The next day,
Team 7 was in front of the Hokage with Teams 6.
"So, you're sure you were attacked by Orochimaru?" the 3rd asked
"Yea, he had white skin, yellow eyes and long hair. That's the snake bastard in that photo you're showing me" Naruto said with his eyes squinted and his arms folded.
Hiruzen ran his hands through his beard and then he relaxed.
"And you said he bit Sozu and Sasuke?"
"Yea, but I rejected his cursed seal" Sasuke said
"Right, and somehow, you contracted the rinnegan" he said looking at the left eye of the Uchiha boy
"Must've been a side-effect" Sasuke said with his hands in his pockets.
Hiruzen sighed as he looked at Sasuke.
"And you don't feel any chakra disruption like Sozu?"
"No, I'm fine. If anything my chakra feels even more fluid. I feel like I have more control" Sasuke said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and looking at them.
"What will happen to Sozu?" Akino asked
"Currently, he is on the way to have his curse mark sealed. I thought of having Sasuke's rinnegan sealed, but I believe that might be a mistake so we will have you under watch"
Said Uchiha nodded
"Will he be able to rejoin our team?" Mina asked
"Yes, but he will need rest after his curse mark is sealed" Hiruzen said
Mina nodded
"You are dismissed. You all may get some rest and or train. You have 4 days until the next exam" he said
The teams were dismissed and they made their way out of the office. Sasuke was walking with his team until he saw his father and Itachi. They both looked at him with widened eyes. He turned to his team and waved them off.
"Father, brother, what're you doing here?" he asked with a raised eyebrow
"We came when we heard what happened with Orochimaru. But, this….you've…developed the rinnegan"
"Yea, guess that would worry me too" Sasuke said
Itachi smiled at his younger brother and spoke up.
"You've come out of this better than I thought you would. But, after all the training and testing of your resolve, I suppose this is to be expected"
Sasuke smirked at his brother's words.
"Humph, thank you brother"
Fugaku smirked at his two sons and spoke.
"You've come a long way Sasuke. And from what I can see now, is that you will be catching up to myself, Itachi and Shisui soon"
"Yes, and very soon you'll be able to show what you've got in the 3rd exam" Itachi said
"What's the next faze?"
"It's a single shinobi event. That's all I'll tell you" Itachi said
Sasuke huffed in annoyance while his father and brother laughed at him.
Sozu stood in a sealing room with Genma. He was sitting in the middle of several sealing kanji as they stretched from the floor to his actual body.
"Sensei, are you sure I can't use this power? I don't feel weak from using it. If anything, I feel more powerful when I use it." Sozu said
"No, trust me. This seal is made of 3 seals. One holds a piece of Orochimaru's soul, a chakra enhancing seal and a along with a slave binding seal. It will slowly wither away who you are." Genma said.
Sozu nodded hesitantly as he felt a bit of rage ping through him. His eyes were squinted as he felt the pain of the evil containment seal bind to his cursed seal.
"Graaaaauughhh!"
His scream echoed through the sealing room until it stopped and he fell to the ground. Genma sighed at his student as he fell to the floor. The seal would only be as strong as his will to rely on his own strength. Suddenly he tensed as he heard footsteps walking behind him.
"You're an interesting one Genma Shiranui. You've grown since I last saw you my dear student."
Genma turned around with a stoic expression on his face while he chewed a senbon.
"What do you want with him? I heard you were after him and Sasuke Uchiha. What for? Are you still going on about being immortal?" Genma said as he relaxed his posture.
"What good would knowing that do you? It would be in your best interest to let me leave with that boy kukuku"
Genma swished his senbon in his mouth as his eyes narrowed. Orochimaru's smile turned into a frown as he spoke his next words.
"You were always a rebellious child aren't you?" he smirked again
Killing intent began to flood the room, causing Genma to twitch but he remained calm. His face did not betray his facade, neither did his twitch. If anything he looked to simply be ready for anything. He had felt multiple killing intents to make him stronger and his teachers would be no different.
"Hmmm, you seem to be holding up well to my presence. Perhaps I underestimated you. Let's find out, '' Orochimaru said and began to step forward.
Genma leapt into action as he pulled out a scroll, opening it and channeling chakra into the seal. A fuma shuriken popped out and he threw it at his sensei putting his hands in the cross seal, then he turned it into 20. The Sannin dodged as he jumped and ended up on the ceiling with a smirk. He drew a kunai from his sleeve with a paper bomb string tied to it. Genm hurried up to grab Sozu and leapt towards the door where he could see the dead anbu. The kunai hit the ground and the explosion pushed him through the door and he made his way out of the sealing room and dashed forward to get away from Orochimaru. Genma with an unconscious Sozu slung over his shoulder pulled out several smoke bombs and began to drop them. As he made his way through the Leaf sealing center he channeled his chakra into his feet as his steps became faster and he became a blur.
"Dammit, of all the times for him to show up." He said as he turned in another corridor in the hallway he saw a few chunin running in his direction. I was Izumo and Iruka.
"You two, get out of here stat! Orochimaru is lurking around back there"
The two nodded and the 3 of them plus a sleeping Sozu began to run through the hallway, doing their best to make it to the exit before Orochimaru caught up to them, but soon he burst through the walls as he threw a hail of shuriken and kunai at Iruka and Izumo who were a bit worse for wear as they barely dodged the blades, receiving crucial wounds that weren't serious but impair their movement.
They both leapt back in front of Genma in a desperate attempt to defend him. Genma lie Sozu down and made a shadow clone to carry him and spoke up to Iruka and Izumo.
"You two, run with my Shadow clone and take the long way out. Get him to the hospital and let lord Hokage know what's going on." Genma said as he took the senbon he chewed on and threw it at Orochimaru who lazily dodged it.
The Shadow clone picked up Sozu as Iruka and Izumo nodded and followed it. Orochimaru kept his smirk as he watched them leave.
