Sorry for the wait. Man, I don't know what it is, but I hate writing the prelims...
Narutoreader750: I'm not going to spoil my plans for Killer Bee or the Jubi. Who knows, it might not even make an appearance here. Well, I do of course, but I'm not saying anything. I will say most of the other Jinchuriki will get more screen time than they did in canon.
Totalsolution: Yeah, shame about Kiba. He is strong, and he'll have a chance to shine later, though. This was just a bad match for him.
mastercheif1229: I definitely should...
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Naruto grinned, confident as he stared at the board, raising a fist in front of his chest. "Yes! My turn! Time to show what I can do!"
Kiba snickered, having retaken his place with his team. "I don't know what you're so happy about; you just crapped out."
Naruto turned to glare at his former classmate as Neji scoffed and made his way down to the arena below, his face blank. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Gai chuckled. "I'm afraid Kiba's right on this one, Naruto. Out of my whole team, no. In fact, I'm certain he's the strongest genin of our village."
"Says you," Naruto scoffed. "Guess I'll just have to prove you wrong."
"Don't lose down there, Naruto," Sakura said.
"I'm expecting to see you in the finals. Don't disappoint me." Sasuke added.
"Don't worry, you guys. I'll be back up here in a minute." Naruto replied, confident as he leaped down to the floor.
Hinata gazed at the blond worriedly. "Naruto..."
"He's doomed..." Kiba said, leaning against the wall behind him with his hands in his pockets.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Shikamaru said. "Trust me; we saw him in action back in the forest. He's not the Naruto we knew anymore."
"Well, it's only to be expected that he'd grow by leaps and bounds. That's the beauty of youth. But I'm afraid it won't be enough to overcome Neji's skill." Gai said, closing his eyes and crossing his arms.
"You sure about that, Gai?" Kakashi asked, at ease. "How about we make a wager..." That was the last thing Naruto heard before he was out of earshot.
In short order, he found himself standing across from Neji. The older boy seemed unimpressed.
"Hm, I had thought some of this year's rookies seemed interesting, but to think you're the one I'd have to face," The Hyuuga mused aloud. "I was hoping for a challenge."
Naruto glares at the Hyuuga. "You underestimate anyone; you die. The old man taught me that." He was sure the Third was happy he actually listened. "Yeah, I sucked at the academy. But you know what? Who gives a damn; it doesn't matter how many times you fall. You keep getting back up and back at it till you reach your goal! Everyone can call me dead last till they are blue in the face. But I'll be the one smiling when I prove them all wrong!"
"Nice speech. It'll be fun to watch when reality sets in. Your fate was decided the moment you were pit against me," Neji replied, getting into a fighting stance.
Naruto scoffed, "Fate, huh?"
"Get him, Naruto!" Fuu cheered him on. He sent a brief smile her way before turning his attention back to Neji.
"And, begin!" Hayate announced.
'Bushy Brow said this guy's stronger than he is. If Neji's fast enough to keep up with him... I should feel this guy out first.' Naruto thought as he formed a cross-shaped hand seal.
In a burst of smoke, four clones of Naruto appeared before him. Neji tensed, his brow furrowed as he watched two of them charge towards him as he slipped into a fighting stance.
His eyes changed, veins bulging around his eyes as his solid white eyes changed. While still solid white, the shape of his pupils became visible. 'A dojutsu?'
As the two clones reached him, Naruto and the remaining clones vanished with the Body Flicker Technique. Two appeared behind Neji, one aiming high from a crouch from the left and the other coming down in an ax kick at his right. Without even turning, Neji sidestepped both and grabbed the grounded clone by the arm.
Naruto watched from atop the statue clone immediately twisted his body and kicked at Neji. The Hyuga leaned back, the attack passing within inches of his face, and jabbed the clone.
He only struck with one finger, but the clone was destroyed. The remaining three clones pressed him, but none of their attacks got through. Punches were blocked, kicks evaded with minimal movement, but they at least kept him from retaliating.
Finally, Neji got an opening. He ducked beneath a punch and struck a clone in the chest. With just two left, the remaining clones were quickly dispatched. Neji brushed aside a jab and stabbed the first clone in the chest before he shot forward. The remaining clone blocked several finger strikes, but then its arms grew weak and sluggish. It tried to put distance between them, but Neji quickly closed the gap and finished it off.
