When the last team finally completed the second exam on the fifth day my team was relieved. We were bored out of our minds with nothing to do but wait patiently. Jiro's constant chatter was also driving me crazy, I mean it was nice that he wasn't afraid of me anymore, or at least I don't think he is but he can definitely talk a lot.
We were all directed to a large arena like room with a walkway overhead on the walls. Each team was lined up in front of the Hokage. The proctors and other shinobi stood on either side of him while the sensei's stood lined up behind him. Shozouki was standing next to Kakashi to the far right. Gaara's team was lined up next to mine, Mitsuru said that they finished the last exam almost an hour after we did, which apparently would have broken a record if we didn't do it first.
"First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam!" Anko announced. "Now listen up, the third Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you, you maggots." Turning to the Hokage she said, "Lord Hokage, they're all yours."
He walked forward and cleared his throat, "First, before I tell you what the third exam entails I want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely now, it's something all of you need to understand. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams. Why do you suppose our country holds this exam in conjunction with our allies? It's to raise the ability levels of the shinobi and increase friendship levels with our allies for sure, but it's important you understand it's true meaning. The exams are, so to speak, they are the representation between battle between allied nations. If we look at our history all the countries that we are currently allied with were once neighboring nations that continuously fought with each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each others military strength meaninglessly, those nations picked champions to do battle of behalf of their countries in a mutually selected location. That's how the chunin selection exams originally began."
"Why are we doing the exams them?" Naruto asked. "It's not like we're picking ninja to go fight."
"Well actually, there is no question that part of the point of these exams is to select shinobi worthy of becoming chunin that's just not the whole story. This is also a place where shinobi can carry the pride of their nation on their backs and fight against other ninja for their very lives. Many leaders and people of prominence are invited to attend this exam as guests and also to possibly seek shinobi to work for them. This exam could determine the course of your ninja work from here on out, and more importantly those rulers watch your battles and take note the strengths each ninja and each nation is developing. If there is a gap in power between the countries the strong nations are inundated with job requests for their ninja and conversely the job request to the countries deemed weak decline, therefore the stronger our nation is the better our position is when it comes to negotiating with neighboring countries, so it's important to show how much military strength our village has. The third exam is a fight with your own villages pride at stake."
"Any test is fine." Gaara said indifferently, "Just tell me what the details of the exam are already. I can handle anything you throw at me."
"Very well then, now listen closely. I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll all be doing on the third exam." the Hokage started.
A ninja wearing a green flack jacket appeared in front of the Hokage on a knee, interrupting what he was going to say. "Lord Hokage, before you do please allow me, Hayate Gekko as proctor of the third exam to speak first."
"So be it."
"It's nice to meet you all." Hayate said, he turned to us and coughed a bit. "There is something I would like all of you to do before the third exam." he coughed some more, for longer this time. "Uh, we have to have a preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one."
"Preliminary?! Just what do you mean by that?!" the lazy ninja from the second exam shouted.
"Yeah, what do you mean by that?!" I heard Jiro shout from behind me.
I didn't bother to turn around as I said his name slowly, "Jiro."
"Sorry!" he yelled, with a hint of terror in his voice.
"Sensei, sorry, but I really don't see the point." Sakura said. "What's this preliminary all about, why can't we just move on to the third exam?"
"You see, the fact is that the first and second exams might have been too easy. We didn't expect this many of you to make it this far." Hayate said. "According to the rules of the Chunin exams a preliminary round can be held at any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining."
"But is that fair?" she asked seeming distressed.
I spoke up, "Who cares about it being fair. There isn't even a guarantee that if we pass the third stage we'll become Chunin. That decision lays with the kages in attendance." I didn't know the specifics, but I did know that. I'm not counting on uncle Yagura promoting me just because I'm his niece. I know that if he thinks I'm unworthy he won't hesitate to tell me.
"Are they among the important guests?" someone asked.
The Hokage answered us this time. "Yes, among these special guests will be lords of the allied nations and three kages; myself, the Kazekage, and the Mizukage." he also added. "The final round will be held as a tournament with passing ninja of today. Keep in mind, like Miss Momochi said, that even if you do win your round the final decision may be that you are not suited to be a Chunin."
"Now that the Hokage has explained that, if there are any of you that don't think you're cut out for this kind of thing you can back out now. Our guests deserve to watch only the best." Hayate ended with another round of coughing. "Sorry about that, like I was saying, if any of you don't feel up to this now is the time for you to bow out. The preliminaries will be starting immediately."
"Come on! You mean right now!?" a boy with a dog hiding in his sweater said.
"We just finished barely surviving the last exam, don't we get a break?" the blonde haired leaf ninja asked.
"Man, what a drag." the lazy boy complained.
"The winners will be determined by one on one combat, sudden death." Hayate said. "So like I said, if there's anyone that doesn't feel up to it now's the time to raise your hand."
I looked around at the other ninja participating, looking to see who would back out. My money was on the lazy one and the fat one from the leaf village leaving the preliminaries. I noticed that Sakura was whispering to Sasuke about something. Then Sakura was trying to wipe tears out of her eyes. I wonder what that could be about?
I could sense something was happening over by the sensei's, it was Anko, she was arguing with Kakashi about something. Shozouki was standing near them, when he felt my gaze on him he looked to me inclining his head a bit to show that he acknowledged me. If I asked him later I'm sure he would tell me. He might not want too, but I know he will.
There was a gasp heard, I turned back to the other candidates to see Kabuto had raised his hand. "Okay, you got me. I'm out." he said this all with a smile on his face.
Hayate flipped a few pages on his clipboard before saying, "Kabuto Yakushi of the leaf village right? Okay, you can go on and step back."
"Gottchya." Kabuto said. He turned around and started walking to the back of the room.
"Wait a second Kabuto! You can't quit!" Naruto exclaimed. "I don't get this, what's going on!?"
Before he got too far Kabuto said, "Oh Naruto, I'm sorry, but my body is just too beat up. I can't hack it. This is too much fighting without a break, I can't do it." Kabuto waved goodbye and walked away.
"Now then, does anyone else want to quit?" Hayate asked. No one else moved to raise their hands. "Very well, we will begin."
Anko touched the headset she was wearing saying, "Open the panel."
A section of the wall behind the sensei's opened to show a black screen. "The names of each opponent is chosen completely at random. Before each match these names will appear on the screen behind us. As there is nothing more to say, let us begin. In a moment the names of the first two opponents will appear."
I watched along with everyone else as names quickly flashed across the screen. There was one name presented above the other with 'vs' separating them. Names randomized a little bit longer before stopping on Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado
"Those whose names have been drawn please come forward." Hayate said. The two boys walked forward towards him. "The two of you have been chosen as opponents for the first match. Are there any interjections?"
"None here." responded Sasuke.
"No," Yoroi said.
"Uh, alright then." Hayate said. "Let's begin the first match." he raised his hand to cough once, "Okay, everyone other than the two participating in this match will now clear the area and move to the upper level." he gestured towards the balcony I noticed earlier.
We all started clearing the battleground for Sasuke and Yoroi's fight. I would have liked to fight Sasuke, but I noticed that he's been grabbing his shoulder a lot in the time we were in this room, I wonder if something happened?