"Come now Genma, when have you known me to be sloppy? I left an earth clone for them in case of kukuku. Now, let us resume our battle my student. I wonder how much you've improved" he said as his voice got lower and his tongue began to stretch out of his mouth as he drew another kunai.
Genma held senbon in his hands at the ready with a sneer on his face.
"I'll deal with you then deal with your clone" he said as he channeled fire chakra into his senbon.
Then time Genma took a step and put his left hand in the ram seal as he channeled his chakra into a ram seal casting a genjutsu subtly. Orochimaru smirked and blurred out of existence and appeared behind Genma swiping.
"You thought that your Genjutsu would stop ME!"
The chunin ducked and threw his flaming senbon at Orochimaru who bent back inhumanely. He lifted his body to mule kick Genma sending him flying and he tumbled away. He rebounded and landed on his feet spinning around to draw a hail of senbon.
"Foolish, this is all you have for me? A mere distraction?" He asked in disgust.
Genma threw his senbon in volleys at Orochimaru who weaved past them all. Genma drew a kunai and clashed with his teachers as they went through a flurry of clashes, clanging through the hallway. Orochimaru parried his kunai swipe and kicked him in the stomach, sending him skidding on his feet.
"Urgh!" he grunted in pain as he chewed on a senbon and dodged another swipe from Orochimaru.
He knew he had a slim chance to escape his teacher, but he knew the man was still his superior. He thought maybe that would eventually change, if he didn't do anything. He would undergo some serious training after this, he wasn't rusty, just not enough to beat his sensei. After dodging a purposefully extended swipe, he smirked and jumped back, throwing his kunai at Orochimaru and spitting his senbon out towards his charging sensei. Orochimaru spun out of the way and threw his own kunai at Genma, who leaned out of the way mid jump.
"Genma, I'm disappointed in you. Is this all you have for me?"
Said jonin grimaced as he went through hand seals and breath out
"Firestyle: Dragons Breath!" and he blew out a wide flaming torrent blew towards the pale skinned man.
Orochimaru smirked as he sank into the ground. Genma smirked as he went through more hand signs and placed his hand on the ground.
'He thinks I've just been lounging around does he'
"Firestyle: Piercing Inferno Spikes!"
A chain of flaming explosions went off from the ground as fire blew up from geysers out of the ground around him and throughout the area around him.
"AAAAAUUUUUUGHHHHH!"
Orochimaru yelled as he jumped out with several horrible burns landing a ways away from Genma. He grimaced in pain and he opened his mouth inhumanely wide as a pair of hands grabbed his lips from inside his mouth and Orochimaru crawled out of himself with a smirk. The Inferno sparks began to pitter out from the geysers and Genma looked in a bit of shock and disgust.
"Good. Good. I was getting disappointed." he said as a snake began to crawl of of his sleeve
"Tch, you ... .what did you do to yourself?" he said as he drew his hands preparing to go through hand seals.
Orochimaru flung his hand towards Genma.
"Striking Shadow Snakes!" as two snakes lunged at his opponent.
Genma dodged and drew a kunai to go in to stab Orochimaru. The Sannin dodged and kicked at Genma who blocked as he staggered into a wall, creating an indent.
"RRrrrrrrghhhh!" he grunted as he powered through the pain as he moved forward, jumping up, slapping a paper tag on the ceiling, landing and running forward with his hand in the ram seal.
"KAI!" he yelled as the force from the explosion hit him from behind and pushed him forward.
He landed on his feet and ran through the pain as chunks of the ceiling blocked the path of his teacher. Smoke and dust filled the hallway as he ran forward from the battle scene. He ran forward and ducked as Orochimaru stabbed at him with a kunai as he used the Hiding in the surface technique.
"Dammit!" Genma said as a lock of his hair was nicked away.
He was forced to jump back as he smirked and threw down a smoke bomb and he ran towards the direction Iruka and Izumo went in. He put his hand in the ram seal as the walls exploded blocking the way for Orochimaru to follow him. He had placed paper bomb tags as he ran away from his sadistic sensei. His body flickered away from the scene as he moved with his full speed.
"Hopefully that Snake is held back a bit" he said running forward.
A few minutes passed and he saw the exit. But as he saw the exit, he saw a beaten, cut up and bruised Iruka and Izumo.
'Che, this isn't good' he thought as he saw them barely standing with Orochimaru's clone standing before them.
Genma went through hand signs as he ran forward jumping past Iruka and Izumo. Sozu was lying up against the wall.
"Firestyle: Scathing Torrent!" he yelled as he also blew out a narrow yet defined wave of flames, pressurized to cut through the snake. That it did as it tore through him and he turned into mud.
"GET SOZU AND GO!" he yelled at Izumo and Iruka
They complied and ran as Genma faced the dark hall of the building as he was standing calmly waiting for his sensei to come out. He suddenly leapt out of the way as he heard a giant explosion and he jumped back to see Orochimaru atop a giant snake. He landed as he realized he was in over his head at this point. He knew Iruka and Izumo were still in the area.
"Its…no use!" he said as he dropped to his ass leaning on his hands as he stared death in the face
"Hmmm, I didn't expect this. Have you truly given up?" he asked with an evil smirk miring his face.
Genma was silent as he huffed and looked up at Orochimaru with a defeated look in his eyes.
"How uninteresting." Orochimaru scoffed as he willed the snake to press on and attack. Genma closed his eyes as he smirked and accepted it.
'At least…I…. Died….protecting my student…"he said to himself
Suddenly he felt a strong *whoosh* brush past him. He paused as his body tensed.
"Hey, on your feet!" he heard a gruff voice
Genma opened his eyes to see Vegeta in his leaf ninja uniform with a white sleeveless haori, blue baggy pants, white boots with yellow rings on the tips. Vegeta's fist was buried into the nose of the beast as Orochimaru dodged and he landed 12 feet away from Vegeta. He narrowed his eyes at the Saiyan in annoyance.
"I hope you're ready to defeat me and fight someone who can contest you"
Vegeta smirked as a blue aura began to emit and dance around his body. His ki began to weigh on his opponent and Orochimaru's eyes widened.
