"Well, looks like I don't need to report you missing after all," Kakashi drawled the moment I reappeared in Konoha. I blinked in surprise.
"Were you waiting for me here?"
"Not for long. I knew you'd come back to the same location from which you left, so I decided to meet you here. Don't worry, I wasn't bored, I have my favourite book." He shook the porn he was reading in emphasis. "Since you were gone for so long, I assume it went well?"
"You're looking at the first fox summoner in thirteen years." For a brief moment, something resembling a mixture of surprise and nostalgia flashed in his visible eye, before his ordinary nonchalance returned.
"Foxes? I was expecting hawks or snakes. You don't seem like the type."
"Yeah, they were really pissed off about Hokage-sama not introducing them to Naruto, but they were happy to make do with me instead." Kakashi's eye narrowed.
"How long have you known?"
"About Naruto having 'it'? Long enough." I shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. Someone should tell him about his clan and his mother, though."
"Hokage-sama intends to tell him when he becomes a chuunin."
"Good, so it'll be soon enough, then." I sat down to take off the weights I had been wearing for the last month, tossing them aside and creating sizeable dents in the ground where they landed. "Kami, that's so much better," I said, stretching out my muscles. Standing back up, I gave a few rapid punches and kicks to test out my speed. Satisfied that I had definitely attained a dramatic improvement, I cracked my knuckles and grinned at my sensei, Sharingan blazing. "Time for some payback."
Ten minutes later, we both stood panting, surrounded by scorched earth from our fire and lightning jutsu. Kakashi lowered his headband to cover his Sharingan, while I deactivated mine. He had definitely put in a lot more effort than back when we did the bell test, but I still hadn't managed to land a clean hit on him. I had made it out without taking any clean hits either, though.
"You've improved much more than I expected," he complemented me. "Whatever training you did with the foxes has certainly paid off. You're definitely ready for the finals."
"Thank you, Sensei." I wiped the sweat from my brow. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've spent two weeks wearing the same set of clothes, so I'm going to pick some more up from home and head to the hot springs."
After destroying my muscles with those damn weights and having nothing but cold river water to wash up in for two weeks, sinking into the water at the hot springs felt heavenly. All the aches and pains I had built up through the training from hell seemed to just float away.
"Makoto?" I opened one eye to see Sakura entering the spring and coming to sit beside me.
"Sakura. How's your training been going?"
"Intense, but I think I've got a good chance of beating that Temari girl now. What about you? Where have you been for the last two weeks? I haven't seen you."
"Special training outside Konoha. It's been awful."
"It can't have been that bad, surely?" I gave her a flat look.
"Kakashi-sensei had me wearing special training weights multiple times heavier than I am all month. I wasn't allowed to take them off, even to sleep." Sakura winced. "On the plus side," I continued, "now I can summon foxes." She was quiet for a moment before speaking up in a concerned tone.
"Naruto had a run in with Gaara-san while you were gone. It really freaked him out. Can you beat that guy?"
"With how fast I can move now? I've got it covered, don't worry about it. Worst comes to worst, I'll summon the Boss Fox to kick his arse. Guy's the size of a house." That seemed to reassure her. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know any good tailors around here, would you?"
"Tailors?"
"Yeah, there's going to be nobles from all over watching the finals. Figure I should try to stand out, make an impression, you know?" She smiled.
"I think I know a place."
That night, before going to bed, I carried out the first step of my plan for the invasion by making a Shadow Clone who, without a word, transformed into a raven and took off. She wouldn't be necessary until the invasion started, but doing this now would allow me to regain the spent chakra overnight.
On the day of the finals, all of the contestants were gathered in the arena to greet the roaring crowd.
Except one.
"Where the hell is Makoto-chan?" Naruto wondered aloud. "Sakura, do you know?"
"No. I saw her yesterday, though, and she was pretty confident, so I'm surprised she's not here. Maybe she's taking after Sensei?" Right on cue, a series of smoke bombs went off in the arena, throwing up clouds of purple and black smoke.
"Come on, guys," a girl's voice drawled from within the smokescreen. "You didn't think I'd miss my big moment, did you?" The cloud cleared to reveal a figure wearing a purple hooded cloak with a black flame motif. They pulled back their hood to reveal a familiar head of dark blue hair and dark eyes that shone with proud confidence, the brief opening of their cloak revealing a purple shirt and black pants beneath.
"Makoto-chan!"
Well, she did say she wanted to make an impression, Sakura reminded herself.
"Troublesome," was all Shikamaru had to say. Hayate Gekkou shook his head at the Uchiha's showing off.
"Well, looks like everyone's finally here," he commented. "So take it all in. This is your time to shine, after all." Most of the genin seemed to bask in the attention of the crowd, though a few seemed unenthused. From up in the Kage observation box, the Third Hokage made a short speech.
