"Talking"
"Thoughts"
"SCREAMING/YELLING/SHOUTING"
"Jutsu"
"Tailed Beast talking"
"Tailed Beast Thinking"
Sound Effects
Date & Time
|Location|
[Flashback]
[+]
Chapter 16: It's Showtime
[+]
15 days until the finals
|Secret Base within the Land of Fire|
Kin groaned as she woke up with the mother of all headaches, once her consciousness had fully returned she realized that she was stark naked and completely submerged in a strange liquid contained by a human sized glass tube, her only source of oxygen was provided by the breathing mask she wore.
'What the hell happened and how did I get in here?' She thought as she glanced around the lab, some meters north from her container she spotted three more human sized glass tubes which were also occupied but thanks to the distance between she couldn't tell who occupied them.
"Looks like you're awake," A man wearing a white lab coat said as he walked up to her container, the Senbon user felt uncomfortable as his eyes roamed over her naked body before settling on her face, "Now since you're awake, you will experience the full pain of the genetic manipulation." He added before moving over to some controls.
'Genetic mani-AARRRGH…' Kin screamed as an unbearable pain shot through her body, the scientist laughed sinisterly then went on the check up on the other test subjects.
Over the next several hours Kin and the other test subjects thrashed in anguish as the scientist continued to observe the genetic manipulation process.
[+]
One week until the finals
|Konoha|
Close to Midnight
"I was afraid that you would never show up."
"I had to make sure that I wasn't followed."
"Fair enough." Kabuto chuckled. "So how are the preparations coming along?"
"Smoothly, but if it appears that Oto is failing, then Suna will withdraw." Baki informed.
"Don't worry, Orochimaru-sama is providing an excellent number of shinobi with great skills," Kabuto reassured him. "Now then, can you tell me about our secret weapon, I never got the chance to gather enough information."
"Fair enough," Baki began. "Gaara Sabaku is the Jinchuriki of the Ichibi no Tanuki. With the beast's power, he has the ultimate defense in the whole world. The only time he has even been hurt was during the Preliminaries where that Sound Genin fought him."
"Ah, on behalf of Orochimaru-sama I sincerely apologize for that." Kabuto bowed.
"No worry, Gaara took care of the brat." Baki said dismissing the apology.
"I'm sure he did." Kabuto chuckled before handing him a scroll, "Here are the plans but first shouldn't one of us take care of our little rat."
Hayate's eyes widened as he realized that he had been discovered. He quickly took to the rooftops with the aim of losing them but didn't get far as he was caught by the Suna Jonin.
"Mr. Examiner? What are you doing here?" Baki questioned.
"Looks like there (cough) is no other choice." Hayate sighed as he drew his sword, "Crescent Moon Dance!" He swung the sword at Baki creating a series of afterimages associated with the move. However his attack only dug an inch into Baki's shoulder pad.
"Hmm so that is the Dance of the Crescent Moon." Baki said impressed "To have mastered such a skill at such a young age is nothing to laugh at," The Sand Jonin praised. "However, I'm afraid it ends here." Baki then formed a blade of wind and raised it up.
However, before Hayate could be attacked he was pushed out of the way. Baki slashed the thin air a couple of times and left.
Hayate stared at the red head that saved him, "Who are you and what just happened?"
"My name is of no importance right now, just know that I'm on your side and what happened was that I hit him with a special genjutsu that made it seem like he killed you." The disguised biju answered as he offered the man a hand. He had told Naruto that he could leave the seal anytime he wanted and that the Uzumaki can easily make him return to the seal with a simple hand seal but once Naruto realized that the fox had been coupled up in the seal for more than a hundred years he gave the fox some freedom.
"Thanks." Hayate replied accepting the help, "You aren't from (Cough) around here right?"
"I just got here recently and you might wanna inform the Hokage about what you just heard." Kurama said trying to ease away the man's suspicions.
Hayate stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, "Yes, you're right about that."