I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and harshly brushed passed someone. I glanced to see it was Gaara, but I didn't care enough to apologize, so I kept walking. I could hear Jiro and Mitsuru apologizing for me.
"Sorry about her." Mitsuru said. "I just think she's eager for her fight."
"Again, we are very very sorry." Jiro said sheepishly. He laughed nervously and I could hear him moving again.
Up on the balcony I nodded in Shozouki's direction before I leaned against the railing to watch the matches. I softly sighed, I just want to get this part of the exam done with too. What is up with all of this waiting? At least my team is at full strength for these preliminaries all thanks to our fast run through the last exam. I'm sure Jiro and Mitsuru are grateful for that.
"Then if you're ready, let the match begin." Hayate said. He stepped aside just as Yoroi threw his ninja stars and Sasuke threw a few kunai. Sasuke managed to dodge the ninja stars by falling to the ground, but I have a feeling that it's because of his shoulder.
He struggled to get up, once he did he wasted no time in getting Yoroi in a hold on the ground. Why is Sasuke not using any jutsu? Could it have something to do with his shoulder? If he is arrogant enough to think he can win this match with skill alone then I wouldn't mind throwing him down a peg or two if he does happen to win.
Yoroi's hand clutched the material of Sasuke's shirt, you could see the light blue hue of his chakra surrounding his fist. I didn't know what Yoroi's purpose for doing this was, but it looked to be even more difficult for Sasuke to move so it must have been working. Suddenly, Yoroi got out of Sasuke's hold and he had ahold of Sasuke's hair, his hand slammed Sasuke backwards into the ground.
"My chakra, you're stealing it from me!" Sasuke ground out.
Oh, is that what is happening? I rested my cheek on my hand, propping it up. I probably looked bored, as if I could care less when really that's exactly how I feel. I've never cared to learn how to steal another's chakra because I've never needed the chakra. If I ever run out of my own chakra that I have been working to expand for years I only need to tap into Isobu's chakra. I've never really needed his help though. Uncle Yagura has helped me train extensively so that I wouldn't ever need to do that. Sometimes when I'm meditating uncle Yagura would want me to try and blend some of my chakra with Isobu's so that it would make me stronger. He thinks that if I'm constantly exposed to a higher chakra signature that my body will adjust to it, especially if I've been trying to merge that chakra with my own.
I am curious about Yoroi's ability though, is it as effective as Jiro's? Jiro was able to render several ninja unconscious in a matter of minutes when we were in the Forest of Death. If Yoroi's ability is like Jiro's then I know Sasuke doesn't have much time left before his body fails him in favor of unconsciousness. Though it does look like Yoroi's ability is not as advanced as Jiro's, Sasuke only seems to be displaying discomfort and awareness of losing his chakra at this stage.
Yoroi continued to hold Sasuke to the ground. Sasuke's body seemed to be losing energy. Maybe Yoroi's ability is nearly as efficient as Jiro's, because now it looks as if Sasuke's fight will be over soon.
Huh, that's disappointing. Here I thought Sasuke could be a worthy opponent, but from what I've seen there isn't really anything special about him. One of those all talk types. Why did I want to fight him again?
Sasuke fisted his right hand before shouting, "Get off of me." he quickly used his right leg to kick Yoroi away from himself. There it is, the fire that people of the land of fire seem to possess. Sasuke won't be giving up easily, that's why I wanted to fight him. I was in need of a challenge.
Sasuke struggled to stand, but he made it to his feet.
"I see you have some strength left, don't worry. I'll make this short and sweet." Yoroi said. He charged at Sasuke with the chakra still glowing in his right hand. Sasuke managed to doged each punch. Sasuke ducked under Yoroi's fist and got behind him to throw a kick in his direction, but Yoroi dodged out of the way. Sasuke stood in place panting heavily.
"Hey Sasuke, you're letting this guy walk all over you and you call yourself an Uchiha!" Naruto yelled. I looked over to him to see him leaning over the railing to yell down to Sasuke. "Come on! Stop messing around and get it in gear!"
Yoroi approached Sasuke again, but Sasuke seemed to have a plan now. Sasuke dodged all of Yoroi's advances and then sent a kick of his own to Yoroi's jaw. It looks as if he's utilizing some taijutsu from another genin, I heard the boy with the bowl cut exclaim such.
Sasuke was caught with one of Yoroi's punches and was sent flying back. They were both sent flying. When he was in the air I noticed markings moving across his skin as if it was flames. I couldn't see exactly what the source was, but it seemed to be coming from somewhere on his shoulder. The flames covered half of his face before they recede back to his shoulder. Sasuke kicked Yoroi again and then punched him down into the floor. Sasuke followed and kicked him one more time into the floor. Yoroi's back connected, he screamed out and then seemed to lose consciousness. Sasuke was left panting, barely able to hold himself up.
Hayate approached the two, first going to Yoroi. "Alright, this one is spent." he looked to Sasuke to see him struggle to stand. "The winner of the first match is Sasuke Uchiha."
Kakashi appeared behind Sasuke reading his book looking as if he couldn't care less about the outcome of the match.
"Sasuke, you won but in a very uncool way. It looks like you got your butt beat!" Naruto yelled down to his teammate while laughing.
Sasuke walked out with Kakashi while clutching his shoulder. "I wonder what he is like at full power." I mused.
"What do you mean by that?" I looked to my right to see the blonde sand nin standing next to me. Her sensei was standing behind her and to the right. Now that I was looking around I saw that Kankuro was leaning on the railing to my left and Gaara was to the left of him with his arms crossed. They all seemed to be listening to what I was going to say.
"You mean you haven't noticed that throughout the whole fight Sasuke has been paying extra attention to his left shoulder?" I questioned. The next match must have started because there was a blast that went off in front of us. I didn't pay it any mind.
"His shoulder?" Kankuro asked. "I think I did see him grab it once."
"That time when he was in the air there were markings that were spreading across the left side of his body. Something must have happened to him in the Forest of Death." I said airily. "Right now he's probably experiencing an imbalance of chakra in his body."
I glanced down to the current match to see that Shino Aburame from the leaf village seemed to have bugs crawling out of his body. Overall the fight didn't seem to last too long, Shino was deemed the winner.
I looked to the screen to see who was next, "Well Kankuro, it looks like you are next. Though I was hoping I would be the one to give you a thrashing for the other day."
"What do you mean, I said I was sorry!" he quickly glanced to Gaara, "Right Gaara, I said I was sorry."
"You already forgot, you were the one to challenge me." I looked to him, "I wasn't raised to run away. Your chakra levels are not all that high either, I feel as if I can take you without much of a fight on your part."
"What did you say brat?" he grit his teeth, glaring at me.
I ignored him, "You should go before you're forced to forfeit, it looks like your opponent is waiting for you."
"Don't bash my chakra! You don't even have any!" he ground out. He turned to go down to the battleground.
Nonchalantly, as if it was the most well known piece of information I said, "Never reveal your chakra to your prey otherwise they will sense you coming to kill them."
Kankuro froze in place and I could see his body tense. "Is that a threat?" he growled.
"On no, of course not." I turned back to the battlefield no longer paying attention to Kankuro. "Consider it a warning, someone has to put you in your place." I could hear him walk away to go participate in his match.