"Ladies, and gentlemen," he bellowed proudly, "honoured guests of Konohagakure no Sato, we thank you all for making the trip here to observe the finals of the chuunin selection exams! These fine shinobi have all fought hard for the right to be considered for promotion to the rank of chuunin! So please, sit back and enjoy the competition between the very best young ninja the Elemental Nations have to offer!"
"Alright, listen up," Gekkou told the genin, "the rules here are basically the same as the preliminaries. No restrictions, you fight until one party either concedes or is rendered unable to continue. Just as before, I will try to prevent unnecessary deaths, but there are no guarantees. So if you think you might be in a position where you could die, I strongly suggest you surrender. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Alright then. Everyone except Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee is to make their way to the stands."
Up in the Kage viewing box, Sarutobi Hiruzen welcomed A, the Raikage of Kumogakure, and Rasa, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, to the village.
Except that 'Rasa' was actually a disguised Orochimaru, about to sit right next to him and seemingly completely unaware that Hiruzen knew who he really was.
It was difficult for him to remain calm and behave cordially towards his murderous former student, whose atrocities he still partially blamed himself for. If only he had noticed earlier what was going on, if only he had killed the traitor on that fateful night so long ago.
He had to put those feelings aside for just a little longer.
The Raikage was the first to enter the booth, accompanied by one of his advisors and bodyguards, a blonde man named C.
"Raikage-dono, I hope Konoha has treated you well. How was the journey from Kumo?"
"Uneventful, Hokage-dono. I look forward to seeing how my kunoichi performs."
"Such a shame that only one of your genin made the finals," a third, smooth voice spoke as the 'Kazekage' entered the booth as well. "Two of my own children will be participating in this stage. Fortunately for you, neither of them are facing your girl in the first round."
"Kazekage-dono." Hiruzen spoke before A could take the bait. "I trust the trip from Suna was not too difficult?"
"The deserts are always harsh and difficult, but it was no trouble for me. However, were the exams taking place in my village, I suspect the journey would be hard on your old bones, Hokage-dono. Have you considered naming a successor yet?"
"Bah, I'm not quite that old just yet. I fully intend to be around for many years to come."
"So you say. Has there been any word yet about my missing man?"
"I'm afraid not, Kazekage-dono. Baki-san's disappearance is still under investigation. You have my deepest apologies. I will ensure you are informed as soon as any information is uncovered."
"I thank you for your consideration. Now, shall we settle down and enjoy the show?"
In the shadows behind the Kage, Jiraiya grit his teeth beneath his Anbu disguise. Just a little longer, and that bastard would be dead, either by his hands or those of his sensei.
Rock Lee took a deep breath to try and calm himself. It's not that he was especially nervous, more that he was excited. Here, in front of all these people, he would prove once and for all both to Neji and to everyone watching that he, too, could be a splendid shinobi, even without ninjutsu or genjutsu.
"You should surrender, Lee," Neji suggested in his arrogance. "Surrender and save yourself the pain of proving that you are, and will always be, a failure."
"You know that I cannot do that, Neji. I understand why you believe the way that you do, but I will never agree with you. I truly believe that, through nothing more than hard work, even a failure such as I can overcome a born genius such as yourself, and now I will prove that to you." Leaning down, he removed the training weights from his legs, immediately feeling the relief. The chatter in the crowd was briefly silenced and gasps echoed throughout the stadium when he tossed them aside, throwing up great clouds of dust. "Proctor, I am ready to begin."
"As am I," Neji agreed. Hayate nodded.
"The first match of the chuunin exam finals!" he called out to the crowd. "Hyuuga Neji of Konoha vs. Rock Lee of Konoha! Begin!"
Neji took up his juuken stance and waited, expecting Lee's usual rush. Instead, the latter stood up straight and took a deep breath.
"Guy-sensei, the condition has been met. Please watch me as I protect my shinobi way." He focused his chakra, forcing it to move through a specific location in his brain with nothing more than sheer willpower. "The first gate! Kaimon: Kai!"
"Guy, you didn't!"
"Yes, Kakashi, I did!"
"If that isn't the most irresponsible-!" Kakashi cut himself off with a deep breath. "How many?"
"Five."
"The second gate! Kyumon: Kai!" Lee called out down below. Through my Sharingan, I saw his chakra spike massively with both gates.
"What's going on, Sensei? What's Lee-san doing?" Sakura asked.
"He's opening the Eight Gates." Kakashi explained the gates to my teammates while I watched Lee focus his power, unable to keep myself from smiling.
Go, Lee.
"The third gate! Seimon: Kai!" Hot blood rushed through Lee's body, flushing his skin read. The sheer density of chakra being released was causing pebbles and blades of grass to float around him. Neji's Byakugan eyes were wide in shock.