With that the two men departed their separate ways occupied with their own thoughts…
'I can't believe Suna decided to betray us!'
'If Shukaku is going to be unleashed then it's time for the kit to sign the Fox Summoning Contract.'
Both were unaware of the toad which dispelled itself after witnessing all that occurred.
[+]
Mid-day
|Far away from Konoha, Training Grounds?|
"Your speed is improving, but until you're able to dodge all of my attacks, you aren't fast enough." Kakashi told him in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"I know." Sasuke grunted in response, still breathing heavily. The Uchiha's body was covered in bruises and cuts after the long sparring session against the Jonin.
"I'm attacking you at what I can assume will be Lee's speed by the time of the third exam. You need to be able to match it if you want to stand a chance against him." Kakashi explained.
"I guess so." Sasuke sighed, thinking back to the time he and Lee had fought before the First Exams. The reason for his loss was that his body wasn't able to match Lee's quick movements and attacks. His Sharingan were fast enough to predict Lee's movement, but the Sasuke himself wasn't fast enough to counter them.
"Are you ready to continue form where we were?" The masked jonin questioned.
"…Yeah." The Uchiha nodded in agreement. A smirk appeared on the Uchiha's face. "Let's get back to work."
"Good." Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Remember to keep your Sharingan active again. Your eyes will follow my movements so you can fully react."
"Got it Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke replied as he activated his Sharingan and assumed the inspector fist stance.
"Good. Then let's begin again." His sensei said, getting into a stance of his own.
[+]
|Hyuga Main House, Dojo|
"You finally did it."Hiashi said with prideful tone in his voice.
Hinata smiled weakly as she lay down on the floor of the dojo, Kunai and shuriken was shattered across the floor after being deflected by her Rotation (Kaiten).
Yes you read that not Fuzen Kaiten (Partial Rotation) but the Rotation, she finally performed the move.
"As a reward you can take the rest of the day off." Hiashi offered but Hinata nodded negatively. "You want to keep on training?"
"Hai, but on a different jutsu." Hinata said before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper.
Hiashi accepted the paper and studied it for a while, "I've never heard of this Jutsu before." He said before glancing at his daughter, "Is this an original Jutsu you have been working on?"
"Yes, it is." Hinata nodded, "The idea came to me when I was studying the rotation." [1]
"Hmm… According to this the user emits razor sharp chakra streams from the palms plus it seems to be both an offensive and defensive jutsu." Hiashi remained silent as he contemplated the jutsu. 'If we can make this work and Hinata uses it successfully during the finals the elders…'
"Umm father?" Hinata asked slightly worried about her father's sudden silence.
"Have you tried experimenting on this?" The Hyuga clan head asked curiously.
"A little," The Heiress nodded, "And I have also developed a name for the jutsu." She also added fidgeting a bit with her fingers.
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"I was thinking of calling it the 'Protective Eight Trigrams 64 Palms'." Hinata meekly said.
Hiashi actually gained a smile at the name, "Sound perfect, I hope we can design it Hinata."
[+]
4 days later (3 days until the Finals)
|Hokage Tower|
"Atoniji-san, it has been a while." Hiruzen greeted the cyan-haired Yosokage who happened to be in an ash-grey version of the Five Kages' attire excluding the hat, "I hope your travel went well."
"It went well for the most part, just a few interruptions along the way but the scenery was good." Atoniji responded before gaining a smile, "So what's it like ruling the No 1 Shinobi village?"
Hiruzen groaned at the question, "It's going great once you rule out the paperwork."
"It can't be that bad?" Immediately he said that a knock was heard from the door.
"Excuse me Hokage-sama, Yosokage-san but there is a couple of paperwork that needs to be checked." The secretary informed after stepping in, Hiruzen sighed then gestured to her to bring them in.
The lady nodded and Atoniji's jaw dropped as she (Using a wheelbarrow) wheeled in some piles of paperwork before placing them on the desk, "That's all for now Hokage-sama, expect more by the nightfall." She said before leaving.