It was quiet up here for a moment before the girl said something, "Would you really kill him?"
"Probably not, I only kill who the Mizukage tells me to kill." I said. I turned to her, "I don't believe I know your name."
"Temari of the sand." she said. "Kankuro and Gaara are my younger brothers."
"The sand siblings?" I raised a brow. I wondered how they ended up on the same team together.
"It's kind of a long story." she said. "What about your teammates, are you friends with those guys? The one with brown hair is uh, energetic? The one with black hair seems attractive enough."
"I only met them days before we were to leave Kirigakure to come here." I said. "The energetic one is Jiro, and the other is Mitsuru."
"So you don't even know them at all?!" she exclaimed.
"Not really." I responded.
"And you're okay with that?! You trusted them to have your back in the Forest of Death?!"
"I'm okay with not knowing them, that way I won't get attached to them. As for trusting them, I suppose I trust them enough to not get me killed." I replied.
I looked down to see Kankuro take the thing off of his back. He didn't even get to throw an attack when his opponent literally wrapped his limbs around Kankuro's body. His arms and legs stretched in a way that was inhuman. There was a snap and I knew Kankuro's head had snapped. However, I noticed something. The chakra coming from Kankuro was faint, so I didn't say anything. Kankuro's face started to crack and crumble away to show a puppets face.
"Now it's my turn." the smile on the puppet looked off. The head twisted around other parts of the puppet following. In no time at all Kankuro moved the puppet in a way that left the other ninja unconscious on the floor. At the end of it Kankuro revealed himself from the bandaged object on the floor with chakra strings coming from his hand.
So he's a puppet master huh? Interesting. It reminds me of the technique I've been wanting Isobu to teach me. I think I will be able to convince him that I am worthy of being taught.
The next match was Sakura Haruno against Ino Yamanaka. When the match started it was easy to tell that they were both throwing their punches. This looked to be a fight not worth watching.
"What kind of fight is this?" I asked. I didn't want to watch anymore, the whole match was pathetic.
"They're rivals." Shozouki said. I looked around for him noticing that him and Jiro along with Mitsuru joined me by the sand ninjas.
"If they're rivals they wouldn't be holding their punches." I said to him.
His light brown hair swayed as he shook his head, "They are still friends and they care for each other, that's why they are throwing their punches."
"I'll take your word for it, I guess. I've never had a rival before." I brushed off the notion of rivals. I've never been able to have one because I was always isolated from the other people of the land of water. Uncle Yagura either always had me out on missions or had me stay in the kage tower.
"I've never had a rival either." Temari sighed. "I'm always stuck with these two." she pointed to her brothers.
"There is no winner of the fourth match due to a double knockout." Hayate announced. I looked to the two girls bodies on the floor, Ino cut her hair short like how I noticed Sakura's was after the Forest of Death. "The next match is Tenten and Mitsuru Onishi."
Mitsuru turned to walk himself down to the battlefield.
"Mitsuru." I said, he stopped to listen, "Don't lose."
"I wasn't planning on it. Don't worry." he continued walking down.
His opponent, Tenten, is a girl with dark brown hair in two buns atop her head. She had a forehead protector with a blue ribbon on her forehead like a true ninja. She wore a light pink kimono top without sleeves and blue pants. Mitsuru faced her, his crystal blues eyes showing indifference.
The two ninja that were similar to each other in looks with the bowl cut hairstyles started cheering for Tenten. It was getting annoying, I tried blocking them out but when I heard the younger one say that Tenten should send Mitsuru back to our village on a stretcher I couldn't help but scoff. Any ninja from the land of water would be sure to give any fight their all. I'm expecting Mitsuru to either win or lose by knockout. He said that he was a part of the future of the land of water, that our generation would have to be great if our nation was going to amount to anything in the future. I wonder who it is exactly he thinks he needs to prove himself to? Maybe the council of elders to show he's better than any regular ninja. What if he just wants everyone to respect him like Jiro wants? Either way, I know Jiro will give this fight his all.
"The match can begin." Hayate said.
Tenten stood there analysing Mitsuru. Waiting for him to make the first move.
"Ladies first." Mitsuru smirked.
"If you're sure." she said. She threw a bunch of ninja stars towards Mitsuru. He made a slight movement and missed all of the stars.
"That's it?" he said. "Try again."
She leapt up into the air and unwound a scroll around her body. Many weapons flew out flying towards Mitsuru, but he dodged those too. He did some hand signs before water jetted from his mouth creating his water dragon. I suppose that makes sense, he has to have a pre existing water source. Otherwise he has to create his own water source. He launched his water dragon at her connecting full force. She was slammed into the wall with the water dragon dissipating into a puddle on the floor around her. Mitsuru move both of his hands together in an upward movement recreating his water dragon.
Tenten pushed herself off of the wall trying to regain her composure over the shock of Mitsuru's water dragon. When Mitsuru sent his water dragon toward her again she was able to dodge it. Being that it is a larger mass he wasn't able to move the dragon in time to catch her before it smashed into the wall.
Mitsuru rose his arms again while Tenten summoned a ball and chain and ran towards Mitsuru. This time instead of attacking her, Mitsuru exhaled a deep breath and moved the dragon in front of himself for protection. The dragon crystalized into ice, shielding himself from the weapon, of which got stuck. Tenten tried pulling it free but gave up on it. She tried dodging out of the way when the dragon reared up to hit her but she didn't move in time and was knocked unconscious.
Hayate went to check on Tenten, he stood from his crouched position by Tenten and declared, "Mitsuru Onishi is the winner of this match."
Mitsuru let his ice dragon disappear in a flurry of shattered ice crystals before he silently walked his way up to the balcony while Tenten's sensei and teammate fussed over her body. They really seem to care about her. Mitsuru joined us on the balcony and didn't say a word. I never would have guessed that he was part of the Yuki clan, they are the only ones who can use ice release. I'm not going to say anything about it though, those with a kekkei genkai are hunted in the land of water. The Yuki clan no longer exists in an organized manner, they are all over the place, hiding because they fear they will also be killed for their abilities.
Instead, I glanced up to the screen to see my name along with Temari's. I turned to walk down to the battlefield without a word to anyone. I stood waiting for Temari to appear across from me.
"Come on Ketto! You got this!" Naruto shouted. I looked up to him to see he had a big goofy smile on his face and his thumbs were raised. I've never had someone cheer me on before so this is kind of odd.
I detached my sword from the belt I used to keep it in place on my held it in my hand. For a moment I wondered if I should try and challenge myself and try to win with only taijutsu. I gazed at my sword, Kukoshibyo, and made the decision to not use it. I lodged Kukoshibyo into the ground.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Temari asked confused.
I adopted a defencive stance, my right leg was placed in front of my left. My bandaged hands were fisted, my right arm in place to defend if I need to with my left ready to strike. "I'm preparing to win." I said. I nodded to her, "The fan on your back only is effective for ranged attacks, isn't it." I didn't state it as a question, because I felt I already knew the answer.
"As if you could get close enough to test your little theory." she glared as she took the fan off of her back to prepare for when Hayate would declare we could start. She was far enough away from me where her ranged attack would work, but I was confident I could get to her before she could use her fan.
"We'll see, won't we?"
"It's your funeral." she said.