"Konoha Senpuu!" Like a bolt of lightning, Lee struck hard, launching Neji back with a pair of spinning kicks to his stomach. Then, making use of his massive speed, he rushed around behind his foe and landed a palm strike to his back that sent him rolling along the ground. Neji shakily pushed himself up, coughing, and took a moment to catch his breath before attempting to attack with juuken strikes.
Lee easily dodged them all, and struck back with a powerful fist to the face that almost snapped Neji's neck. He rushed in for another strike, and the Hyuuga, a panicked look on his face, tried his only possible defence, a technique Lee had never seen him use before.
"Hakkeshou Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!" Spinning rapidly, Neji released chakra from every tenketsu in his body at once and used the speed of its rotation to form a barrier, which was actually strong enough to block Lee's attack and force him back.
Hiashi Hyuuga's eyes went wide at the sight of Neji performing the Kaiten.
Hizashi, you truly should have been the firstborn, he thought sadly.
On the ground, Neji's Rotation proved itself time and again to be up to the task of stopping Third Gate Lee's strikes, and Neji was regaining his confidence.
This technique of his is tearing his muscles apart, he realised, seeing the damage in real-time through his Byakugan. I just need to hold on until he wears himself out. Lee, I'll admit that you have impressed me, but fate cannot be resisted.
"It would seem that the Gate of Life is not enough! Very well, I will show you my true ability!"
There's more!? Impossible! The smirk that had been returning to Neji's lips died when Lee opened up some distance and began building up chakra again.
"The fourth gate! Shoumon: Kai! The fifth gate! Tomon: Kai!"
If Neji had not started the Kaiten as soon as he saw Lee's chakra spike in his spinal column, he would not have been able to react fast enough to pull it off. This time, Lee was not immediately repelled by the barrier. In fact, as he continued to push against it, it became apparent that he was absolutely going to break it.
It can't be! How can he be this strong!? The Kaiten failed, the barrier exploding in a burst of chakra as Lee's fist rocketed towards his face. Was I wrong? That was the last thought that went through Neji's mind before he was rendered unconscious by blunt-force trauma to the head.
"Hyuuga Neji is unable to continue. The winner of the first match is Rock Lee!" The crowd went absolutely wild as the green-clad youth fell to his knees, the power of the Gates fading.
"A truly exceptional performance!" A exclaimed, deeply impressed with the boy's taijutsu prowess.
"Indeed," Hiruzen agreed, "but I am not convinced that he is ready for the rank of chuunin. He was far too eager to use a jutsu that rendered him unable to continue the tournament. A leader should not put themselves in a position that will prevent them from continuing their mission so readily."
"I concur," the fake Kazekage added. "And I believe it is clear that the Hyuuga boy, despite his talent, is not ready for such a role either."
Lee,I thought as the medics carried both combatants from the arena, you are one terrifying guy.
"That was awesome, dattebayo! Lee destroyed Neji-teme!" I smiled as the other genin present acknowledged Lee's brilliance. Even Temari and Karui seemed impressed, though I imagined the former was mostly just glad he would be too injured to join the Leaf in defending against the invasion. On the subject of the invasion, I noticed that the entire crowd – with the exception of the visiting nobles, who had their own separate viewing area – was composed of nothing but shinobi.
They're keeping the civilians safe. Good, so they do have a plan. I used the intermission between rounds to discretely ask Kakashi for a word, and we moved away from the others. "Suna and Oto invade today, don't they?" He nodded.
"They do. It's supposed to happen after the final round, when people start to leave the stadium, to take advantage of the choke points around the entrances."
"What's our part in this?"
"If you're injured from the fighting, you'll be in the medical bay where Kurenai-san will be standing guard. Otherwise you may have to engage in the battle, though you genin will likely be sent to aid in getting the civilian population to the shelters beneath the Hokage monument."
"Understood." I glanced over at the Kage viewing box.
"Don't worry about Hokage-sama," Kakashi said reassuringly. "He may be old, but he's still the strongest of the five Kage, and he'll have backup. You just focus on your match, you can worry about the invasion when it happens."
"Right."
"It's time for the second match!" I heard Gekkou announce. "Will Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha and Nara Shikamaru of Konoha please enter the arena!" We headed back to the viewing area just in time for me to give Naruto a high five on his way down.
"Uzumaki? He doesn't look like one of them," A mused upon hearing the competitor's names. "He does look familiar, though…"
"The boy was made an orphan by the Kyuubi attack, and his parents are unknown," Hiruzen lied in an attempt to protect Naruto's parentage. "He was found wrapped in a blanket with the Uzumaki crest on it, hence the name." Thankfully, A seemed to accept that explanation.
