, no matter how pleasant it was. Though he would never know it, part of that blush blossomed as a result of his decidedly not-incompetent display of skill and aggression.
You see, Shiroi had a thing for dangerous males and he very much qualified now.
Shaking her shoulders to clear any remaining excess blood flooding her pale skin with emotion, she strode up to the proctor, whispered something to the grinning male who had watched - with great interest - the dramatic gaggle in the competitor's box. Straightening her shoulders, she strode with as much dignity as she could muster back to her seat as Genma's voice announced her withdrawal from the match citing "chakra exhaustion" before moving on to the next event.
Despite her only desire to catch up with her cousin, Haku, Shiroi found herself reflecting on the stern bottomless pools of ocean blue she remembered from the first two tests, the surprising Genin that owned them, and the fact that she needed a fresh pair of panties.
~oOOo~
"That is unfortunate, Mizukage-dono," the Kazekage all but crooned with his patronizing tone.
"I am not disappointed. Shiroi is intelligent and well aware of her limitations."
The crimson-haired ruler turned away from the disgusting traitor wearing Rasa's face and watched the slender back of her secret weapon returning to the competitor's area with a contented smile on her face. Water and Whirlpool could solidify and rebuild while the landlubbers tore each other's throats out for all she cared.
Orochimaru, however, had a difficult time breaking away from her image even as young Genma called Rasa's daughter and the Nara to the arena for the next bout. As planned, the kunoichi would try to weaken Konoha by methodically murdering the Nara heir but the Snake really wasn't vested in the match up.
Giving up on figuring out what lay behind the Mizukage's contented smirk, he turned his gaze in the general direction of the six figures slightly up and behind the hopefuls. Very slowly, and deliberately, he made a minor production of removing lint from his left sleeve signaling to proceed as planned.
'Soon, very soon now.'
His eyes flickered to his current blond interest knowing his gesture would spur several actions in the background.
'Soon you and I will be able to spend large amounts of quality time together.'
~oOOo~
Naruto noted that Shikamaru's match with Temari proceeded almost identical to the previous two versions he'd observed. Temari began the match trying to obliterate everything in the arena in her frantic effort to slice and dice her lazy opponent (something that annoyed Tora who would dazzle a very stunned Kage audience as he used his limited Mokuton to replace the destroyed vegetation once the match ended). Shikamaru would reciprocate by frantically dodging every assault before leading into a twenty-minute long shogi match before trapping her with his [Kage Mane] technique only to surrender at the very end.
It was almost textbook in its repetition.
The following match between Suigetsu and Ino would draw more of his attention as the former fangirl ran the slimy water lizard ragged for ten minutes while she danced her way around his swings to repeatedly move inside his guard to strike at his face and body with kunai. Naruto could see the sword wielder's frustration as swing after swing cut only harmless air while Ino's fist distorted his face or chest over and over again as she struck with impunity. She was a Suiton user but she didn't have the strength to overpower the Kiri Genin's [Hydrification Technique] nor did she know Raiton techniques to even the playing field.
That didn't mean that Naruto wasn't afforded a greater understanding of Suigetsu's fighting style. Ino's bukijutsu pressured the swordsman each time she was able to get in close and force him to work. He noticed that Suigetsu couldn't liquefy his entire body and still wield the sword. He also noticed that Suigetsu couldn't continuously sling the large blade around with one-handed impunity for extended periods of time, all useful things to know if he wanted to take back his clan's rightful property.
Believing she'd done enough, Ino threw down several smoke bombs, which produced riotous laughter from her opponent who claimed it wouldn't help her against the latest master of silent killing, then promptly forfeited saying she had no way to "counter his broken-as-hell water cheat-jutsu."
Once Genma announced her loss, Ino spun on a heel and smirked her way back to the observation area leaving behind a very shocked Suigetsu frustrated at the lack of blood in these exams and his failure at trying to grope the very sexy kunoichi he couldn't lay a finger on in his latest fight.
It didn't matter to Naruto as he had what he needed to know. Naruto didn't even notice the match between Gaara and his brother, which turned into a comedy sketch as Gaara's sand chased his brother around the arena until the older male surrendered three minutes later.