Hayate stood in between us. First he looked to Temari, "Suna nin, are you ready?"
"Yes," she said.
He turned to look to me, "Kiri nin, are you ready?"
"Absolutely." I could feel the excitement rising in my chest, the same excitement I get before and during each fight. Every fight is a way to prove yourself to others, I will not let my uncle down with a defeat. Now, I am also fighting to prove Kirigakure's strength. Mitsuru already won his round, now it's up to me and Jiro to win ours.
"Alright, you may begin your match." he said. He stepped out of the way just in time for me to dash passed him with Isobu's speed. I punched Temari in the abdomen which sent her flying into the wall. I stayed in the spot that I punched her, my left fist still raised. I was giving her time to pull herself off the wall. She lifted her head and coughed out blood.
"I-I didn't even see you move!" she cried out. "How is that possible?!"
I ignored her question, "Get up and fight."
She pulled herself from the wall, her grip on her fan again. This time I let her use the fan. She opened it until three purple circles were revealed. Then she fanned it across herself causing high winds to rush towards me. The winds caused a cyclone, it looked like I was going to be stuck in it but I wasn't afraid. I knew I had to move before she threw something in here with me, that would make getting out more difficult.
I closed my right eye to protect it from the cutting winds, like Isobu the only part of my body that isn't protected by my thick skin is my eyes. I used my left arm to shield that eye, I still needed to see but I didn't want it getting damaged by the winds. I braced myself, first pouring some of my chakra into my feet so I wouldn't be lifted away and then started to push my way through the gale of wind. My thigh length hair that I wear in a high ponytail was weightless, it was twirling nearly straight up into the air. I could feel it moving all around, tugging at my scalp. I was right, I would have been blown away if I didn't concentrate chakra into my feet.
Temari saw me walking out of her cyclone and started to freak out. "How are you able to move?! How are you not being blown away right now?!"
I made it out of the cyclone feeling thankful for uncle Yagura's ruthless training. My strength and stamina is nearly on the same level as uncle Yagura's himself. I lowered my left arm that was shielding my eye and opened my other eye, I didn't want anyone else knowing about my eyes.
"Is that all?" I asked. "I was hoping you would give me more of a challenge." I got back in my defensive stance from earlier and charged at her again. I threw punch after punch, even adding a kick here and there.
I kicked her across the room causing her to land on her back. I used my speed to rush over to her, landing on a knee, I noticed that she was still conscious but she was having difficulty moving. I used my left fist to give her one last punch to her abdomen. She coughed up blood again and lost consciousness. She had blood on her face along with a bruise that was forming on her right cheek. I didn't notice until now, but there was also some of her blood that soaked into the bandages on my hands.
I slowly got up from my kneeled position, not even waiting for Hayate's judgement on the match, grabbed Kukoshibyo and walked back up to my space on the balcony. Before I could reach my place by the railing I was stopped by Gaara. He didn't say anything, he just stood in my way a little unsteady. His breathing was abnormal, he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. He stared at me, his seafoam green eyes locked onto my grey. If I couldn't feel his blood lust I would think he was furious with me for beating his sister unconscious. I only stood there, not wanting to cause an unsanctioned fight. I still need to make it to the final round for uncle Yagura and I wasn't going to jeopardise that by participating in this kind of fight.
"U-uh, G-Gaara?" Kankuro asked. I broke eye contact with Gaara to look over at him. He looked very uneasy, as if he thought Gaara was going to do something.
Gaara didn't seem to acknowledge Kankuro, he remained in place staring at me. I put one hand on each of his shoulders and said, "Deep breathes, slow down your heartbeat." I breathed in and out slowly to show him what to do. He started to copy me, his body relaxed and I let go of him. "There you go, just remember to try and keep that blood lust of yours in check."
"Thanks." he said. He looked a bit confused.
"How did you know?" Kankuro asked. I moved to take my place by the railing so I could watch the remaining matches.
"Really?" questioned Jiro. "I suck at sensing other people's chakra and I could still feel his blood lust."
"In Kirigakure most people can't control their blood lust." Mitsuru added, "You learn at a very young age to sense another's blood lust so that you can avoid them. Otherwise you could end up dead if you get in their way."
"That's harsh." Kankuro muttered.
"Well, we come from a place that was known as the Bloody Mist." I said. "It's not uncommon for us to experience our own blood lust. In Kirigakure we have a separate academy specifically for weapons training. We get a little excited when wielding a blade."
"Guilty as charged." Jiro smiled at his confession. I never would have thought he of all people experienced such a thing. He seems so happy all the time. Like he would have more in life to look forward to than some bloodshed.
The screen changed and showed one of the names I've been waiting for, Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka. "I've been waiting for this match." I said.
"Huh?" Jiro looked to the screen, "Which one are you talking about?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, I have a feeling that knucklehead is one to watch out for." I said.
"Uh, if you think so…" Jiro seemed unsure, but I didn't care. He didn't suspect what I did.
Naruto and Kiba met up on the battlefield and immediately started trash talking each other. Kiba took a small white dog out of his jacket which confused Naruto. The dogs name was Akamaru and apparently he is apart of Kiba as his ninkin. It reminds me of a family from the north that bonded with bears.
Naruto took one hit from Kiba and was on the ground. It seemed as if he was already down for the count, but I knew better. His dream of becoming Hokage is greater than giving up this early in the round.
He slowly stood up, "Don't ever, don't ever underestimate me!"
Kiba used smoke bombs to attack Naruto. Kiba hit Naruto from the edges of the smoke cloud. When Naruto burst out of the cloud Akamaru landed in his face pushing him back in. When the smoke cloud cleared Naruto was on the ground. Akamaru ran back to Kiba. I could sense the chakra of both Naruto and Akamaru were the same. Naruto must have used a shadow clone and a transformation jutsu to alter his appearance.
"This will be interesting." I muttered. I adopted the position I did before, leaning over the railing with my chin resting on my open palm.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Jiro asked, looking over from the fight.
"Just wait a second."
Instead of leaping into Kiba's arms like expected Akamaru latched his teeth onto Kiba's arm. Akamaru transformed back into Naruto. Who started taunting Kiba. Honestly, I was a bit surprised when I found out Naruto could do a shadow clone and transformation jutsu at the same time. That's something that is more advanced for a genin to be able to do.
"Where's Akamaru?!" Kiba yelled.
"Right here." Naruto pulled Akamaru out from who knows where, holding him up by each of his front paws.
"Akamaru!"
"Hahaha!" Naruto swayed Akamaru back and forth teasingly. "It was too easy."
Kiba tossed Akamaru a pill before taking one himself. "If I were you I would let Akamaru go." he growled.
Akamaru's fur turned red, which must have startled Naruto because he dropped him. Akamaru ran over to Kiba and jumped on his back. He transformed into Kiba, together they started to bombard Naruto with punches. More smoke bombs were used, when the smoke cleared this time there were three Kiba's.
I could still tell which one was Naruto and it seemed as if Kiba could too. He punched Naruto sending him flying. When Naruto landed on the ground he transformed into Akamaru. Kiba was confused and furious causing him to lose his senses and punch the real Akamaru.