Shikamaru was not enthusiastic about this fight. Not that he was ever enthusiastic about fights, but this one would likely be particularly troublesome. Frankly, he had no idea how he was supposed to beat someone like Naruto. After seeing the blonde produce ten Shadow Clones at once and still have enough chakra for a powerful wind jutsu, he knew one thing for certain: Naruto had freakish chakra reserves. More than enough to easily break out of his Shadow Imitation jutsu. Then there was that comment his teammate had made in passing during the preliminaries.
'I was thinking we were more like 'Team Colossal Explosion', but we used all our paper bombs during the second exam.'
Shadow Clones, wind release, and paper bombs. How troublesome. He reached into his pouch, where he had prepared some explosives of his own. He would need to use all his resources carefully in this fight.
"Are both contestants ready?"
"Hell yeah, dattebayo!"
"I guess so."
"Then let the second match begin!"
Predictably, Naruto opened by crossing his fingers in the clone seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Shikamaru sweatdropped as more than twenty clones appeared around their master.
How much chakra does he have!? As the Clones charged, he hopped back and carefully threw a handful of kunai with explosive tags wrapped around the handles, spread out in such a way as to maximise the blast coverage. With a thunderous roar, the entire mob of Clones was destroyed. "Kagemane no Jutsu."
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Exactly as expected. The smoke cleared, and Naruto's new batch of Clones were all stood perfectly still. Before they could flex their considerable chakra and break out, Shikamaru started throwing wild punches and kicks, causing the clones to dispel eachother. When only one remained, he released it and quickly nailed it with a shuriken.
Only then did he realise the original was gone.
Hearing a noise from behind him, he turned and tossed a brace of kunai, intercepting the Shuriken Naruto had thrown. He then began tossing more knives at Naruto's feet, forcing the blonde to keep dodging.
Just a little further to the right…
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Perfect! He made a seal of confirmation with his left hand, and the carefully-spaced field of kunai surrounding Naruto exploded, only for him to come flying out of the smoke, apparently thrown by his clones just before the blast. Naruto landed and charged him frontally. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" Success, Naruto stopped barely a metre from his position. He was about to make a finishing move, when he noticed something stuck to his opponent's pants, and his eyes widened. Naruto grinned.
"Boom." The explosion knocked Shikamaru on his arse.
Suicide Clones, he realised. Should have guessed. He looked up to see that he was now surrounded by Narutos, and sighed. Surrounded, out of explosives, with no support. Hopefully I did well enough that no one will blame me for this. He slowly raised his hands. "I surrender. You got me, Naruto-san. Good match."
"That lazy bum!" Ino fumed, watching Naruto's clones disappear and both genin make the seal of reconciliation before heading back towards the stands.
"That's Shikamaru for ya," Chouji commented, shoving more crisps into his mouth.
"Uzumaki was impressive," the 'Kazekage' commented, "but I'm not sure I've seen enough to recommend him for chuunin just yet." Hiruzen hated to agree with his errant student, but he was right in this instance.
"Nara-san controlled that match the entire time," he mused. "And he knew when to give up. I would happily recommend him for promotion."
"Agreed. The Nara boy should be promoted, and we'll see more of the Uzumaki in his next fight."
"A shinobi should always finish the mission," A disagreed. "The boy gave up too quickly."
"Sometimes a mission is hopeless, and to continue would only be a waste of lives and resources," retorted Hiruzen. "Nara-san knows his limits, and knew he was beaten. There is no shame in retreating, regrouping, and trying again another time. It can take years for shinobi to learn this lesson. Some never do."
"Shall we shelve this discussion for later?" 'Rasa' suggested. "The next match will begin soon, and I do not see you two coming to an accord before them." The others agreed, and they turned their attention back to the arena.
Naruto and I bumped fists when he returned.
"Nice work, Naruto. Now I definitely can't let myself lose. It's gotta be Team Seven in the three-way final round, right?"
"Hell yeah, dattebayo!" His happy expression turned to one of worry. "But be careful against Gaara-san, alright?"
"I will, don't worry about me. Sakura said you had a run in with him?"
"Right," he nodded. "I was visiting Hinata-chan at the hospital, and he… He was hanging around, mumbling something about proving his existence. I thought maybe if I talked to him, figured out why he is the way he is, I could help him or something." He shuddered. "He thinks he needs to kill people to prove his life has value." I laid a hand on his shoulder, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Hayate soon called for my presence.
"Uchiha Makoto of Konoha and Sabaku no Gaara of Suna, please report to the arena."
"Looks like I'm up. If you need to talk sometime, then Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and I are all here for you, you know? And don't forget Hinata-san, Iruka-sensei, and the old man, either."
"Yeah. Thanks, Makoto-chan." He seemed a little brighter as I headed off for the stairs.
"Makoto!" Sakura called after me, "good luck!"