Once the youngest sand sibling received his reward from a much relieved Temari, he no longer cared about torturing his older brother and all conflict was pushed aside in pursuit of sugary bliss.
Nope, Naruto had other events on his mind as he stood and locked glares with the annoying male anxiously gripping the pommel of a sword that didn't belong to him.
"Call them," he whispered over his left shoulder earning a respectful bow from one of the two Sirens silently keeping him company in the far corner of the observation deck; she bowed then vanished with a gentle breeze. Shrugging his wide shoulders, Naruto smirked one last time at his next opponent then vanished in a crack of lightning much to the surprise of one suddenly nervous Suigetsu Hōzuki.
The Kiri nin thought the punk's little display the other day was an overly elaborate genjutsu and was now having second thoughts. Despite his recent bout of uncertainty, Suigetsu hefted Kubikirbōchō into place and stepped away from his seat with a nervous nod to his returning teammate.
Her voice made his purple eyes narrow in annoyance.
"Don't underestimate him as I did."
He grunted out his annoyance and fired back, "I never underestimate anyone. That makes them all the more fun to kill."
Then he casually strolled down to the arena chuckling as he made the entire stadium wait on him. He'd let his sword do the talking for him.
~oOOo~
Genma drew the audience's attention once more. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Only three matches separate us from crowning a new champion to the first-ever Chunin Exam Festival!"
The entire stadium roared in response. Genma's sharp eye caught the Kiri slacker strolling out of the tunnel-like he had all day. It didn't matter since the Hokage wanted them to draw out the start of this match and that would give him a chance to knock the smug look off of Hōzuki's mug.
"Like each subsequent round, we'll give you a little time to find a bathroom, grab some snacks, and place your bets. Next round starts in twenty minutes!"
Genma grinned as the fang-faced Genin's smirk fell to his knees.
"I hope you got a plan, Uzumaki." The Jounin's eyes flickered down to the blond just two meters away, his senbon switching sides knowing how bloodthirsty the Kiri sword user could get.
Naruto snorted. "Naw, thought I'd just play it by ear."
Genma found the sarcastic smirk less than humorous.
"For your sake, I hope not."
Over the next ten minutes, Suigetsu tried to create new ways to visually force his opponent's mop of sun-colored hair to spontaneously burst into flames. For obvious reasons, he was unsuccessful so Naruto chose Genma's ten minute time update as the perfect opportunity to check off another item on his list.
"You don't strike me as the strong and silent type so why don't you spit out the sour lemon that has your face all twisted up."
The angry Kiri Genin took the bait.
"You owe me and all of Kiri an apology!" Hōzuki roared, which silenced the returning crowd as they listened to the unfolding drama.
Naruto's response was to double over with laughter, his hands slapping thighs, sides, the air... whatever was handy really. What made it worse was he kept laughing for nearly two minutes before he could gasp out a real response to the eye-twitching Hōzuki.
"How-how do you figure that?!" He snickered once or twice more just to rub it in.
Suigetsu brandished Kubikirbōchō like a beacon of Kiri national solidarity, much to Genma's attentive concern, and held it aloft.
"You insulted me, the Seven Swordsmen, and all of Kiri when you claimed we stole this instead of forging it!" The boy's face was turning a healthy shade of red now.
"If you grovel enough, I might only claim an arm to help you save face." Suigetsu's back straightened and his chin lifted feeling a bit better having publicly dressed down the snotty noble from some backwater village of extinct failures.
By way of answer, Naruto laughed for another minute and laughed hard enough to fall to one knee. By now, Suigetsu was beginning to feel "uninformed and ridiculed" for the first time in his life.
"First," he giggled again as he rose back to a standing position, "first you need to understand that you are a bunch of thieves, well... some of you are." He swung his gaze up to the Kage booth then back to Shiroi's stunned face.
"I can't hold some of you completely responsible for the mistakes of their predecessors."
By the time he'd finished, not only had his laughter subsided but his right hand rose into the air almost mimicking his opponent's previous gesture. With a violent swirl of water, smoke, and lightning, a similarly oversized weapon materialized in his hand, the almost mirror-like surface of the black sword reflecting very little light despite the glassy coating.