"That's not even the best of it, wanna try out my super secret move?!" Naruto shouted. Kiba ran at him throwing kunai and ninja stars. Naruto was knocked down but he didn't give up. He picked himself up after he was thrown down every time. It was admirable to watch. Knowing he was doing this all for his dream touched my heart.
"Come on, I don't even care who wins. I just want this match to be over with already." Kankuro complained.
"My money's on Naruto." I said. After I said that I witnessed Naruto fart in Kiba's face. I guess that's one way to stall your opponent. I could hear Jiro chuckling uncontrollably to my right.
Naruto made five shadow clones. All of them converged on Kiba at the same time, all taking turns kicking him in the head. "Uzumaki Barrage!" Naruto shouted.
Kiba was left on the floor unconscious leaving Naruto the winner.
Hayate checked over Kiba's body before announcing, "Naruto Uzumaki is the winner of this match."
"I knew he would win." I said. "That jutsu at the end was quite a surprise."
"Yeah, who would have thought the kid could pull that off." Mitsuru added.
Naruto walked back up to the balcony. "Did you see me Sakura?! I did good right?"
"You idiot, who farts in someones face?!" she yelled back. "You're disgusting!" she turned her back on him causing him to pout.
"Sakura, why are you always so mean!" he whined.
"Hey, Jiro." Started Mitsuru. "It's your turn."
I diverted my attention away from Naruto's dramatics to look at the screen that said Jiro Matsuo and Dosu Kinuta. "Huh?" Jiro also looked to the screen. "Finally, I was wondering if it was ever going to be my turn." A large smile appeared on his face, a sparkle shining in his dark brown eyes. A sparkle that remained even as his smile slipped from his face when his eyes met my grey. I didn't say anything to him, he just nodded his head and turned to go down to the battlefield.
"That was weird." Kankuro muttered. He turned back to the railing waiting for the match to start.
Jiro stood across from Dosu, one of the ninja from the sound village. There didn't look to be anything special about him. He was slouched over with his legs spread apart. He had bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long spacious sleeves, a snake patterned scarf around his neck, something made of what looked like straw was sticking out from the back of his scarf,
Jiro unsheathed his katana from the holster that is laying on his back diagonally from the right with that hand. "A sword, you think you can beat me with kenjutsu? I think my sound would be faster than you." Dosu said smugly.
"Shut up, there is no way I'm going to lose this fight! I have a lot on the line, you don't know what I could lose!" Jiro shouted.
"I think I do, you're the kid that shouted out during the second exam that you needed to continue or else she'll kill you." Dosu pointed out. "I was curious as to who you could be talking about. Some woman, maybe your mother, would be angry enough at you to roughen you up a bit, I know my mother would if I failed. I realized that wasn't the case when I started keeping an eye on you." Jiro was quiet, I could see his jaw clenched. Dosu smirked, "It's that girl on your team, isn't it? She played with that sand ninja during their match, I wonder what she could really do if she went all out. Something tells me that you know and that is what terrifies you."
Jiro raised his katana, pointing it at Dosu. "I said shut up, you don't know anything."
It looked as if Jiro's gaze could kill, but it only made Dosu chuckle. "If I were her I would kill you. You're nothing but a weakling, you think you can beat me with a sword?! If that's all you've got you should forfeit now. Then maybe they'll give me a real opponent."
"You'll pay for that." Jiro growled.
"Sound nin are you ready?" Hayate asked.
"Yeah, this'll be over quick." Dosu taunted.
"Mist nin are you ready?" Hayate looked to Jiro, he was still glaring across the space from himself to Dosu. His only reply was a single nod while maintaining eye contact with Dosu. "Then you may begin your match."
Hayate got out of the way. Jiro ran at Dosu with his katana raised, he jumped and was going to land a hit on Dosu when Dosu blocked with his right arm. Jiro's blade met with some resistance and there was also a muffled clash with metal. Jiro jumped back with a slight look of confusion on his face.
"Stumped are you?" Dosu pulled up the long sleeve covering his left arm to reveal a metal object with holes in it. The object reminded me of some kind of gauntlet. "This is my speaker to transmit sound waves." Dosu waved his arm which caused a wave of sound to fly towards Jiro. "I told you this would be over fast."
Jiro tried using his katana as a support to try and jump over the sound wave, but was knocked down. Jiro tried to sit up, but it looked as if he couldn't gain his balance back.
"I wonder how severe your dizziness is? Can you still see fine, or is your vision blurred too?" Dosu questioned. Knowing what Jiro was experiencing and seeing him struggle I knew he wouldn't be continuing to the last stage of the Chunin exams. It looks like Dosu is at a greater advantage than Jiro is right now. I was surprised to see Jiro managed to push himself into a kneeling position, he was kneeling on one knee with the other in place to lift himself the rest of the way off of the floor. "You should be puking because of the nausea with being dizzy. Maybe I should amp up my sound waves."
Dosu waved his arm again sending an even stronger sound wave towards Jiro, instead of trying to dodge this one like he did last time he stuck his katana into the ground to use as a support. When the sound wave passed Jiro coughed blood and I could see a river of blood coming from his ears too. He stood still propped against his sword.
"How are you still standing?!" Dosu yelled. Jiro didn't acknowledge that Dosu said anything, probably because the blood trailing from his ears is from burst eardrums. I doubt Jiro can hear anything right now.
Jiro pushed himself off of his katana trying to steady himself without the aid of his sword. He pulled the sword from the ground holding it at his side. "I told you, I'm not going to lose this fight. I don't care about any ability you may have, I will defeat you." Jiro said lowly. I could feel Jiro's bloodlust from here. I know he said that he also experienced it but witnessing Jiro, the boy that's just as goofy as Naruto, with the intent to kill in his eyes is a bit shocking.
Jiro lifted his katana, the blade glowing blue, and charged at Dosu. This time he tried to move faster than Dosu to land hits on Dosu's chest and legs. Jiro's movements were sluggish at first but with every attempted blow the roles reversed. Jiro's speed was picking up while Dosu was becoming more sluggish. It took me a moment to realize what was happening, I was able to tell right away that the blue glow was Jiro taking chakra. It took me a little bit longer after that realization to figure out Jiro was transferring the chakra to himself. I've never seen anything like this before. I mean Kisame's Samehada devoured the chakra of it's opponents, but it never gave the chakra to Kisame. The chakra was always absorbed into the sword. I didn't even know that Jiro could transfer chakra to himself. I knew he could take it and transfer it to other people, but usually people that absorb chakra can't take it in themselves.
Jiro plunged his katana into Dosu's abdomen causing him to scream loudly in pain before slouching forward against Jiro unconscious. Jiro shoved Dosu off the end of his sword as he wrenched it free. Dosu's body fell to the ground, Jiro flicked his katana to the side causing blood to fly off the blade.
Hayate checked over Dosu's body as Jiro stood there. "The winner of this match is Jiro Matsuo."
Medic's rushed onto the battlefield to collect Dosu's body. One of them approached Jiro and directed him away too, probably to take a look at his ears.
"I'm going to go check on him." Shozouki said. "Would the two of you like to come with me?" the brown haired man stopped on his way to see Jiro to look to the two of us, his lavender eyes questioning.
"I'll come with," Mitsuru said. "What about you?" he asked me.