The 36 year old Yosokage stared at the piles in shock, if placed on top of one another he was sure that they surpassed the ceiling, "Dear Kami." He gaped.
"You haven't seen anything." Hiruzen groaned before grabbing a pen, "What till Arashigakure becomes a Great Shinobi Village."
Atoniji for the first time since he became Yosokage shivered, "That won't happen unless Suna or Kiri messes up." He said trying to assure himself.
"You never know what the future holds." Hiruzen replied as he grabbed one of the papers. "Suna is in the middle of an economic crisis while Kiri is locked in a civil war, so the possibility of one of them not messing up is extremely low."
The Yosokage's assurance quickly evaporated.
[+]
Day of the Finals
September 30
|Chunin Exam Stadium|
The final exam was taking place in a 40,000 capacity stadium which is currently packed with many different visitors as well as residents of Konoha. Everyone who entered found their seats and waited for the third exam to start.
Those who weren't at the stadium were seated at home watching the live broadcast over their TV sets.
At the top of the stadium, there was a raised sitting-area where the different Kages would sit to observe the exams. The Hokage and the Yosokage were seated down and engaged in a light conversation with the other while their two bodyguards stood behind them.
Just then, the Kazekage arrived with two of his own guards.
"I hope your trip through the desert wasn't difficult Kazekage-dono," Hiruzen said as he greeted the masked man.
"It was fine Hokage-dono, I would be more worried if you had to make the trip in your age," the Kazekage replied. "Shouldn't you be looking for a successor?"
Hiruzen laughed then told him, "I plan on keeping this hat on my head for a couple more years."
Nodding the 'Kazekage' then turned to Atoniji. "It is a pleasure to see you as well Yosokage-dono. I had not expected you would send a team to the Chunin Exams."
"Well we are in need of clients." The Yosokage replied but on the inside he was suspicious, 'Something isn't right, The Kazekage usually never acknowledges my presence.'
Hiruzen was staring intensively at the 'Kazekage. 'Do you really think you could fool me Orochimaru? It does not matter if you shed your skin a thousand times, you still reek of snakes and death! Not to mention you act nothing like the 4th Kazekage!'
"Well we are all here so why don't we start this now Hokage-dono." The Kazekage said.
"Indeed. I guess it is time!" Hiruzen noted with a chuckle. He got out of his seat and walked forward to the edge of the seating area. He was standing in a place where everyone in the arena could see him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, visitors and residents of Konohagakure no Sato, thank you all for coming today." The Hokage announced after using a 'Voice Amplification Jutsu' to get everyone's attention, "It's now time for the final part of this year's Chunin Exams! The matches will begin in a few minutes. I hope you all enjoy the matches and have a good day. Now, without further ado, I present to you our exam proctor as well as the twelve Genin who qualified for the final part of the exam!"
[+]
|Arena|
After the Hokage spoke, the twelve Genin that qualified for the third exam walked into the arena with neutral and serious expressions knowing that victory meant a chance at being promoted to Chunin. As they stepped out each Genin received a loud applause from their supporters in the audience. (Sasuke was also present, the Uchiha threatened to burn his Jonin-sensei's entire Icha Icha book collection if he arrived a second late and Kakashi couldn't tell if the Uchiha was bluffing or not.)
Shortly after all the contestants had settled in position, a man entered the arena. He had brown shoulder-length hair and wore a Konoha forehead protector as a bandana over his hair. He wore the standard jonin uniform and had a senbon in his mouth.
"My name is Genma Shiranui and I will be the proctor of the third exam." The man, Genma, introduced himself to everyone.
"…Huh?" Himari said in confusion. "But didn't we have a different proctor for the preliminaries. What happened to him?"
"Yes, what happened to Hayate-san?" Lee asked in concern.
"…That doesn't concern you all." Genma answered dismissively.
Naruto was also confused by the change in proctor but his tenant wasn't.