As he turned to the real Naruto, the blond drew a Fuma Shuriken and threw it at the older genin. Neji kicked himself to the side to avoid the oversized weapon and then jumped to avoid the second one hidden in its shadow.
As Neji landed and continued on his way, the two weapons burst into smoke, revealing more clones. Each one threw a volley of shuriken at his back while Naruto ran through hand seals. 'Wind Style: Divine Wind!'
A gust of wind spiraled into tornadoes that barreled towards the Hyuga.
Neji immediately kicked back, back flipping over the weapons at his behind him. He evaded the tornadoes that carved through the tiled floor and more weapons at his back with weaves and graceful flips.
The two clones ran through hand signs themselves as he maneuvered himself between them. Clapping their hands together, both unleashed blasts of wind meant to sandwich him between them, only for the Hyuuga to leap high in the air. Two wind blasts collided, carving a fissure into the ground as he landed on the opposite side of the arena from Naruto.
He took a deep breath as he retook his fighting stance. "I may have underestimated you, after all." He admitted before smirking. "This might actually be a challenge."
Naruto grinned. "You keep talking like you're going to win." He pointed his thumb at his chest. "I'm the one who's going on to the finals." 'He's definitely more skilled than Bushy Brows... and the way he moves, it's like he has eyes in the back of his head.'
"You don't have so much as an ounce of doubt in those words..." Neji observed. "But it doesn't matter. In the end, nothing one does can change their fate."
"You're just going to keep going back to that, like a broken record, aren't you?" Naruto asked, raising a brow and looking annoyed.
"It bears repeating, especially to someone ignorant of the truth. It's reality, like it or not. Fate determines everything, and what else could it have in store when pitting a top genin against the dead last of his class."
"That's not up to you to decide!" Naruto said before forming the tiger seal. He vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing in the air above Neji with a downward kick. Neji blocked with his forearm, prepared to counter, only for his eyes to widen as Naruto formed another seal. 'Wind Style: Air Bullets!'
Naruto unleashed his jutsu at point-blank range. Neji was forced to jump back, dodging left and right to evade the pellets of air as Naruto's clones came at him from behind. One clone leaped at him. Neji dodged a jab from the other and launched a strike at it, only for the clone to twist its body around the blow, turning into a sweeping kick that Neji ducked beneath.
As that happened, Naruto created eight more clones. The clones leaped out of the cloud, surrounding Neji. They all charged from every direction.
Naruto grinned on the inside as he ran through seals. 'I've got you this time!'
Then Neji gasped. His eyes widened briefly, and then narrowed. Suddenly, the next blow from one of his clones was blocked. Not by any sort of movement, but a field of visible chakra. Then, Neji began to spin. "Rotation!"
"It can't be!" Naruto heard Hinata cry from the audience above.
He watched as a spinning dome of chakra formed around Neji. It carved a circle into the stone around him before it expanded. Naruto jumped back, but his clones were too close and were destroyed in an instant.
"Damn it..." Naruto cursed under his breath as he landed in a crouch.
For a moment, Neji stood there, staring at the ground. Finally, he looked up at Naruto. "Clever." He acknowledged. "You're quite the tricky opponent, aren't you? Aside from that opening, every move you've made was meant to lure me or conceal something else. Though I shouldn't be surprised by misdirection coming from a prankster. I'd hazard a guess and say you didn't even intend to use a jutsu just now. Those hand signs and the clones attacking me were all a distraction for the four holding seal tags." He said, glancing to a paper tag, one of four, floating down from above.
Naruto gritted his teeth. How had he noticed that?! They were behind other clones when they pulled those out!
"They were evenly spaced around me. I assume you meant to form a proximity seal that would have left me immobilized, ending the match." Neji closed his eyes. "You probably could have caught Lee with something like that, but such tricks are useless before my eyes. Fate has already determined the outcome of this fight."
Naruto clicked his tongue. Of course, it had something to do with his dojutsu. He glared at the Hyuga. "Are you supposed to be a prophet or something?"
"Hm?"