"And since we have a few minutes, I'm going to explain to you why I think that."
They were six or seven good sprinting paces apart, plenty of room for Naruto to point his sword in his opponent's direction as he pulsed his chakra into his weapon (Suigetsu still dropped into a defensive stance with his eyes locked on the sword that made him drool). As the seals coating its surface pulsed in return, each glowing golden briefly before fading out before the mesmerized audience (to include Suigetsu), everyone noted how the Kiri Genin's weapon pulsed in time with it as fewer but similar seals flickered visibly along the grey weapon's surface.
Suigetsu could feel the Severing Sword vibrate with each pulsing seal, most of which he'd been previously unaware of. He looked up in confusion as his opponent's weapon swung away to point up at the fighter's box.
"Pay close attention to the three figures up there."
It took a lot for Suigetsu to tear his eyes from the gleaming weapon in his opponent's hand but, when he finally did, he saw three figures dressed in almost identical clothing standing on the railing. All three of them were uncomfortably focused on the slightly-less-than-before confident Genin.
"Pay close attention to the swords held by two of the three watching from above," the blond droned on.
Suigetsu saw it then as the left and right hooded figures, both women he noted with gorgeous figures, drew swords he swore were almost identical to his Severing blade.
No, they were identical even down to the flickering seals blinking in and out along the surface of their swords. There you had it plain as day. The only odd one out was the large blue-skinned male standing halfway between them and he could feel the hunger in that one's stare. It didn't take much to know that his eyes were locked onto Suigetsu's sword.
Suddenly that challenge seemed like a very stupid idea and a small part of his mind was yelling for him to forfeit.
That small voice got ruthlessly suppressed and Suigetsu snarled in anger at himself.
The black sword in Naruto's hand vanished and with it went the blinking seals on Suigetsu's sword. When the vibrating stopped, his purple eyes shot up to the balcony to see that the sword-wielding females were once again carrying their blades diagonally across their backs.
"W-What?!"
"I'm not here to answer your questions but I am going to educate you, Mr. Hōzuki." Naruto raised his hand to indicate the large masked male without a blade.
"The sword you carry isn't called the "Decapitating Carving Knife" or the "Seversword" or any other nonsensical fluffy unicorn name you guys came up with for it." Suigetsu frowned. "There were six of them crafted by the Uzumaki in conjunction with the Umihebi, six swords - six Fangs - meant to be used by the Six Guardians of the Uzumaki royal family. These six swords were linked by blood and seals to the Eternal Fang, the sword wielded by the head of the clan and its most ardent defender."
Suigetsu's mind immediately registered the black sword he'd just seen with his opponent.
"When an alliance of nations attacked Uzushiogakure no Sato in an attempt to wipe out my clan," many in the audience gasped in surprise here, "the decision was made to hide the Umihebi away and protect the Seven Blades of Uzu and other very valuable secrets of Uzushio in order to prevent the greedy invaders from stealing them away. It's too bad that even the mighty Umihebi couldn't protect themselves from the internal thievery and treachery of one of their own."
"One of their own, one you know as Kisame Hoshigaki, stole away with the rightful sword of his elder brother," Naruto's arm swept up to indicate the very large male on the railing above, "he stole from a society that relied on the honor of its citizens.
"That lesson has been learned and the remaining swords," his sneer raked over the still frowning Genin, "are protected against another attempt like that. That, however, does not answer what happened to the blade that went missing, the blade you incidentally hold in your sweaty little palm."
"It's mine! I took it fair and square!" Suigetsu roared.
"YOU STOLE IT FROM THE GRAVE OF A DEAD MAN!" Naruto's response was augmented by chakra and dwarfed Suigetsu's infantile protest.
"You didn't earn that blade in combat, which - correct me if I'm wrong - is kinda your tradition, isn't it?" He didn't wait for a response and rolled on to finish. "That makes you a thief and you aren't worthy to die by my blade."
"Don't whine to me about morality, idiot!" Suigetsu thumped his chest with his off-hand. "NINJA, duuuuuuh!"