'I see, Hayate was told to lay low so that the enemy wouldn't think that their plans have been compromised… smart move.' Kurama praised mentally.
"Anyway, I suppose you all remember the order of the fights, correct?" Genma questioned. Seeing everyone nod caused him to continue to talk. "Then we can get started. The first match will be between Neji Hyuga and Hinata Hyuga. You two, remain here in battlefield. Everyone else, head on up to the waiting area where you will be able to watch the matches."
The other ten Genin nodded in understanding then left, Naruto wished the Hyuga girl good luck before joining the others.
"Alright then, the rules are the same as the Preliminaries, but I'll remind you what they were anyway." Genma said as he stood between the two. "In this arena, my word is law, you will fight you opponent until one of you forfeits, is knocked out, or dies. Killing your opponent is frowned upon, but not against the rules. If I say that the match is over then it's over, you will step away from your opponent or I will be forced to take drastic measures. Understood?"
"Hai," both Hyugas said as they got into their respective stances. Neji entered the standard gentle fist stance while Hinata entered a similar but more flexible variant of the stance. Neji's eyebrow rose as he noticed the slight changes.
"You modified the Gentle Fist stance?"
"Yes Ni-san."
"You know that wouldn't help you in this fight?"
Hinata gained a small smile, "Then why don't you come and find out?"
"Why you…" Neji calmed down, "It doesn't matter how hard you train, if fate decrees you a failure then you're a failure. Nobody can change their destiny."
"Well I believe one can if they try hard enough." Hinata shot back.
[+]
|Waiting Box|
'That's my girl.' Naruto thought and Kurama rolled his eyes at it.
'Now he admits that she's his vixen.' The Biju mumbled to himself before grabbing an oversized bucket of pop-corn while watching the giant plasma screen in the Uzumaki's mindscape.
[+]
|Somewhere in the stands|
The clan elders of the Hyuga clan all sat together in the stands of the arena along with Hiashi and his youngest daughter, Hanabi. They were staring at the arena with their full attention. It was now time to see the heiress of the Main Branch fight the prodigy of the Branch family. The elders started to whisper to each other about their predictions and expectations for the upcoming fight.
"Watch this fight closely, Hanabi." Hiashi requested to his daughter. "There is no fight you can learn more from than this one right here."
"Right." Hanabi nodded in understanding. "Who do you think will win, father?"
Hiashi did not respond immediately, as he truly pondered that question. He had been asking this question since he started his training with Hinata. For the first week, he knew that his nephew would be the one who would be victorious. Now, however, he watched his eldest daughter reveal a whole new side to her that he was unaware existed. He saw the full extent of her determination and strength. There was no denying that Hinata was much stronger than he had ever expected her to be. He had earned her respect no matter what, even if she lost there.
"…We shall see once it starts." Hiashi finally answered.
Hanabi resisted the urge to frown at her father's answer. Instead, she turned her attention to the center of the battlefield.
[+]
"BEGIN!"
Genma jumped back and out of the way to avoid the two Hyuga as they charged forward, clashing palms as soon as they got within striking distance. Hinata and Neji continued to clash palms for a full minute before jumping back.
'15 to my 13, My aim is good but I'm still not as fast as he is.' Hinata thought as she stared at the red dots all over her and her cousin's person.
"I'll admit, you've gotten stronger Hinata-sama," Neji said also staring at the red dots she had inflicted on him, "but a failure is still a failure."
Hinata just sighed, "Is it so hard to believe that someone could get stronger?" She asked.
Neji scoffed at the question then charged at his cousin once more. Hinata quickly side-stepped out of the way and attempted to strike him with a palm strike but the senior Hyuga blocked it with his arm and proceeded to attack her this time aiming for her chest. Hinata bent backward dodging the palm as it went over her face, she then placed her hands on the ground and pushed upwards kicking her opponent square on the chest creating some distance between them.