"Who are you to decide that?" The blond replied. "Maybe you're right. Maybe everything is decided by fate. But then how do you know what destiny has in store?" He then grinned as he slipped back into a fighting stance. "What's the point of paying any attention to stuff like that if you can't read it yourself? Our destiny is what we make of it."
"Perhaps you have a point. One can't always know what fate's plan is. But there are times when it's obvious. Like right now." Neji replied before charging forward.
Naruto didn't know how his taijutsu style worked, but he'd seen enough to know close-range combat with Neji was a bad idea. Once again, Naruto conjured more shadow clones. And cloud formed, and four doppelgangers burst forth to meet Neji.
This time, the Hyuga was having none of it. When the clones drew near, he immediately spun on his heel and used Rotation. Two of the clones were caught in the attack, while the others kicked themselves back.
Naruto drew two kunai and tossed them at Neji just as the dome of chakra faded. He ducked down and let them sail overhead, only for them to burst into smoke above him. Two more clones appeared, one bringing down a fist, the other making an ax kick.
Neji gritted his teeth and blocked both attacks with his forearms. Another clone used Body Flicker, driving a kick into his torso in a burst of speed.
Neji cried out as he was forced back by the blow. The four clones charged as he skidded to a halt, holding his stomach. This time, they drew shruiken but kept their distance, preparing to throw the weapons.
Neji took a breath and slipped into a stance Naruto hadn't seen before. His legs spread further apart as he held one hand before him, palm parallel to the ground and the other high in the air behind him. He suddenly moved as the weapons were thrown, faster than Naruto had seen him move until now. He slapped them out of the air, closing the distance and destroying the clones in a few short moments.
Before Naruto could do anymore, Neji vanished. The blond sensed him appear behind him and turned just in time to deflect a strike, brushing it aside and careful not to let Neji touch him.
The Hyuga didn't give him a chance to form another hand sign, making rapid strikes aimed at his torso. Naruto deflected or dodged every attack but was on the defensive.
Finally, Naruto tried to leap back, but Neji saw it coming and was on him immediately. While he deflected a blow aimed at his chest, the next attack him home. He just barely managed to twist so that the blow struck his side.
He grunted as pain lanced through his side. Thinking quickly, he dropped a ball of explosive seals out of his pocket. It was a small one, but both he and Neji still had to jump back to avoid the blast. That gave him enough time to prepare before Neji shot through the cloud of smoke. The next blow hit him in the chest, but he burst into smoke at the last second, a log falling to the ground in his place.
He came down on Neji from above, crashing into the ground with enough force to shatter the tiles and kick up a cloud of debris as the pale-eyed boy leaped back. Naruto formed a hand sign, inhaled, and unleashed a single massive bullet of air. Neji kicked to the side to dodge before dancing around the smaller pellets that followed.
It put some distance between them, but then Neji re-entered that stance he used earlier, and Naruto knew his newest plan was dashed.
Neji shot forward, and Naruto saw only one move he could use to counter. "Eight Trigrams-!"
Glowing chains burst from his back to Neji's shock. They tore through the ground like butter, losing no speed before bursting out between him and Neji, forcing the Hyuga back. He backflipped and jerked from side to side as the chains burst from the ground, came down on him, and tore through the earth before coming up from beneath him again. Finally, they burst out from all around Neji, only for the Hyuga to spin into another Rotation. The chains were forced back and vanished.
"Damn, I was hoping to save that for later..." Naruto cursed under his breath.
"What was that?" Neji asked with a frown.
Naruto smirked cryptically, "Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Fate." 'The way he dodged my chains... he must be able to see chakra like Sasuke.' That wasn't good. He'd found one of the advantages with those chains was how fast they could tear through the ground. They could pop out at any moment and blindside most opponents. But Sasuke's Sharingan could see chakra. During their spars, the Uchiha could see the chains moving through the ground and knew when and where they'd pop up.
Neji's dojutsu must let him see chakra too.
"Hope you're ready because it's time I finish this!" Once again, the chains erupted from Naruto's back, curling around in the air above him and launching at Neji. The Hyuga jumped back to avoid the chains and then leaped into the air as they burst from the ground beneath him. Naruto immediately dismissed his chains and vanished with a Body Flicker. He reappeared in front of Neji kicked him in his chest, sending him reeling back as he formed a hand seal. He fired another air bullet at Neji, but he encased his hand in chakra struck the blast with a palm strike, causing it to burst.