His eyes caught the "wrap it up" motion from Genma followed by three fingers held aloft.
"Kisame gave away a sword he never earned, a sword he stole in the middle of Uzushio's frantic fight for its life, to Kiri after he found Samehada. Your brother claimed a stolen sword and then lost it to Zabuza Momochi who died in combat to mercenary ronin in Nami no Kuni."
"Lies," Suigetsu muttered out but his voice was weak. It lacked real conviction the moment he uttered it and his body language gave that fact away.
"I know this to be true because I know the man's apprentice, the one that used the blade as a marker for his grave."
Suigetsu's eyes were nervously flashing briefly up to the Kage booth and the observation deck but Naruto wasn't worried about whatever trouble this little scene would cause his opponent. He wasn't expecting Suigetsu to voluntarily give up the sword per the agreement even if he lost the match. Suigetsu's whole body language was screaming he'd rather die than surrender the blade, and Naruto was planning to oblige him.
"Don't worry though, Suigetsu. I'm going to correct the theft of my family's property here today before witnesses and return it to its rightful owner."
"Over. My. Dead. Body." The Kiri nin's voice was low and gravelly, almost a growl but all he got in return from the blond was an evil grin.
"That was kinda the plan all along, Soggy-man."
Naruto glanced over to Genma and nodded once indicating he'd said all he needed to say and, before Suigetsu could rant out another denial, Genma's voice rang out and it was on.
Suigetsu, by now fed up with the Konoha nin's posturing, hefted the sword and charged, his mouth open as far as it would go as he screamed his outrage at maximum volume.
~oOOo~
A/N: Whew! That chapter really fought me this time around. I figured that was a good place to pause... the story... What? You don't agree?
"..."
"..."
I keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed! Just joking! I wouldn't hype up this event just to cut you short at a little over 5,800 words. (Put the pitchforks away!) I could only imagine the anger if I pulled a stunt like that after not updating in a long time.
Anyway, back to the action...
~oOOo~
Well, making the Kiri sword user angry was far easier than he originally guessed it would be. Naruto spent the half-second needed to confirm Suigetsu wasn't channeling chakra through the blade before his [Iron Kimono: Stage II] was humming happily throughout his chakra network.
He didn't dodge. He didn't jump back to open up the distance. He didn't duck nor bring out a weapon of his own to parry or redirect.
No. To the absolute horror of everyone watching the fight, Naruto's body pulsed with a brief flash of blue before he brought up his metal gauntlets to block the massive sword's horizontal strike aimed at his neck.
Suigetsu caught the condescending smirk on his opponent's face and let loose his rage in one anger-fueled roar.
CLANG!
The ground beneath Naruto's feet cratered as the force from the strike channeled through his defensive skin straight to the uncompromising earth. Dust shot up to obscure the audience's vision, much like a low-yield explosive tag.
The murmuring began almost immediately. People were clamoring for someone to clear away the smoke so they could see. Shikamaru fought to keep Ino from leaping over the ledge and in her seat, an action surprisingly being mirrored by Yugao and Kurenai as they struggled to keep Anko equally subdued.
The seconds ticked by slowly but a breeze eventually cleared the dust cloud and, when it did, the home crowd roared in approval.
Standing with the backs of his metal-covered forearms keeping the blade at bay was Naruto Uzumaki, his smirk now a fanged sneer at complete odds with Suigetsu's open-mouthed disbelief.
His sword had not been able to slice through the boy's forearms so he could take his blond head as a trophy for Shiroi. Even as he stood there pushing with all his might, he hadn't even scratched the black metal covering the Leaf nin's arms.
He roared and tried again spinning in the opposite direction earning a similar result. CLANG. Undaunted, Suigetsu spun yet again with equal success. CLANG.
Naruto dropped his arms when Suigetsu drew back to deliver a vertical down slash. Stepping nimbly to his left, he pivoted so that the Fang's edge slid by harmlessly, the blade striking the hard ground and sending up stone chips in random directions.
Naruto had gotten used to sparring against Keina and his four sword-wielding guardians. Compared to them, Suigetsu was a slow-moving toddler.