"Water Style: Water Bullets!" Hinata rushed through some hand seals then spat out a barrage of water bullets from her mouth aimed directly at her cousin.
[+]
|Jonin Observation Box|
Kakashi turned to his co-jonin, "Did you…"
"No." Areku replied cutting his off.
"Then where did she learn that." The Cyclops then asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine." The Kishida then added mentally, 'Though I have an idea of who.'
[+]
Meanwhile off in the combatants' waiting box, a certain blonde Uzumaki was whistling innocently.
"Ruto."Atsushi called. [2]
"Yes, Sushi?" Naruto turned to his Kishida friend.
"What did you do?"
"I have no idea what you talking."
"Really now," Atsushi glared at the blonde, "Because you always whistle whenever you've pranked someone or done something you shouldn't have done."
"Trust me it's neither."
"Hmm…" Atsushi hummed before focusing on the two fighters.
[+]
|Battle|
Neji proceeded to dodge every single water bullet before glaring at his opponent, "First you modify our stance then you make use of elemental ninjutsu, when will you stop dragging the Hyuga name into the mud?"
"I'm not dragging any name into mud, Neji-niisan. I just want my fighting style to be as varied as possible." Hinata explained before reassuming her stance. "Shall we continue?"
"Hmph."
Taking that as a yes Hinata charged forward but Neji predicted her aim and dodged before managing to strike a tenketsu at her left shoulder. Hinata winced in pain but countered by delivering a strike of her own at a tenketsu in Neji's right arm before the boy could jump away from her.
Neji attempted to charge once again but was forced to jump backwards as Hinata spat out another barrage of water bullets. 'She is keeping me at a distance but why?'
The answer soon came when Hinata threw a shuriken then made some hand seals, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Neji's eyes widen as the shuriken multiplied into thirty.
'No! I can't believe I was forced to use this against you, Hinata-sama. I was hoping to save this ace up my sleeve for a later fight, but it can't be helped.' Neji thought bitterly as he started to spin in place. "Rotation!"
A dome of chakra appeared and deflected every single shuriken off its target.
[+]
"THERE'S NO WAY!" One of the elders screeched.
"Father… wasn't that …" Hanabi mumbled in surprise.
"The Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation. A jutsu known exclusively to the main branch of the Hyuga Clan," Hiashi replied. 'Neji, you really are a genius to have learned such a jutsu by yourself… Hizashi would be proud.'
[+]
|Waiting Box|
"Didn't Hinata say that only members of the Main branch can perform that move?" Sasuke asked his teammates, speaking up for the first time since he arrived.
"She did." Atsushi replied.
"Then how can Neji-teme do it when Hinata can't?" Naruto growled as he gripped the railings hard.
[+]
"Neji… That was…" Hinata's eyes were also wide with surprise.
"Yes, it was." Neji nodded, answering Hinata's unfinished question.
"How do you know that move?"
"I reverse engineered it after watching several members of the Main Branch performing it." Neji answered as a cocky smirk developed on his face. "Ironic, isn't it? You, a member of the main household can't perform the move even if-"
"Rotation!" Hinata spun creating a similar chakra dome while Neji suddenly gained a shocked expression at the sight.
"B-b-but that's impossible you shouldn't be able to-"
"Perform the Rotation or Change fate? Like you did?" Hinata asked.
The older Hyuga was taken aback, "Excuse me?"
"Fate put you in the branch family," She explained calmly, "Yet you fought back and learned a technique reserved for the main household. You didn't let fate hold your genius back; you kept trying and learned something outside of what fate limited you on." Hinata smiled towards the end. "You defeated your own fate."
"That is a lie, fate decreed that I was to learn this technique just as it has decreed you a failure. Nobody can change fate Hinata-sama!" he said her name with venom, "My father couldn't, I can't and neither can you."
'Neji-niisan…' Hinata thought sadly.
"You are within my field of divination Hinata-sama." Neji declared as he lowered himself into a particular stance, one that every Main branch Hyuga knew.