Orochimaru took a step back as he grimaced and snarled as his summon disappeared. He put his hands in the ram seal as he began to burn away in a body flicker. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he looked at Orochimaru with disgust.
"So the snake only reveals his head when he has an enemy he can defeat?" he said with a smirk replacing his frown.
"I'll make sure you pay for interfering with my plans, Saiyan!" he yelled
Genma passed out and fell forward. He was caught by Fugaku Uchiha and pursued the enemies with hims.
"Looks like he doesn't take too kindly losing even to his students"
Vegeta looked back at Genma in a bit of shock but it shortly went away as he stopped caring.
"Che, as long as he lives. We'll catch the snake eventually" Vegeta said
Xxx
Naruto sat with Hinata atop the tower. They looked out at the forest covered in the morning sun. Her hand was interlocked with his as he had a blush on his face with a nervous smile. Hinata had something similar miring her face as she blushed harder than him.
"H-hey, Hinata, we've come a long way in such a short time haven't we?" He asked
She nodded at him as she smiled in memory of their first d-rank to their first c-rank turned a-rank. Then the second mission right after that was another a- rank that ended with everyone living in. The end she knew how far she came as her blush disappeared and she had a smile on her face. She realized she was so far ahead of who she used to be within just a month and a half.
"Y-yes, we're so much stronger than what we were. It's almost…unbelievable. But, we've made it this far because of our determination" she said
Naruto nodded his head and pulled Hinata in close as she began to lean her head on his shoulder.
"And, we'll continue to grow stronger, together and protect the ones we love" Naruto said
Hinata turned and kissed him on the cheek as she returned her head to his shoulder. Soon they were relaxing in one anothers embrace. But Naruto couldn't help but think about those strange creatures that he and Trunks had come across on their way to the Hidden Waterfall village. He knew that whoever wanted the Saiyans gone would eventually come after him and his family.
'Brat, it's time we focus on mastering that Saiyan heritage of yours. That plus my power will equal something truly powerful' Kurama said as he spoke up through the seal link between the two
Xxx
Jiraiya stood atop the Leaf Hospital building with his arms folder and a grim look on his face. He heard footsteps walking up behind him and he saw his wife Tsunade with a had on her hip looking at him in confusion.
"What did you want to tell me about Jiraiya? I want to have lunch at some point in the next hour." she said
The white haired man sighed as he spoke.
"Orochimaru has been spotted around the village. He…also attacked Naruto and Mina's teams"
Tsunade's eyes widen as she replied
"What? Did the police catch him? Are Naruto and Mina alright?"
"They're fine. Naruto and Mina made it through just fine. He left cursed marks on Sasuke Uchiha and Sozu Kohinata."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed
"Why those two? I figured he could get any Uchiha right? And what use would he have for Sozu Kohinata?"
Jiraiya shrugged
"I don't know about Sozu but I do know that Sasuke is one of our most prominent genin and his potential eclipses even Itachi's." Jiraiya said
Tsunade snarled as she looked out at the village and they were silent for a few moments
"What do you think his motives are?" she asked
"I think he planned on using them in a plot to attack the village. I've gotten news of his new regime known as the Sound village. He's planning something and I think we were right to tighten up village security"
"Well we did think to have extra patrols, but how did they infiltrate us?" she asked
"I'm not sure, but it looks like we'll need to take extra precautions" he said looking up at the sky
"What's your plan?"
"I plan to teach Naruto to control his ninetails chakra and give him the summoning contra. And since Mina has learned the Rasengan on her own by just watching me and Kenji use it, there's not much I can teach her. Unless she wants to sign the toad contract" Jiraiya shrugged
"I think Vegeta and Trunks have her covered, but it's nice that the Rasengan is becoming a family technique. Maybe I'll teach Mito and Naruto my Super strength technique." Tsunade said
Jiraiya smiled as he looked up at his wife.
"I think I'll ask for Kenji to continue his training when I leave. After this exam is over, I'll be back out in the field to keep track of the Akatsuki. Also it seems like sensei wants to send someone out with me this time too."
"Who would that be?"
"I asked for Kenji but he said to take either Shisui or Itachi Uchiha with me. I chose Shisui on Fugaku's recommendation."
"Is it getting that bad that you need to have someone watching your back?"
Jiraiya nodded his head as he looked out at the village gates then back at her.
"There's more than just Akatsuki to worry about. I recently found out about some strange group hunting the Saiyans that I heard about from Sensei and Trunks. Team 7 ran into a couple of them and they were pretty strong apparently. So it's only natural that I have some back up in case I come across that regime."
Tsunade looked at him in surprise as she spoke.
"So that's what Vegeta said he was feeling a familiar eerie presence from before." she said
"But that's not the kicker, you know that sword Trunks has. It's one of the Tenka Goken, the 5 swords of heaven. His is the Great Denta Blade, one of the Regalia of the Sage of 6 paths. For what I don't know. But I've heard that they're running around looking for those blades and they could become a problem for the leaf village. After all, we have the Odenta and the Juzumaru in our possession." he said
Tsunade nodded as she looked at the 4th Hokage's head.
"I see, it seems like we'll have our work cut out for us in the future" Tsunade said
"Yea, I've already told Vegeta about this as well. He's well aware and he's agreed to start training Trunks up alongside Mina. So, now Kenji and I are gonna get Naruto up to snuff. I think you should get Akari and Shizune up to snuff to defend themselves as well. I have a feeling that after these exams only the tip of the iceberg" he said grimly
Xxx
Trunks sat at the "Dancing Leaf Cafe" with Anko and they were sharing a plate of Dango and they both had bowls of Red Bean soup, a plate Mochi and Trunks had a cup of green tea while she had a cup of Sake.
"So, I heard that you and Kakashi were working together on team 7. I also heard that they were in the exams this year"
Trunks nodded and she continued
"I heard that my old sensei paid them a visit as well" She said as she snapped an empty dango stick.
Trunks looked at her seriously and put his hand over hers.