Suigetsu dropped low to the ground, the dull edge of his weapon brought in close to rest against his body horizontally as he began to funnel chakra to his feet forcing his body to spin clockwise, slowly at first but gradually picking up speed.
Rather than lose a leg, Naruto flexed his calves and hopped four meters into the air backwards and away from his opponent. A simple backflip and he was safely away to observe Suigetsu's "Crimson Funnel." At least that's what he called it when he yelled out the strike.
It looked more like a spinning Fuma shuriken that had only one blade.
Umi had shown him a similar maneuver that didn't keep spinning like a child's toy. Looking at the nin trying to drill himself into the arena floor, the move seemed more likely to leave the user open to all sorts of attacks but that would be stupid, wouldn't it?
Perhaps there was a hidden trick to it? Rather than attack, he opted to wait for Suigetsu to cease the spin and regain his feet (with a slight wobble at the end).
Once Suigetsu seemed stable, Naruto charged then kept up the pressure.
Jab (blocked with the flat of the blade)- right cross (Suigetsu dodged to his left only to catch a heel to the side of his head). Naruto's reflexes were sharp enough to avoid slicing a limb open when the edge of the weapon was presented. Instead, he began pot-shotting his opponent's lower extremities.
~oOOo~
Suigetsu blocked another quick jab before jabbing his sword out to either slice open his opponent's cheek or maybe luck out and catch an eye. He didn't see the blond duck below his line of sight (the flat of the sword produced blind spots) and that cost him once Naruto slammed a palm into Suigetsu's leading knee hyper-extending the limb and causing a swearing Kiri nin to stumble backwards using his sword as a temporary crutch.
'I-I need distance!' Suigetsu raised a hand, pointer extended as a blob of water formed at the tip of it and thumb pointing up to the sky before hissing out, "Bang!"
That tiny drop of water shot forward faster than any kunai catching the blond by surprise and blasting a small hole through his chest right where his heart should be. Just as the Kiri nin's face began to bloom into the hope that he'd won, the blond smiled then vanished into smoke right as a steel bar impersonating a human shin crashed into his unprotected left side. Even as the bones began to compress transferring the energy of the assault to his semi-solid form, Suigetsu's body began to liquefy hoping to minimize and repair the damage to his body.
He still did his own impersonation of a water bullet, the force of the roundhouse sending him tumbling across the arena like a ragdoll.
'Damnit, that hurt!' Rising to one knee with the Seversword laying on the ground at his side, Suigetsu realized he would need to pull out a few tricks after all if he had any hope of winning this. He never saw the clone swap out and it seemed like the arrogant bastard was more than hot air.
Knowing that his chakra reserves were wearing thin having to depend on his secret clan hydrification technique so much. It was a good thing that what he wanted to do required only the barest amounts of chakra.
Stabbing the tip of Kubikiribōchō into the ground with one hand making a half-ram seal with the other. [Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu]
He smiled as the mist began to pour out from underneath him to blanket the arena floor.
~oOOo~
Naruto grinned as he pulled closed his eyes beneath his mask, his chakra pouring out through his feet and into the ground. Slowly his body sank beneath the earth even as another shadow clone shimmered into place to replace him under cover of an area-wide chakra pulse.
Then he waited.
~oOOo~
Suigetsu wasn't going to waste time trying that ventriloquism crap Zabuza liked to use. Hell, he'd just barely learned the [Soft Step] technique needed to work with the mist and he wasn't going to waste his advantage by giving away his position. So long as his chakra saturated the cloud he could locate his prey.
That brief fluctuation a moment ago confused him but, in the end, he couldn't pick up a second chakra source so no clones that he could tell. Maybe the guy was trying to push the mist away? It was a considerable burst so that made some sense.
No matter. It was time to get moving and end this.
He made his way around to what he figured the guy's weak side would be, to where his mist indicated the blond's profile was slimmer. Once he felt that he was properly lined up, he began a deliberate dash with the Seversword about neck high.
From the shadow that appeared, Suigetsu could see that he was just behind its left shoulder. 'Good.'