"I'll stay here, I still want to watch the fights." I said. He nodded to me before walking away with Shozouki. Not wanting to be by myself with Kankuro and Gaara, I walked over to where Naruto was watching the battles. "Hey Naruto, do you mind if I watch the remaining battles with you?"
Sakura was standing with Naruto, she replied before Naruto could. "Yes, it would be nice to have another girl over here!"
"Hey, Ketto, you did good in your match." Naruto said.
"You did pretty good too Naruto." I said. A boy with a bowl cut appeared next to Naruto.
"Hi my name is Rock Lee! I'm a genin of the Leaf village too!" the boy shouted.
"Uh, hi?" I was a little unsure of his character, but he seemed harmless enough.
"The next match is Hinata and Neji Hyuga." Lee said. The two in question appeared on the battlefield.
"Hello, brother." Hinata greeted.
"So they are siblings?" I questioned. I suppose they do look similar enough.
"No," Lee said. "Hinata is from the main branch, Neji is from a side branch, but they call each other brother and sister out of respect of being from the same family."
Neji started calling Hinata weak and telling her to give up the match saying that she would always be a failure. "Your Byakugan will never be as strong as mine." he said.
"Byakugan?" Naruto asked.
"Like the Uchiha clan and their Sharingan, the Hyuga clan has Byakugan. It is said that the Sharingan is derived from the Byakugan and that the Byakugan is stronger in comparison." Kakashi explained.
While Kakashi was talking I saw Neji degrade Hinata. If they were family why would he say these things to her? Not even my brother would say things like that to me and he is considered a Demon of the Mist, a cold blooded killer.
"Stop it! Who are you to tell Hinata what she can or can't be?! Come on Hinata show him what you can do!" Naruto shouted.
Hinata activated her own Byakugan, the veins in her pupiless eyes enlarging along with the ones surrounding her eyes. She began delivering blows to Neji that he would only deflect and send his own her way, she would also deflect.
"That is Hyuga taijutsu, the most advanced form of taijutsu in the hidden Leaf village." Lee said with admiration shining through both his eyes and his voice. He stopped watching the fight for a minute to turn to me. "Ketto what style of taijutsu do you use? That is one of the most advanced taijutsu styles I've ever seen."
"I never thought of it being a style of taijutsu." I said. "In Kirigakure I received training from all of the seven ninja swordsmen before they defected and they all adapted the same fighting style. However, I have noticed that other ninja of Kirigakure do not have the same fighting style."
"Did you say the seven ninja swordsmen?!" Lee exclaimed.
"Yeah she did, what's the big deal?" Naruto asked looking confused as he looked from me to Lee.
"Naruto, remember how Zabuza was a ninja swordsman of the Mist?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded his head. "There are six more people that hold that title in Kirigakure. They are considered the seven strongest ninja in the land of water. It is said that they are all nearly kage level and that all of their fighting styles are more advanced than anyone else's in the nation."
"What?!" Naruto shouted. He turned to me with sparkles in his eyes, Lee joining him. "Will you teach me your taijutsu?!" they both yelled.
"Uh, maybe someday?" I said it like a question because I had never had someone want me to teach them how to fight before. "Let's go back to the match."
We all turned to lean against the railing to watch the rest of the fight.
"Hey did you see that? Did Hinata hit Neji?" Naruto asked.
"I think it was only a graze." Sakura said.
"Still, a hit that close could do some damage." Lee said.
His sensei whose name I discovered was Gai started to explain. "Their taijustu is different than ours, we focus on external damage. We use crushing blows to raise contusions to the glands to bring damage to the body. The Hyuga's attack their enemies internal organs through the chakra network where the chakra flows. They're way subtle. Perhaps that is thrilling to watch, but it slowly takes effect with devastating results."
"They attack the chakra network? That's amazing." Sakura said.
"How does your taijustu work?" Naruto asked me.
"Hmm?" I looked over to him, "Oh, it's mainly just physical strength and speed, but with each punch or kick there is added chakra to intensify the blow. It's pretty barbaric if you watch it."
"I thought it was beautiful!" Lee exclaimed. I've never had anyone think my fighting was beautiful. Good form, yes, but beautiful?
We turned back to the match to see Neji strike Hinata's chest causing her to cough up blood. Hinata moved to strike Neji's face only for Neji to strike her arms first. "He was able to strike her chakra points halting her chakra flow. That is why Hinata's blows haven't caused any damage to Neji." Kakashi explained. "I can't even see chakra points with my Sharingan."
"The Byakugan seems to be a really advanced gekkei genkai." I muttered.
Hinata coughed up more blood, but she got back in her defensive stance and started throwing more punches Neji's way. She looked so fierce, she wasn't going to give up. She was doing good before Neji grabbed her arm and used his flat hand to land an upwards blow to her chin. She fell back a few steps, coughed, and regained her balance before rushing towards Neji again. Neji side stepped Hinata and landed another blow to Hinata's chest. She fell face first to the ground.
Hayate stepped out on the battlefield. "Since Hinata is unable to continue this match-"
Naruto was going to lean over the railing to shout when I stopped him. "Ketto what are you-"
"She's not unconscious!" I called out. I could feel Hinata's chakra, I couldn't see it like someone with the Byakugan could but I could still feel it and I know what I'm feeling right now. "I believe you all have underestimated Hinata, am I right Hinata?"
The girl moved and slowly brought herself to her knees. "Right!" she yelled. She pulled herself up to her feet with a bit of struggle.
"What are you doing?!" Neji yelled. "I can tell you can barely stand. You should just accept your defeat."
"I know you are suffering more than me. You care more about the main and side branches than I do." she said. Hinata should quit, I don't think her body can take another hit. The fact that she was able to last this long is admirable though.
Neji was furious, running towards Hinata. I believed he was going to deliver a killing blow to Hinata. Before he could reach Hinata, Gai put an arm around Neji's neck from behind, Kakashi had ahold of his right arm that was extended out towards Hinata, Kurenai who I found out was Hinata's sensei had ahold of Neji's left arm. I was also in this jumble of sensei's, I was in front of Neji with my arms wrapped around his waist, I was in a semi crouched position to brace myself to hold him in place. When I didn't have to, that was when I noticed the other sensei's.
"Neji, get ahold of yourself. You promised me that you wouldn't let this whole head family thing get you riled up." Gai said.
"Why are you and the other Jounin butting in, and you Ketto was it? This doesn't concern you. The head family gets special treatment huh?! Even foreigners are wanting to protect you." Neji growled.
"I don't know anything about your family." I started, my voice was low and had a darkness to it. "But what I do know is that my brother, a cold hearted rogue ninja from the hidden Mist village, wanted for the hundreds of people he murdered and his other crimes against the village. The one who taught me to be a ninja, he always came at me with the intent to kill but despite that he never would actually kill me." I paused for a second before looking up to Neji. "You are beneath even him, you are worse than trash, filth." My glare was so intense that he soon looked away.
Hinata gasped and coughed several times before falling to her back. She soon lost consciousness. Now Naruto was at her side. I let go of Neji, the other Jounin doing the same.
"Naruto, I have some advice for you." Neji called. Naruto looked to him wondering what he would have to say. "First, stop your cheering it's disgraceful of a shinobi. Second, once a failure always a failure."
Naruto rushed at him but was stopped by Lee. "I know Naruto, but remember there can not be any unsanctioned fights. Wait to see if you will face him in the finals."