"I've heard. Personally I'm not worried about my team because they've been trained to deal with high ranking ninjas. But, if push comes to shove… and I see him…it'll be the last day that he breathes." he said to her with a level of blood lust that brought shivers to her spine and made her smile lovingly.
"I'm glad I have you in my life sweetheart" she said
Trunks smirked as he said
"Well, what kind of man would I be if I didn't defend my home?" He asked
"Well, you'll be able to see your little cousin soon. He made it to the Tower. And I'll be the next exam proctor. Hopefully he'll live up to everything you've told me in the past." she said
"Hopefully he gets an opponent that he can struggle against. He gets his best moments when he switches up his strategies. But hey, I also taught him to hold back and make a fight interesting" he said
"Heh, we'll see. I couldn't imagine you being a teacher, but it happened. I think this'll be a treat" she said as she ate some dango.
"There's actually something I'm a bit more worried about than Orochimaru."
Xxx
Somewhere away from the Land of Mountains, Nanashi and his team were escorting Yukie and her filming crew to the land of Snow. He was currently speaking with her director Sandaiyu.
"So you mean to tell me these movies were based on a true story?" he asked the glasses wearing man with brown hair
"Well…yes. She was born as princess Koyuki Kazahana, daughter of the former Daimyo of the Land of Snow" he replied
Nanashi ran his hands through his long blonde mane in annoyance.
"And let me guess, she gave us all this flack because she doesn't wanna go back there right?"
Sandaiyu nodded as he began to sweat nervously.
"Yes, but it's her birthright and her people are waiting on her. There's an army waiting to be led by her!" he said with enthusiasm
Nanashi sighed as he looked towards the land of Snow.
"Perhaps you should've let things simmer until they boiled over. Dragging her back may be good because confrontation is good but, if she keeps running from the confrontation and her fathers legacy. Perhaps it would've been better to let them suffer and hope than to give them a fearful figurehead." he said as he continued to look towards the land of snow
"You would have me doom my own people?"
"No, but let me ask you this. She's not thinking about the people. You are. It would have been better if you asked for us to subdue the Land of Snow without her. Even if she remembers her childhood, it doesn't seem like she knows what she wants to do. I mean it doesn't seem like she doesn't even knows or cares what hangs in the balance"
Sandaiyu looked at him in awe as he didn't realize how his actions affected Koyuki. They heard a set of footsteps walking up behind them and they both turned around to see her with tears in her eyes and she slapped Nanashi across the face.
"I…never asked for this…and for you to…call me a heartless person….how dare you?"
Nanashi sighed as he rubbed his face from the slap
"I didn't mean it like that but-"
"What the hell do you mean? You just said I don't care about…the people of my country"
"Well are you gonna resist or go back to your home country?" he asked with a serious gaze.
Koyuki looked at him with tears in her eyes and got determined as she spoke.
"I'm…going to lead my people and free my country!" she yelled
Nanashi smirked and pulled out a cigarette, lit it and took a puff as he turned around and blew out smoke. Sandaiyu was rejoicing as he took her into the boat cabin to speak about the state of the Union for the Land of Snow.
Nanashi smirked as he thought
'Hook Line and Sinker' as he smirked and took another puff and threw the cigarette as he blew out smoke and headed in after them.
Xxx
4 days later in the tower of the forest of death. The genin, jonin and Hokage stood in a battlefield like room with stairs and a walkway on the sides above the battle area. There were two screens embedded in the wall
All of the genin teams were standing in front of the Hokage and Anko Mitarashi.
"You all making it here is nothing less than incredible. There have been a lot of losses in this environment but it was necessary. The chunin exams are a simulation of war, to avoid tension between nations. But, this also builds bonds between nations and shinobi. This is how we have avoided war for so long as well. Before we start the 3rd phase of the exams, is there anyone that feels the need to drop out?" he asked
Kabuto raised his hand and said,
"I'm exhausted"
"Kabuto? What're you doing? You're right here" Sozu asked him
"Sorry Sozu but, I'm exhausted hehe. Maybe next time" he said as he walked towards the exit
"Is there anyone else?"
There was a moment of silence and he spoke up again
"Well then, I'll let Anko Mitarashi take over"
She walked up and spoke.
"Alright you maggot! This is the 3rd exam and there are no more teams! You will be fighting one on one! This is the preliminaries because there's too many of you! The screen is gonna show you who your opponent is, the battle doesn't end until someone is knocked out or dead. Winner moves on to the finals. Now, let's roll the names." she said with a chopping motion through the air and then the screens with the ram seal in front of them began to flicker.
The names on the screen rotated for a few moments and they landed on Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi.
"Alright, clear out!" she said as the other students and Jonin moved out of the way.
"Sasuke Uchiha versus Yoroi, begin!" she said as she jumped back
Sasuke stood in his Intercepting Fist Stance and narrowed his eyes at his opponent. Yoroi narrowed his eyes and ran towards his opponent and gathered visible chakra around his right hand. He began to jab in hand out at the Uchiha causing him to dodge the swipes.
"Humph" Sasuke smirked as he pushed Yoroi's hand to the side and kicked him in the stomach and sent him rolling across the ground.
Said dark purple and white clad pushed himself up and got back to his feet and drew a kunai.
"Ok Uchiha, time to die!" he yelled as he ran in a zigzag towards Sasuke.
Said Uchiha batted away the technique and punched Yoroi in the stomach causing him to hunch over. Yoroi gripped on to Sasuke and began to steal his chakra. He batted away his opponents hand and kicked him in the stomach causing him to crash into the walk leaving a spiderweb crack on the wall.
"Argh!" he yelled out in sharp pain as he impacted the wall.
He fell out of the cracks on the wall and hit the floor. He wasn't moving and the medics had to come scoop him up in a stretcher.
"Winner Sasuke Uchiha!" Anko said
"Hmmm, that was fast" Kakashi said
"Whatever that power is that he's exuding, it's not dark like Sozu's" Trunks said
"Hmmm, he seems to be stronger than ever" Kakashi said
The names on the screen began to flicker.