He angled the tip of his sword a few millimeters higher to clear the scapula and insure a clean jugular strike.
At two paces away, he lunged.
He was not expecting the figure to step backwards and pivot. He was not expecting two metal-covered hands to clamp down on the flat of his blade gripping it and preventing further forward motion.
He also wasn't expecting a stupid amount of electricity to conduct along the metal weapon into his body locking him in place. It was as if every cell in his body screamed out at the same time in agony. He couldn't withdraw. He couldn't turn to water and escape. He could do nothing but gnash his teeth and hiss in pain until the weapon was yanked from his grip and the electrocution stopped, smoke rising from his now dried and cracked skin.
It was a good thing he was already in shock otherwise he would have felt the same sword slicing through his left arm, which was very solid at the moment, and slicing into his ribcage stopping where his spinal column was.
"Grck!"
Suigetsu blinked as his throat began to fill up with a metallic tasting fluid he couldn't quite control.
~oOOo~
Naruto looked into the wide-open eyes of the slowly dying Genin and shook his head from side to side.
"You're probably wondering how I found you?"
The Kiri nin could only blink dumbly as his systems continued shutting down, his opponent's grip on the handle the only thing keeping him standing. Oddly enough the earth-shattering pain was slowly fading to a dull roar.
"Simple. Since I couldn't sense your footsteps, I displaced the bottom four centimeters of your mist with clean air laced with my chakra."
The dying nin blinked when a second blond walked up and grabbed the sword hilt as the first vanished in a puff of smoke. In the end, he hadn't even been fighting the real one.
Suigetsu's head tilted slightly as the increasingly muffled words registered, blood pouring freely from his mouth as his lungs filled with it. 'Damn... sneaky... bastard...'
"Your footsteps may have been silent but you still displace air when you move."
Naruto waited until the mist was thin enough that he could just make out the stadium crowd. Taking the blade up in one hand while still channeling chakra through his limbs, he snatched the blade from Suigetsu's soon-to-be corpse and spun completely around lifting the weapon high enough to cleave through his neck and relieve the Genin of his head.
~oOOo~
"I'd say that's a clear win for the Leaf nin," Ay snarked. "Didn't think you tree huggers were that violent, Hokage-dono."
Hiruzen's "Only when we need to be, like when our home is threatened," stopped any additional chuckling at his expense. The old man did take a moment to glance to his right checking to make sure the Mizukage wasn't going to leap down into the arena and try to reclaim what Kiri claimed to be a priceless heirloom of the Seven Swordsmen. To his surprise, she hadn't batted a single pretty eyelash.
With a near-silent grunt, he turned back to watch the remaining matches in silent amusement.
~oOOo~
No one honestly expected Gaara to injure his sister but rather than forfeit immediately the two opted to put on a demonstration match allowing Temari to let loose with some of her more devastating Jutsu while Gaara stood impressively behind the safety of his sand. This provided the Suna siblings with two advantages.
First, it allowed Suna to display the power of its Genin, as Temari laid waste to the arena landscape, to a thoroughly pleased audience of potential customers. Despite being overly reliant on her fan, the kunoichi was a powerful wind user, and her ability to destroy more trees with a single swing boldly stated as much while managing to annoy Tora enough to provide another Mokuton demonstration.
Second, it allowed Gaara to earn another box of Poky, which kept him pleasant enough to not want to kill people in the final round.
Speaking of which...
"Fifteen-minute intermission before the final match of the Exams!
~III~
"RELEASE ME! GrraaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The furious cries from the high-security ANBU cell went largely unheard despite the swirling red orbs of one Sasuke Uchiha, the self-proclaimed elite of the former Uchiha Clan. He'd been banging on the chakra-reinforced slabs of glass making up the forward wall of his holding cell.
"You can't hide behind those bright lights for-!"
CLICK.
The angry Genin continued to scream even though no one else could hear him. ANBU detention cells were made that way for a reason.
Kakashi didn't enjoy turning off the chamber speaker but he enjoyed listening to his angry student even less.