"Alright, fine." Naruto grumbled.
Hinata coughed up blood while unconcious. Kurenai opened Hinata's sweatshirt to feel her chest. I don't know what she felt, but I could feel Hinata's remaining chakra was nearly gone. Kurenai looked to Neji.
"Don't glare at me, you should be trying to save her." Neji said.
Medical ninja rushed out with a stretcher. "I can't find a pulse. Quick, we have to get her to the emergency room!" They rushed Hinata to the emergency room leaving most of us in a state of shock.
Naruto turned to Neji. He held out his fist with some blood on it, I wasn't sure if it was his or some of Hinata's, but with the small pool of Hinata's blood on the floor I assumed it was hers, "I vow to win." It was directed to Neji as a promise, but even I doubted Naruto's ability to win that fight.
I was still close to Neji so he was the only one to hear me when I said, "If you happen to face off with me in the final round, I will beat you within an inch of your life like you have done to Hinata. That is a promise." I turned to go back up to the balcony, we still have another fight, Gaara and Lee's.
Lee stayed down on the battlefield and waited for Gaara to come down. It took Gaara no time at all, he quickly appeared across from Lee.
Up on the balcony I was next to Naruto, it was just the two of us. That is until Kankuro walked over, "Why are the two of you alone?" he asked.
"Hn," I looked over to him. He was trying to act all cool with his hands in the pockets of his jumpsuit. "Does it matter?"
"Well no, I just thought the two of you would like some company is all." he said.
"I guess you could watch with us." I said nonchalantly.
We watched Lee prepare himself for his fight with Gaara. "You know, I don't know what kind of moves the guy with the dumb haircut has got but it won't be enough to take down Gaara, not in this lifetime." Kankuro said.
"Wrong." Naruto said suddenly. "Lee's stronger than you think. You have no idea."
The cork on Gaara's gourd popped off. "Alright, if you are both ready, you may begin." Hayate said.
Lee ran towards Gaara jumping when he got closer to land a kick, "Leaf Hurricane!" The kick never landed, instead a wall of sand protected Gaara. The sand moved in front of Gaara and moved to fall on Lee like a wave of water would. Lee flipped backwards to give himself some distance. The sand started pouring back into Gaara's gourd.
Lee ran towards Gaara again this time sticking with punches. Only each punch was blocked by Gaara's sand too. Gaara sent his sand towards Lee, who pulled out a kunai to block.
"Hey he's using the sand as a shield!" Naruto exclaimed.
"He's not doing it, the sand is doing it of its own accord." Kankuro said. "It's almost like a living thing, it'll come to Gaara's defence without his doing anything. That's why Gaara's never been injured. No one can even get at him, no one's ever been able to touch him."
Lee took on a defensive stance. "Well, is that all?" Gaara asked. "I hope you haven't finished entertaining me. We haven't had enough blood." Gaara's sand rushed to Lee grabbing him by his right leg and throwing him around in the air before tossing him into a wall. Gaara's sand went to strike Lee, but Lee dodged and ran to Gaara throwing punches and kicks at him, each one was deflected by sand.
Lee slipped on some sand and fell. The sand converged on him making everyone believe he was hit, but he was rolling through the air in a ball. Then he landed on the top of a statue.
"Alright Lee, take them off!" Gai called to him.
"But sensei, you said that was only as a last resort when the lives of very important people were at stake!" Lee yelled back.
Gai raised a thumb up, "That's right I did, but this is an exception!"
"Really? Really?!" Lee sat down on top of the statue to pull off the orange leg warmers around his ankles to reveal some weights. He took them off and stood up again. "Much better now I am able to move freely." He let go of the weights causing them to fall. They connected with the ground leaving craters and lots of smoke.
"What?" I didn't mean it as a question, I just didn't see that coming.
Lee jumped down from his place on top of the statue and started attacking Gaara once again. This time he moved very fast, I would dare say he ran as fast as I do when I'm using Isobu's speed. Gaara's sand was doing it's best to protect him. Gaara didn't know where to look. Lee threw a kick down atop Gaara's head causing him to lose his balance.
"Woah, that's scary and I thought he was quick before. He's been that fast all this time?" Naruto said in awe.
Lee continued attacking leaving no time for Gaara to defend himself. Soon he had Gaara on the floor. Gaara pushed himself up, his sand continued to pour out of his gourd. As he stood Gaara kept his head down, I notice a big chunk of sand fall from his face.
"Wait a minute," I started, "Something's not right."
Gaara lifted his head showing that most of his body was covered in sand that was cracking. There was a creepy smile on his face showing that he was going to start losing control of his blood lust.
"What the heck is wrong with this guy, his face is falling off!" Naruto exclaimed. "I don't get it, is he made of sand or something? All of those blows and kicks Lee hit him with, did any of them get through?"
"No." Kankuro said. "It's like he's wearing a suit of armor. Ordinarily those shifting clouds of sand are enough to shield him, but in the event the shield is penetrated Gaara can also wear the sand as armor as a last line of defence."
"Really, does this guy have any weaknesses?!" Naruto shouted.
"I would say he has quite a few." I muttered.
"What do you mean by that Ketto?" Naruto asked. I could feel both him and Kankuro staring at me, so I looked to them.
"Think of the wasted chakra to hold the sand armor in place." I said. "Mitsuru's water dragon works the same way. He can only hold that mass for up to fifteen minutes, and it's less when it's frozen."
"Well is that all?" Gaara asked Lee. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Lee to make a move.
Lee started to unbind his bandages that were wound around his hands and forearms. He raised both arms and then started running in circles around Gaara. All that was seen was a ring of wind circulating around Gaara. Then Lee was throwing an uppercut under Gaara's chin, causing him to fly into the air. Lee followed throwing one kick after another to Gaara's stomach making Gaara fly further and further into the air. Lee's loosened bandaged wrapped around Gaara's body several times encasing his whole body. Lee took ahold of Gaara and started spinning then so that they would gain more momentum as they descended. "Primary Lotus!" They crashed into the ground leaving a large crater, when the smoke cleared Lee was kneeling outside of the crater and Gaara's body was in the center of it.
Gaara's body was unresponsive. Hayate walked closer to investigate to see pieces of Gaara's face falling away revealing a hollowed mass.
"Oh, it was a substitution jutsu." I said.
Gaara's form rose out of the surrounding sand, his sand armor cracked and I swear I heard a low chuckle. Gaara sent sand towards Lee that Lee dodged, but he wasn't able to block the second attack. Lee was sent to the floor. As he picked himself up Gaara was forming a large wave of sand to send towards Lee. Lee braced for it, the most he could do was block the attacks which kept coming at him. He didn't have the strength to continue. I thought he was done, I didn't really believe he would be conscious for much longer.
Then he started moving faster as if he wasn't sluggish before. I overheard Kakashi and Gai talking about the eight inner gates, something I've never heard of before. It sounded like if Lee opened anymore gates he would die.
Lee crossed his arms and the pressure increased around him, chakra was building rapidly. Lee put his arms to his side shouting, "The third gate, the gate of life, open!" Lee's face was red, the veins in his face enlarged. "The fourth gate, the gate of pain, open!" Lee ran at Gaara, the ground of the battlefield ripping out of place in chunks. Lee sent an uppercut to Gaara's chin with his foot. Wind and other debris fell on us. I closed my right eye and covered my left with my arm.