Hinata's eyes widened as she recognized the stance. 'What! First the Rotation and now-'
"Gentle Fist!" Neji began as he dashed towards Hinata. "2 Pal-AARGH!" Just as he was about to initiate the technique, Hinata back flipped kicking her feet upwards and nailed him right in the jaw with a Gentle fist enhanced kick which staggered him.
'What?! She incorporated the Jyuken with her feet.' Neji thought before he spat some blood.
"You're within my range of divination Neji-niisan." Hinata declared as she assumed a particular stance, "Gentle Fist!"
Neji could only stare in shock as Hinata assaulted him with a barrage of Jyuken strikes.
"2 Palms!" She struck two chakra points on his torso.
"4 Palms!" Another two landed.
"8 Palms!" Four more strikes.
"16 Palms!" Her hands blurred another eight more strikes.
"32 Palms!" Sixteen more strikes making it thirty-two.
"Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!" Hinata finished with a Jyuken strike to the chest which sent Neji flying backwards. The elder Hyuga hit the ground hard then rolled for a few seconds before he finally came to a stop. With the technique complete, Hinata knelt down panting heavily: a sign that she still needed to work on the technique. 'Please let that be it.' She thought.
Neji weakly groaned as he struggled to get back up but couldn't, "No, this can't be!"
"The winner of the first match is Hinata Hyuga of Konohagakure!" Genma declared as the stadium erupted into cheers which made the poor girl blush in embarrassment.
[+]
|Waiting Box|
"I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered loudly as he reached out to grab the person closest to him, Sasuke quickly substituted himself with Atsushi who became victim to a vigorous shaking.
"No way..." Lee whispered. "Neji lost!"
"Wow that girl sure is something." Eito whistled, "I wonder if she will agree to be my girlfriend?" He wondered out loud.
Naruto stopped shaking his now nausea-tic friend and glared at the native Kishida, Himari elbowed said teammate in the ribs then whispered, "She has the Byakugan so it won't work out."
"Yeah I know." Eito replied sadly, "The dominant against dominant bloodline stuff."
Once Atsushi had gotten the feeling of sickness out of his system, he sent a glare at the Uchiha who mouthed 'I'm sorry' but by the smug look on his face didn't mean it.
[+]
|Arena|
"Neji-niisan." Hinata called out to her cousin as he was being lifted by the medics.
"I was wrong about you, Hinata-sama," Neji began as he stared at his cousin no longer with eyes of hate but acceptance, "You were not the failure; I was. I failed to read your fate, and this is the result of my incompetence."
"No Neji, you were right. I used to be a failure but I'm not anymore." She stood up and walked over to him, "I have friends who helped me get my confidence." She smiled at the mental image of a blonde Uzumaki which came to mind, "Because of them I have gotten stronger and trained harder than I could ever imagined. And for the first time in my life, I can say that I'm not as weak as everyone thought."
"THAT'S DAMN RIGHT!" Hinata's blush intensified at the Uzumaki's yell which she was sure that everyone heard.
[+]
|Stands|
As soon as Neji was escorted out of the battlefield on his stretcher, Hiashi stood up from his place in the stands. Hanabi quickly looked over to her father.
"Father? Where are you going?" She asked him.
"I have something to attend to. It won't take long." He replied quietly as he walked off.
Hanabi sighed then looked around, all of the clan elders were talking amongst themselves about what they thought of the match. Realizing that none of them was monitoring how she was acting, she allowed a large grin developed on her face.
[+]
|Arena|
"The second match will be between Shikamaru Nara and Temari Sabaku!" Genma announced. Temari jumped over the railing and flew down onto the arena on her giant fan.
Shikamaru stood up straight then quietly walked down to the arena much to the surprise and shock of the Genins and their Jonin-senseis.
"He didn't even say troublesome!" Naruto whispered to his teammates as Shikamaru joined Temari down in the battlefield.