"I don't know how but he may even be the strongest one here aside from the Hokage and some of the stronger jonin here." he said
Soon more names popped up on the screen.
"Tenten Higarashi versus Temari of the sand" Anko yelled
The two girls made their way to the fighting area.
"GO TENTEN, SHOW THEM YOUR YOUTH!" Rock Lee yelled out
"THAT'S RIGHT! SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!" Might guy yelled
Unfortunately the battle ended shortly as Temari proved that her wind element could best all of Tenten's projectiles. She eventually ended the battle as she defeated her with her Wind Scythe Jutsu knocking her out cold. She landed on the top of Temari's fan causing her body to sprawl out atop of it and she flung her to the ground. Fortunately, Lee caught her before she could hit the ground.
"You! Why you…"
"Lee. Don't."
Might Guy touched Lee's shoulder and shook his head. He gave her to the medical ninja as they made their way up to the stands.
"Lee, you'll get your chance to fight for Tenten's honor soon" he said as he put a hand on his students shoulder.
The names on the board fluctuated through more names and it showed the next two.
"Sakura Haruno versus Ino Yamanaka" Anko Called out
This battle too was long and drawn out as they went through a slug fest. Ino tried to use her Mind Transfer jutsu on Sakura but she forced her out. The battle ended in the two of them knocking each other out and causing a tie. Naruto and Shikamaru picked them both up and got them into the stands as they weren't conscious.
"Man, that was…brutal" Shikamaru said
Naruto nodded as he looked over at Sakura being tended to by her teammates. Kurenai was putting healing ointment on the girl's facial wounds courtesy of Hinata. He turned his head to look over at the names flickering on the screens.
"I think I'll be doubling up on training my students," Asuma said as he blew out a puff of smoke.
"What makes you say that?" Kakashi asked
"Ino should've been able to do better than that. I thought they were doing well, since their teamwork has been doing well but… I don't know" Asuma said
Kakashi nodded as he responded
"I understand. Afterall, I did push my students to the brink a week before the exams, but… I wouldn't call what you've done a bad thing. Afterall, we aren't necessarily in war times" Kakashi said
Asuma nodded
"Yea, but I get the feeling they'll need it soon" he said as he blew another cloud of smoke
Soon they heard Anko speak out.
"Son Gohan versus Sozu Kohinata"
Sozu had a bead of sweat drop down his face as he stiffened. He felt like this was the last opponent he would want to have as he began to make his way down the stairs towards the battlefield. He felt as if he was sentenced to lose. He looked at Neji and then he looked at the battlefield as his resolve strengthened and he made his fists tightened. Gohan held a gitty smirk in his eyes. He wanted to know how strong Sozu would be with his new powers. Soon they were face to face with Anko in between them.
"How do you think this is gonna turn out?" Kiba asked Shino
The Aburame was silent as he looked for a moment and then he spoke.
"Not sure" he said with a monotonous tone
Naruto spoke with Kurama through the seal,
'This could be good' Naruto thought
'I doubt it.'
'What do ya mean Kurama?'
'That boy…he holds a potential that you could only match using my full power. Provided he doesn't achieve the sacred power of legend. With that in account, you could still eclipse him if you were both to achieve the Saiyan power of legend and combine it with my strength. You'd be unstoppable kid'
'Hmmm, that's something to think about' Naruto said as he watched the upcoming battle. Anko walked up to him and leaned in to speak to him.
"Don't use that seal kid. Or the match will be ended" she said as she backed up. Sozu didn't look bothered, but inside he was seething.
Anko yelled out, "READY?"
Sozu nodded as he stared down Son Gohan as he felt his power coursing through his veins.
"FIGHT!"
Sozu pulled out a handful of shuriken and threw them at Gohan who dodged and shot a ki blast at him. He dodged and the blast whirled around to move towards him. Sozu took a step and leapt away as the blast moved towards him and Gohan made gestures for it to keep following him.
"Che, fuck!" he said as he body flickered away from the blast and moved towards Gohan causing the blast to move towards him.
Gohan moved and Sozu moved with him as he continued to have the blast follow him. Sozu drew a kunai and stabbed forward only for Gohan to grab his arm holding him in place and the ki blast hit his back causing him to wince in pain. Gohan proceeded to kick him away and then he held out his hand and sent out a pulse of ki sending Sozu crashing into the wall. There was a spiderwebbed crack in the wall. Sozu ripped himself out of the wall. He had his right hand holding onto his left arm and he was hunched over a bit.
"Guh! He's…strong…urge!" He said as he relocated his shoulder into place.
He tried to activate his Sekigan but the power of the cursed seal disrupted his chakra. He would have to train through the blockage of the cursed seal and fight without using it. Gohan stretched his arms and then he began to perform leg lunges, then he cracked his neck and smirked at him. He got into his dragon fist stance and beckoned Sozu to walk forward. Sozu stood up straight and began to go through hand signs and his body and then he began to hold out his fists, creating a blue flame between his fists. He had his right fist over his left and he opened his hands and jumped up spinning to throw a blue ball hurtling towards Gohan. Gohan slapped the attack away, then Sozu drew a kunai with his left hand as he spun and threw it at Gohan's face, causing him to move to the side and kick him aside, sending him sailing across the air and he tumbled across the ground. He raised himself up quickly and jumped as he avoided a ki blast from his opponent.
"Sh-shit!" he said as he pulsed fire from his right hand and propelled himself to the side.
"Firestyle: Jet Pulse!" he said as he pushed himself away from his opponent landing on the other side out of breath. His body began to pulse as he tried to channel his chakra and he grimaced in pain.
Gohan leapt towards Sozu, zigzagging across the battlefield and then he swung a punch at Sozu who dodged it. There was a follow up elbow slash, causing him to dodge and Sozu punched at him, causing him to grab his hand as he was pushed back a bit by the impact. As his heels dug into the ground he smirked and threw another punch at Sozu and he blocked it as he caught the fist. Sozu leapt up and kneed him in the face causing his head to snap back, and he kicked him away from him causing him to be sent flying across the battlefield as his feet skid across the ground.