Lee ran at Gaara again punching him from place to place at supersonic speeds. Gaara couldn't keep up his defenses. I honestly didn't know if his sand armor would be able to withstand what it was going through. "The fifth gate, the gate of closing, open!" Lee punched Gaara in his abdomen with seemingly the same strength when I was punching Temari around. Though, before Gaara could touch the ground, Lee caught him with a piece of cloth that was wrapped around Gaara. He pulled Gaara back up and punched him again, "Hidden Lotus!"
There was an even bigger cloud of dust than before. I was able to make out Gaara's gourd cracking away and turning into sand. When the dust settled Gaara's body was cradled in sand. He couldn't move much, but he was able to raise his right arm. Sand followed it, Gaara directed the sands towards Lee that latched onto his left arm and leg. Lee was stuck and couldn't move from the energy he just used. Gaara clenched his fist, "Sand Coffin."
The sand that encased Lee's arm and leg looked to be crushed by the sand. Gaara let go and then sent all of his sand towards Lee, but it was deflected by Gai. I didn't understand why he would interfere.
"But why, he failed." Gaara said. "Why save him."
"Because he's my student and also because he is precious to me." Gai said.
Gaara turned and started walking away, "I quit."
"The winner is-" Hayate started, only what was happening behind Gai shocked even him. Lee was standing in a fighting stance. Blood was dripping from his injured arm and leg, but when I saw his eyes I noticed that he was unconscious.
"The winner is Gaara." Hayate declared.
Gai laid Lee down and waited for the medics to arrive. Before I could do anything, Naruto jumped over the railing and ran to Lee.
"Do you see that? Gaara can't comprehend how someone could care for another that much." Kankuro said. He looked to me with a serious face. "Our village has always seen him as a monster, no one was even able to get close to him. I'll admit that even I'm afraid of my own brother."
Gaara used his sand to appear next to me and Kankuro. It was quiet for a moment before I said anything. "I understand."
"Hn?" I heard come from Gaara.
"I understand how you feel. I've never witnessed someone care for another like how Gai cares for Lee. I've also never had someone care for me like that." I said. "The thing is that I can't even begin to understand a love like that." I care for my brother and uncle, but I could never imagine them in Lee's situation where they end up wanting to fight while they were unconscious so I would never be left with the decision to step in. "I honestly can't even recall a time that I've ever been hugged either. In Kirigakure everyone is standoffish, we don't display our emotions easily if at all."
"What are you saying?" Kankuro asked.
"We are no longer known to nations as the Bloody Mist, but in the land of water that is exactly what we are. We just changed our outward actions to other nations to uphold a better image." I explained. "The truth is that Gaara wouldn't cut it in the land of water." I turned to Gaara. "You felt something while witnessing that display of affection, I saw it. In Kirigakure if anyone were to see that they would call you weak."
"Hey now, wait just a minute." Kankuro butt in. Stepping in front of Gaara. "You just saw him fight, he's not weak. He's not even injured."
"At least you care about him enough to defend him even after you admitted you were terrified of him. I've never had that. My own brother was the one to pit me against killers to build up my strength. He never did know how to care for anyone but himself." I said this all with a nonchalant air about me. "Also, incase if you haven't noticed. I walked myself out of your sisters cyclone and I don't have a single scratch either."
Kankuro seemed to realize what I just said, "You shouldn't have been able to walk out of it. How did you do it?"
"Extensive training with the seven ninja swordsmen for the majority of my life." I replied. "It's pretty intense." I looked away from him until I remembered. "Oh, I send you my condolences."
"What for?" Kankuro growled.
"For Temari, I may have broken several of her ribs." I touched the blood soaked into the bandages on my right hand. "If the medics didn't get her to the operating room right away her chest cavity would have collapsed in on itself. She's probably fighting for her life right now." I averted my eyes from the blood. As an afterthought I added, "I suppose that condolences can extend to the two sand ninja that are either already dead or dying in the infirmary from an unknown source. I believe the girls name is Akari."
"What the hell did you do to them." Kankuro grit his teeth. "Not even Gaara would do that, he would just kill someone outright."
"So I was right, Gaara is a killer." I muttered. "I suppose it's a bad habit of my brothers that I picked up on, he always like to play around with his victims." I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm sure I'll get out of that habit at some point."
"And with that the preliminaries are over." Hayate announced. "I commend all of those who will be proceeding to the final round of the Chunin exams. Well there's a few people missing, but still."
"And now I will begin the explanation of the final rounds." the Hokage announced. "In the final round each of you will put your battle skills on display. You'll demonstrate the control you have obtained through your respective , the final battles will commence on month from now."
"Wait, you mean we're not doing them now?" Naruto asked.
"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation." the Hokage responded.
"What do you mean by that?" Neji asked.
"Simply this, in order to present the conclusion of the exams to each leader we must also prepare and distribute the summons for the final examination. You also need time to prepare." the Hokage said.
"I still don't understand." Kankuro said.
"To prepare yourselves you'll need time. Now that you know what each other is capable of we are giving you the month to learn more tricks and to rest. But there is one more matter we must take care of first. Anko has a box with slips of paper in it containing your names, she'll come around for you to pick one." the Hokage gestured to Anko.
"I'll come around to you, only take one." Anko announced. She stopped in front of me and I pick a paper. I opened it to see the number six. "You should choose one for each of your teammates too but don't open them until we tell you." I picked two more and held them.
When we all had one Ibiki stepped up, "Going from left to right tell us your number."
We all revealed our numbers, "And for Mitsuru Onishi?" Ibiki asked.
I opened one of them to see, "Nine."
"Jiro Matsuo?"
"Ten." I said.
"Alright, everyone has their lots. The only missing one is number four for Sasuke." the Hokage said. "Now to explain the final round, Ibiki." Ibiki turned the clipboard he was holding around. "One will go against two, three and four, excetera. These are your lots for the final matches."
Number five is Kankuro. I looked to see him with his mouth hanging open and a look of slight fear in his eyes. That match should be easy enough.
"I have a question." Shikamaru said.
"Go on." the Hokage urged.
"If this is going to be a tournament does that mean only one person can win and become a Chunin?" he asked. I was a good question I suppose, I wasn't all that concerned about it though.
"Actually, it's quite the contrary. There will be several judges including myself, the Kazekage, the Mizukage and the leaders of our lands. Through this tournament your abilities will be tested, even if you lose you could still become Chunin, but it could also go the other way around. Now we will depart until next month, you may now go." the Hokage dismissed us.
I went straight back to the apartment that I stayed at with my team. I went straight to my room on my own. I didn't bother to go to the hospital to see Jiro, anything that I would want to say to him he wouldn't hear anyway. It will have to wait for when I see him in the morning.
Upon entering my room I removed Kukoshibyo from my belt on my back and face planted into my bed. I didn't get any sleep in the five days I spent in the Forest of Death. I couldn't really find it in myself to care to change clothes or my bandages, I'll just do that in the morning too. I fell into a dreamless sleep right away, not even caring that it was only midday. I told myself I wouldn't worry about anything until morning.