"You ready lazy?" Temari asked as she gripped her giant folding fan, "Because this time I won't lose!"
"That's what you said the last time." Shikamaru replied with a yawn but one could tell that he was smiling faintly.
'Have these two fought before?' Genma asked himself before announcing, "Second match between Shikamaru Nara and Temari Sabaku… BEGIN!" Genma leapt out of the way as the match started.
"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Temari quickly opened up her fan and sent a tunneling blast of wind at Shikamaru, the lazy Nara quickly jumped out of the way and into the trees. A few seconds later a shadow quickly darted out of said trees and Temari jumped back to avoid it, the shadow then stopped at a certain distance from Temari who then made a mark in the dirt with her fan.
"About 15 meters," Temari said as she judged the distance between her and Shikamaru. "Looks like this is your limit. All I have to do is stay behind this line and bombard you with my Jutsu until you either surrender, or get knocked unconscious."
'There goes my original plan,' Shikamaru sighed. 'Looks like it won't be a quick victory for me this time.' He quickly hid behind a tree as Temari began to pepper him with blasts of wind from her oversized fan.
After thinking up another plan, Shikamaru began to undo his vest. He tied both ends together with a kunai, making a makeshift balloon which he threw into the air, since he was behind a tree Temari didn't notice him launching the balloon.
The Suna Kunoichi sighed as she swung her fan once more. She was starting to get tired of just blasting the trees, lucky for her Shikamaru countered as his shadow darted towards her again but stopped at the mark.
Temari sighed at the failed attempt and was about to comment when she saw a small circular shadow appear on the floor, she looked up and saw that Shikamaru's jacket was floating in the air tied to a kunai. Quickly realizing what her opponent was up to, she looked down and saw Shikamaru's shadow speeding towards her after it connected with the jacket's shadow. She quickly jumped back a great distance until the shadow stopped.
"Nice try." Temari said as she landed. "But you'll have to do better than that in order to beat me."
Shikamaru sighed as he mentally marked that plan as a failure. He pulled out several kunai with explosion tags and threw them at Temari from behind the tree. The Suna Genin batted them away with the wind, but some tags still landed on their target which was the ground in front of Temari creating a smokescreen. Temari was about to use a wind jutsu to disperse the smokescreen when she noticed that she couldn't move.
'No!'
"Shadow Possession Jutsu is a success!" Shikamaru smirked as he lowly released his hand, forcing her to drop her fan. He then walked them both until they stood 6 feet away.
"I guess you win again." Temari said accepting her defeat.
"I guess." Shikamaru shrugged which she also did.
The two then stood still for a while…
"Well are you going to finish it?" The fan user asked.
"Oh I will but first." He grabbed the hem of his shirt which Temari mirrored and began to lift up slightly.
"What the hell are you doing?" Temari yelled her face colored red. The audience chuckled at the antics of the Nara while his teammates, family, friends and Sensei were left speechless or had their mouths gaping.
"Just kidding." Shikamaru said letting go of his shirt which made his opponent relieved as she mirrored the action. The Nara then lazily glanced around before raising his hand.
"I forfeit." He declared canceling his jutsu.
Temari rolled her eyes as a collective gasp was heard from the audience. 'Why am I not surprised?' The fan user thought.
"Winner: Temari Sabaku of Sunagakure!"
[+]
|Waiting Box|
"I had a feeling he would do that." Naruto sighed.
"Well he is a Nara after all." Atsushi said. "It's a wonder he lasted this long." He added.
"But in a sense he did actually win." Sasuke commented.
Naruto stared at him, "How? He forfeited?"
"Because Dobe if this was a mission, another leaf nin would have dealt the finishing blow since she was practically immobilized." Sasuke answered with an audible sigh towards the end.
Naruto's mouth formed an 'O' shape as Sasuke's explanation sank in, "Well that explains it but I still think he shouldn't have given up."