Gohan smirked at him with energy gathering around him as it began to swirl and incase him. The air began to push against Sozu as he struggled to stand.
"Urgh, what the hell is this power?"
As the winds died down Gohan crossed his arms and looked at Sozu with a serious look in his eyes.
"Sozu, use that power of yours or this is gonna be over soon"
Sozu's eyes widened, then they narrowed as he balled his fists till his knuckles turned white.
"I can't" he said as continued to grip his fists tight
Gohan raised an eyebrow
"What do you mean? Just release it"
Sozu looked at Anko then at the Hokage. Gohan's eyes narrowed as he looked at Anko then he spoke
"Let him use it"
Anko raised an eyebrow
"Excuse me? Do you know what you're asking for?"
"Yea, I can handle whatever power he throws at me." he said
Anko shook her head and crossed her arms and scowled at him.
"No can do! That seal will destroy him as he uses it! It'll drive him mad the longer he uses it!"
Gohan sighed
"Give me 3 minutes. And he'll be back to normal" he said
Anko looked back at the Hokage who was sitting down and watching the battle. He looked at Son Gohan, then at Sozu who was calm on the outside, but his clenched fists gave him away. He sighed as he nodded in affirmation, causing Anko to widen her eyes for a moment, then she let it go and trusted her leader's judgment.
"Fine, go ahead" she said with no emotion
Sozu smirked as the cursed seal began to spin on his neck and it spread across his body. His dark chakra began to enhance his senses and then he activated his Sekigan and veins began to bulge around his eyes.
"Thats- what the hell? He has some form of Byakugan?" Kakashi asked
"No, he calls it the Sekigan" Genma said as he smirked.
'Hopefully he can learn to use that without the cursed seal' Genma thought
Sozu began to channel chakra into his eyes and put Gohan under an illusion. He smirked and disappeared and reappeared behind Sozu, but Gohan threw up a hand smashing his fist into Sozu's face sending him flying into the wall. He regained his balance and pushed off the wall with his feet and propelled him towards Gohan.
His cursed seal began to spread across his body. He tried to punch Gohan who dodged with his arms folded. Sozu rolled into his fighting stance and drew a kunai in a reverse grip. He launched towards Gohan and swiped at him, but he dodged and kicked him in his stomach. He dropped to the ground and rolled away from Gohan going through hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Earth Dragon Bullet!" He yelled as a dragon head made of earth, spat out a stone boulder towards Gohan, who punched through the boulder.
He leapt towards Sozu who was going through more hand signs and elbowed him in his solar plexus, knocking the air out of him, sending him flying across the battlefield.
"Augh! This guy is crazy! He won't go down…" he said as he got back to his feet.
'I have to beat him. If I can be him then I can beat Neji!' he thought as he got an idea. Sozu began to gather chakra into the retina of his eyes so he could see Gohan's movements. Suddenly he spun around and kicked at Gohan who pushed his foot aside. He kicked out Sozu's standing leg from under him and smashed his body into the ground.
"Urgh!"
He grunted as he coughed up blood and forced himself to kick at Gohan who jumped back. He forced himself up to stand, but his breathing was ragged. He was starting to lose himself as the cursed seal began to spread across his body again, and a dark aura with purple outlining pulse from him as he disappeared. Gohan smirked and spun around to block a kick from Sozu that sent him flying across the battlefield. Sozu leapt into action to continue his attack and he appeared before Gohan going through hand signs.
"Firestyle: Double Jet Pulse!" He yelled as blasts of fire pushed himself away from Gohan but the force of the attack caused him to smash into the ground.
"AUCK!" Gohan yelled as he smashed into the ground.
Sozu went through more hand signs and yelled
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" he yelled and a dragon's head of fire sent out to Gohan enveloping him.
"Kick his ass Sozu!" Naruto yelled out
Everyone looked at him and a bead of sweat dropped down their heads. Mina looked down with caution. She wasn't sure if her teammate could win but she would cheer for him.
"Yea, knock him into next week!" Mina cheered with Naruto causing everyone else but said blonde to sweatdrop.
'Heh, finally' he thought to himself
"HAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Gohan yelled as his aura pierce through the flames pushing Sozu higher into the air.
"TCH, DAMMIT!"
Sozu was angry. More angry than he had ever been as he steadied himself to land. He looked at Gohan who seemed no worse for wear as his gi had been burned away showing his developed six pack and firm chest. Ino whistled as she had woken up during their battle and Mina began to blush at seeing his physic.
'He's…so hot' all the young girls thought.
Sozu grimaced as he saw that Gohan wasn't hurt from his attacks.
"Ok, Sozu this was fun but I can feel that power of yours taking over you. Let's do this again when you have more control over that power of yours ok?" Gohan asked
Sozu grimaced as his fists tightened till he drew blood from his palms and he irradiated dark chakra from his body. He knew he had to strike to kill Gohan so he could defeat him or kill him to get to Neji. His right palm opened as he gathered fire blue chakra from a Final Azure Bullet. Gohan smirked as his aura began to surge around him with a teal color.
"Come Sozu, let's end this"
Sozu leapt towards the Saiyan with his Azure bullet an spun around and threw it at Gohan a few feet from him. Gohan dodged and reappeared in front of him delivering a fist into his gut and sending him reeling.
"Augh!" He grunted as he coughed up blood
Gohan spun around and kicked him in the face, sending him flying into the wall. He broke through it and showed no signs of getting up. Anko waited 10 seconds for him to get up before she called the match.
"Sozu!" Mina yelled as she gripped the railing.
Akino grabbed her shoulder causing Mina to look back at her.
"He'll be fine. Don't worry" she said
Mina nodded and looked back at the medic pick up Sozu.
"Winner Son Gohan" she said
Gohan nodded and walked back to the stands and the medics picked up Sozu from the remains of the battle. His curse mark receded and he looked dead but the medics checked his pulse and determined he was very much alive.