"Come rival. It is time." Gai had returned from securing the other injured or weakened Genin in a communal holding cell and his noted lack of "Youth" caught his eternal rival by surprise.
Kakashi sighed as he watched the boy's fist leave behind another bloody smear. It had been several hours and Sasuke still hadn't calmed down. It would be worthy of empathy if Kurenai hadn't removed the deep-seated genjutsu left behind by Itachi years ago.
Nope. This was all pure Sasuke rage at being "denied another chance to prove himself."
So much for progress.
"Yeah. We wouldn't want to be poor hosts, would we?"
Despite the somber occasion, Gai chuckled at his rival's hip attitude.
~III~
Championship Match: Gaara no Subaku of Suna VS. Naruto Uzumaki of Uzushio
"Gaara no Subaku of Suna and Naruto Uzumaki of Uzushio!" he called out to the ecstatic fist-pumping of the green-clad Genin. "Get your tails down here for the next round! You have three minutes!"
Naruto rose from his seat, nodded once to Gaara, then began the casual walk to the arena floor choosing to use the stairs instead of leaping over the railing. He'd done enough of that already.
The redhead from Suna rose and casually joined him in the sedate journey, the two moving side-by-side in the dim tunnels below.
"I assume our agreement is still good?" Naruto's eyes never left the tunnel exit, his voice relaxed and unhurried.
Gaara's monotone voice returned an uninterested, "Suna will honor its treaty obligations." Crunch-munch-munch-munch.
Naruto nodded once before looking over to his companion-opponent with a curious gaze.
"Is that 'Cookies and Cream'?"
Gaara's eyes scrunched up happily showing his first real surge of emotion as he offered up a stick: Happiness.
"Don't mind if I do, and thank you."
The two munching combatants emerged from the tunnel in time to see feathers falling from the sky. Both vessels shivered as their respective bijuu surged a blast of chakra through their respective containers to break its hold.
"Damn. Sorry Gaara but it looks like our rematch just got postponed," the tall one muttered.
Gaara stuffed the now closed Pocky container back into his gourd. "Suna will sweep the walls as promised." Without another word, the now serious weapon of mass destruction vanished in a sand body flicker leaving Naruto to his own devices.
"Here we go then." A heavy sigh left his mouth. "Phase three-."
"Oi!"
He whipped around in surprise to see one of the Fire Lord's samurai striding boldly from a different tunnel. A quick glance to Genma earned him an unfamiliar shrug.
"I am Captain Shun Ushida."
Naruto blinked, his eyes flickering in confusion to the rapidly emptying box seats for dignitaries then back again, and then motioned as if to say, "Get on with it," an action that earned him a condescending tsk from the newly identified officer.
"I understand common courtesy is beyond gutter filth, such as yourself." The young military man snarled as his left thumb pushed on the Tsuba peeking out from the sash of his uniform, his right hand settling on the Tsuka, or handle.
"Oh, dip," mumbled Genma as he moved quietly away to investigate the explosion up by the Hokage's booth.
~III~
A/N: Time for folks to start settling their tabs. Not my best work but we're coming up on the final act of this arc.
Next time: Survival of the Fittest!
Remember to read, follow, and review. As always, thank you for your interest in this story.
~III~
[Jutsu Used In this Story]
[B-Rank] Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu (Water Gun Technique): The user makes a finger gun with their hand and, through the Hydrification Technique, compresses a drop of water in their index finger, firing it with tremendous force and speed similar to a gunshot — enough to easily pierce through a sand clone.
[D-Rank] Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu or Hiding in Mist Technique): This technique is a specialty of Kirigakure ninja. Users fill the air with mist and control its thickness with their chakra. Once the mists are thick enough that opponents cannot see, that in turn means they cannot manage much defense against the user. Zabuza Momochi famously used this technique to perform assassinations; although he also could not see within the mists, he was able to locate his targets based only on the sounds they made. The mists can be created using water from the surroundings, or users can create the mists themselves, which they exhale from their mouths. If the mists are made thick enough, they can cancel out the enhanced vision of the Sharingan and Rinnegan. In the anime, Byakugan users are able to see through the mists. Sensors also can still find targets despite the lost visibility.