[+]
|Somewhere among the Audience|
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE NERVE OF THAT SHIKAMARU!" Ino yelled angrily from her place in the stands, "SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD HAVE HAD HIS SPOT IN THE EXAMS! HOW DARE HE JUST QUIT WHEN SOMEONE LIKE ME OR CHOJI WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY FOUGHT UNTIL THE VERY END!"
Those around her had their ears covered wondering if she was using a voice amplification jutsu on herself.
"Ino… I'd appreciate you not trash-talk my friend in front of me, please." Choji requested Ino strictly.
The two Genin members of Team 10 then proceeded to argue amongst each other about Shikamaru: with Ino demeaning the Nara while Choji defended him fervently.
[+]
"I forgot how loud Ino could be." Atsushi said placing his hands away from his ears, "She even louder than you Naruto."
"She must have some powerful lungs to yell like that." Naruto replied after cleaning his ear with his pinkie. "I noticed that you didn't call her Ino-chan." The Blonde pointed out.
The resident Kishida shrugged in reply, "You weren't the only one who got over their crush these past months."
"Will Eito Kishida of Arashigakure and Sakura Haruno of Konohagakure please come forward for the third match?" Genma stated loudly.
"Looks the next match is about to start." Hinata said. "Isn't that right Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah, but Sakura's chances of winning are pretty slim." Naruto replied as the two combatants took center stage.
"I'm sure she must have thought of something, Naruto-kun."
"Well we will soon find out."
[+]
Omake
|Ichiraku's|
2 weeks ago
"AH! That hit the spot." Naruto sighed pleasantly as he lowered the now empty bowl of ramen, "Thanks Jiji, it's been a while since I last had ramen."
Ayame just stared at the blonde teenager, "Didn't you have ramen with Atsushi-kun and Hinata-chan yesterday?" She deadpanned causing the boy to blush in embarrassment while Hiruzen chuckled.
"Ayame-neechan!"
"Well its good that you're maintaining a good balanced diet unlike six months ago." Teuchi added, "I hope those cooking books have been helpful."
"Very." Was the blond's reply, preparing other kinds of foods apart from instant ramen were actually fun and yummy too.
The retired ninja then turned his attention towards the Hokage, "It's been an honor to serve you Hokage-sama." Both he and his daughter bowed in respect.
"You don't have to call me Hokage-sama all the time, Hiruzen-san is just fine."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." The two replied causing the poor man to sigh in defeat with Naruto chuckling in the background.
"Well I should be heading back to my paperwork." The Sandaime rose up from his seat before facing his some worth pseudo grandson, "Here you go Naruto-kun."
"Huh?" The Uzumaki got out as he received a scroll, "What this for?"
"That contains some techniques which should prove useful to you in the finals." The 70-something year old Hokage answered, "Feel free to share with your friends."
Overjoyed at the prospect of learning new jutsu the blonde teenager engaged his grandfather figure in a hug which was returned heartily. "Thanks Jiji."
"You're welcome Naruto-kun and I expect great things from you." The old man replied.
Breaking the hug and also wiping a tear form his eye, Naruto replied with determination, "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." The two shared another brief hug then departed to their various locations."
[+]
A/N: So victories for Hinata and Temari, losses for Neji and Shikamaru. This fic is definitely going in the right direction.
The Omake was to explain Naruto's use of some jutsus in the upcoming chapters and where Hinata got Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu from.
Just in case it isn't clear, Naruto also showed Hinata how to perform the Water Style: Water Bullets Jutsu.
Special thanks to all those who contributed to the success of this fic, Naruto: An Uprising Shinobi had surpassed the 100th favorites-alerts milestone and it is all thanks to you guys.
I'm very grateful.
[1] – After taking a look at the scroll Areku gave her Hinata came up with the idea for an ultimate defense.
[2] – Since Naruto's nickname for Atsushi is Sushi, I decided that Atsushi's own for Naruto be Ruto.
Chapter 17: It's all falling into place.
See you next chapter.
Total number of words: 5992 words.
Jamesco1292002