The screen began to flicker through names as the next battle was being decided. Genma was looking at Sozu as he was taken away and he sighed.
"He got the wrong opponent if he was trying to advance" Genma thought out loud
Kurenai who hear him replied
"He did good for his opponent. Most of our ninja are no match for the son of the 4th Tsuchikage after all" she spoke up
"Yea, he lasted longer than I expected." Asuma said
Genma nodded as he swished his senbon in annoyance at the fact that Sozu had to rely on Orochimaru's corrupted seal. He felt like all his teaching had been for nothing as his student relied on a power from his teacher.
'Tch, dammit. I'll have to talk with him after this. I know he was hoping to get to the finals but…damn' he thought
The names on the screen popped up and Anko spoke
"Rock Lee vs Gaara" she said outloud
Rock Lee fought valiantly, unlocking the 5th gate to destroy Gaara. But the might of the sand jinchuriki was too much as he survived the attack and crushed Rock Lee's right leg and right arm. He used his sand coffin to disable the ninja. Might Guy stepped in to save his student. Rock Lee was taken away by the leaf medics as the next match was being set up. As Gaara walked up Naruto emitted a huge amount of killing intent throwing everyone off as his features turned feral and his eyes slitted, but they were still blue.
"Gaara…if we fight I'll destroy you for what you did to him. Jinchuriki or not. You will know what despair feels like!" Naruto said as his eyes flickered between red to blue.
Gaara gave a demonic face splitting grin and his eyes got a murderous gleam at Naruto. Naruto seeing that he enjoyed the rush turned up his killing intent with his own chakra as a vein popped in his head. His aura began to emit from his in a fiery blue hue and he caused Kakashi and Hinata to back away from him while Sasuke and Trunks stood firm in his presence. Sasuke smirked and emitted his own killing intent, and surprised everyone.
"No, he'll be a good challenge for me. I get first crack at him!" he said as his killing intent trumped Naruto's.
"Sasuke, this isn't just a fight for me its-"
"Oh I know, but I want a strong opponent to test out my full power against. Besides, there's someone else you need to deal with" he said looking over towards Gohan who had a smirk on his face across from all 3 of them with a confident smirk on his face.
Naruto looked over to see his half Saiyan counter park then he looked at Sasuke and nodded. He turned off his killing intent as he allowed Sasuke to take care of Gaara. Gaara became irritated but he realized he would just have to kill Sasuke Uchiha to get to his true challenge. But, somehow as he looked into the red rinnegan of Sasuke Uchiha, he began to feel a feeling he had never heard before. Fear. He denied it, but then he drove himself into rage at the fact that he felt fear and scoffed looking towards the next match.
It was Kankuro vs Misumi. The quote on quote leaf ninja was decimated by the sand ninja from a trap he launched with his puppet. Misumi tried to break his neck by twisting around him but he was poisoned by Kankuro's puppet Crow. He won easily as the next match was called.
"Naruto vs Kiba"
Naruto sighed in disappointment. Kiba, who was paying no attention, yelled in excitement.
"Heh, time to see if we can measure up to one of the top dogs, Akamaru!" he said to his all white furred companion. Akamaru barked back at him as they began to head down to the battle area.
Naruto's body flickered towards the middle of the field and folded his arms. He was silent as he saw Kiba approaching him.
"Ready?" she asked
Both opponents nodded as they looked at one another. Kiba had a gleam of excitement in his eyes as Naruto looked at him with confidence.
"Fight!" she yelled
Kiba had Akamaru hop off his head as he try to swing at Naruto with a punch. The blonde dodged as Kiba kept trying to punch and kick at him. Naruto smirked and dodged several attacks and disappeared from Kiba's attacks.
"Dammit!" he said as he sniffed through his nose and looked over at Naruto who had his arms behind his head relaxing.
Naruto looked at Kiba with his head relaxing against his arms.
"Hey Kiba. Get serious already" Naruto said with a childish look on his face and his eyes squinted.
Kiba snarled and tossed a food pill to Akamaru who ate it. He put his hands in the ram seal as Akamaru leapt on top of him as his fur turned red and he became more feral.
"Man beast clone!" he said as Akamaru turned into a beastly clone of Kiba. They leapt into action, and he yelled out,
"FANG OVER FANG!"
The two began to spin into action and began to tear across the battlefield towards Naruto. The blonde smirked as he brought his arm up and an aura pulsed from his body and Kiba and his partner were pushed back by an invincible force. They both smashed into the wall and Naruto folded his arms but said nothing, afterall Kiba was his friend.
Kiba stood up from the spiderwebbed crack. He looked over to see Akamaru getting up in his original dog form wobbling forward.
"Wh-what the hell? Wh-what was that?"
Naruto stood silent with a smug smirk on his face. Kiba reached into his pouch and ran forward, with Akamaru following him. He threw down several smoke bombs and Naruto leapt out of the smoke and the two drill like forms pierced through and Naruto dodged both leaping off of both of them like a platform and put one of hid hands in the ram seal and the tags on their backs exploded and they were sent into the railing and the wall creating spiderweb cracks yet again and they unconscious. He landed with a smirk on his face. He looked over to see them knocked out and he disappeared grabbing Akamaru and Kiba placing them gently on the ground and the medics can to pick them up placing them on stretchers and taking them to the infirmary on standby.
"Winner, Naruto Namikaze" Anko said
Naruto nodded and walked back up to join his team.
"Incredible, perhaps I was too lenient with Kiba" Kurenai said
"Nonsense, we aren't in war times after all. You only did what you saw fit training your students in teamwork so they may work together and complete missions. If I didn't have a Saiyan as my co-captain I'd be a bit more lax. It doesn't help that Naruto is his half-cousin. But, sense there are threats looming over us, it can't be helped"
"Threats?" Kurenai said in a questioning tone
"There are those that hunt jinchuriki for their powers," Kakashi said with an eerie tone.
Kurenai's eyes widened as she had a look of grave concern in her eyes.
"So that's why you're training him so much?"
"Yes, this tournament is a test for him and…I fear it might be too easy for him as it is now" Kakashi said as he looked at the screen cycle through names.
"Well, I'll be sure to train my students to back up yours in the future. For the good of the village and every leaf ninja." Kurenai said
Kakashi nodded to let her know he heard her in confirmation, letting her know he heard her.
"Shikamaru Nara versus Ryu Hoseki!"
Shikamaru began to walk down as he groaned in wake of the amount of dexterity he would have to take towards his opponent. Ryu was calm as he did a lightning body flicker appearing in the middle of the field.
"Ready?" she said and both opponents nodded in confirmation
"FIGHT!" She yelled
Ryu leapt towards his opponent who leapt away drawing a handful of shuriken and threw them at Ryu, who dodged and disappeared as he reappeared putting a hand over his face. Shikamaru dodged at the last moment and kicked him in the ribs as he leapt away to make distance. Ryu reeled back in pain and watched his opponent as he got into a fighting stance.
Shikamaru watched his opponent as he formed a plan in his head going through his kunai pouch. He drew a flash bang as he hid it behind his back. Ryu went through hand signs
"Fire style: Homing dragon strike!"
Ryu opened his hand and pointed it forward and a giant dragon emitted from his hands as it leapt towards the Nara heir as he began to dodge and look for an opportunity to attack his opponent. He began to dodge and then he kept moving until he dodged the dragon at the last moment and he ran towards his opponent and threw down his flash bang. He dodged and body flickered out of sight, due to the flash bang. Shikamaru put his hands in the rat seal and he looked around for his opponent. He began to channel chakra in his ears and he heard the wind flickering behind him and he dodged a fist strike and whispered
"Shadow Possesion Jutsu!"
A black shadow began to reach up his opponent's leg and stretch out to the other and a hand began to materialize as the shadow rose up Ryu's body until it gripped his neck.
"Shadow Neck Binding Jutsu!"
Ryu had a bead of sweat roll down his head as he began to breathe heavily. He had an annoyed look on his face as he realized he didn't take into account how strategic his opponent was.
"Urgh! Damn!" he said as grimaced at his opponent.
Shikamaru was running low on chakra but luckily for him, Anko called the match and he sighed in relief.
"Good match Nara. I look forward to a rematch. I didn't think you'd be so quick to end the match" Ryu said putting out a hand to shake
Shikamaru accepted and nodded as he said
"A rematch against you would be a drag, but we'll see" he said as they parted ways and went upstairs.
Next up was Neji versus Hinata and while they were on better terms since Hiashi didn't die and her training with Naruto and Neji has been helping her train. Unfortunately, since he knew her moves due to having trained with her he defeated her. The only thing that almost defeated him was her Electric Discharge combined with the Gentle Fist. She was able to drag him down, but not enough to make him lose the battle. He pulled out his secret weapon, the 8 trigrams rotation, sending her flying across the battlefield to send her flying. Luckily, it wasn't geared to be lethal and he didn't damage her so much. Nevertheless she was defeated and Neji was allowed to move up. As they were taken off of the field Anko called the next match.
I'll be skipping the rest of the fights as they are not consequential to the story. After the battles of the chunin exams, all the participants stood with their numbers drawn.
"Alright, the matches are as follows
Naruto vs Gohan
Shikamaru vs Temari
Kankuro vs Shino
Sasuke vs Gaara
Neji vs Mina
You all have a month to train. Use it well" Anko said
As they made their way towards the exit, Naruto saw Kenji with his arms folded watching him.
"Yo, heard you did good in the exams" Kenji said
Naruto folded his arms behind his head.
"I did alright. I had a bit of trouble though, and I think I might need to train more" Naruto said
Kenji smirked at his brother's words and patted him on the head.
"Well then I suppose it's time to teach you the family jutsu" he said
Naruto knew this meant the Rasengan. He had been trying to learn it himself like Mina but he wasn't able to get the 3rd step. Perhaps now he would learn the technique and make it his own.
Gohan jogged up to catch up with Mina
"Hey…Wait!" he said running to catch up with her.
"What is it?" she asked flippantly
"Well…I was hoping that there would be no hard feelings between us after the exams and all" he said with a bit of a blush on his face
Mina rolled her eyes as she continued to walk
"Whatever… Is that your way of apologizing for being a battle hungry idiot? Or do you wanna fight me now"
Gohan nodded sheepishly but he stood firm as he spoke back
"Actually…I…We…"
Mina raised an eyebrow. Gohan had been awestruck as he looked at her developing body. Even though he was still a kid, 12 year old boys have hormones and his were raging but he spoke clearly.
"Before I go I want to go out with you. I know it's sudden but that's what I wanted to say. Maybe after the final exams since we have to train for the next month"
Mina's eyebrows rose high into her hairline, but she regained herself and gave him a once-over looking at him from up to down. His injured body and ripped gi showed his toned muscles. Her primal Saiyan instincts almost took over and she looked him in his eye's as her dark blue orbs caused him to sweat as they pierced his black eyes. She leaned in by his ear and spoke softly
"If you impress me in the finals…maybe" she said as her breath tickled his eye
She leaned back out to see a confident Gohan as he spoke back
"Don't worry, I haven't shown my full power once in this tournament. I think Naruto can give me the fight I want and then I can show you what you want" he said
Mina had a devious smirk
"Good, I'll be waiting." she said as she began to turn but she stopped
"Also, we're square. If you had lost to Sozu I wouldn't even hear anything you had to say. Besides, his anger issues needed to be checked. He was one track minded towards Neji, but you and Sasuke showed him how far he has to go. Thanks for that. I got tired of beating him into submission and being his measuring stick for strength. " she said as she walked off
"Heh, no problem. Tell him I'd be happy to give him a rematch anytime."
xxx
Authors Notes:
I'm well aware that they are using the Namikaze Name primarily in the story. Don't worry, I plan to bring the Uzumaki clan in the fray after the chunin exams