Neji landed and threw shuriken. The Kyuubi Jinchurriki used a single chain to pull himself out of the way and to the ground. Flipping and landing in a crouch near the statue, he launched another volley of air pellets while Neji closed the distance. As the Hyuga neared, Naruto once more sent his chains through the ground. They curled around and burst out from just in front of him, only for Neji to jump into the air to dodge.
That was it. Naruto kicked himself back as Neji closed in, one arm raised before his chest in defense. He wouldn't be able to mold chakra for a jutsu or resummons the chains quickly enough, and Neji was poised to strike at his chest. He couldn't back up any further. Neji would probably try that Eight Trigrams attack on him if he went to the sides.
Neji had to think he'd caught him. Just like he wanted.
He could tell his grin had alerted Neji to something being off. Naruto raised his other arm, reached into his sleeve, and pulled out a seal tag.
The pale-eyed boy had just enough time for his shock to show before Naruto slammed his palm into it and flared his chakra.
A vortex of wind burst from the seal at point-blank range. It slammed into Neji and drove him all the way into the far wall with a cry of pain. Before it let up, Naruto summoned his chains once again. They reached Neji just as the wind vanished and ensnared the Hyuga.
Naruto grinned, his arm outstretched. Neji struggled for a moment, and then glowed blue as Naruto frowned. He was trying to force the chains back using something like that Rotation attack. The chakra chains could completely seal chakra when mastered, but Naruto was far from that level. Still, they could restrain chakra even now.
Apparently, not well enough.
Fine, he had to make sure Neji wouldn't get back up then.
Naruto charged forward as he made the chains reel Neji in, cocking back his fist. He punched Neji in the face with all his strength, sending him to the ground and driving him through the stone tiles. But he wasn't finished yet. He leaped into the air, flipping as the chains drew Neji closer again, and brought down his foot right on the back of Neji's head.
The blow sent him crashing into the ground and kicked up a cloud of dirt.
Naruto landed with his back to his opponent as the chains vanished. He half-turned as the cloud began to clear.
Neji was face down on the floor, his head in a small crater. And he wasn't moving.
After a few moments, the proctor called it. "Neji is unable to battle. The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Great job Naruto!" Sakura cheered.
"Woohoo! Congratulations! That was amazing!" Fuu yelled.
The blond Uzumaki smiled at them and then huffed, leaned forward with his hands on his knees; "So how's that for a dead last?" He glanced over to the Third, who proudly gave a single nod and grin. At that, he felt his heart swell with pride.
Sasuke smirked as he leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed. He hadn't expected anything less. It was too bad Naruto had taken Neji out, though. He seemed like a good opponent to test himself against. Oh well, there was still plenty of competition.
"Neji... lost?" Tenten uttered in disbelief, staring at her downed teammate in shock. Lee seemed to be in a similar state beside her.
"So, you were saying, Gai?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly to his eternal rival, who was gaping down at the arena.
"What the hell?" Kiba gaped down at the arena as Naruto began to make his way towards the stairs. "What was all that!?"
"Told you he wasn't the Naruto we remembered anymore," Shikamaru said with a smirk.
"That was... amazing," Hinata said as she looked at the blond with a smile before her gaze turned to Neji as Gai recovered from his shock and leaped down into the arena. Her expression was hard to read. There was sympathy there, but more than what he'd expect for someone who lost a fight. Sasuke guessed there was some history between her and her relative. Well, it's not like she was the only one with family issues...
Gai returned, laying Neji down against the wall before righting himself. For a moment, he stood silent. Then he gave a boisterous laugh, having recovered from his shock. "Well done, Kakashi! Clearly, you've grown from the lackluster teacher you once were. Your students' youth burns brightly!"
"Well, I can't take all the credit. These three have been working themselves into the ground to get stronger." Kakashi replied, looking down at his student. "Naruto's put his all into training and spent his nights studying sealing jutsu and making up for all the rough edges he left the academy with."
"How'd he grow that much in just a few months? He's not the only one who's been working his ass off!" Kiba asked incredulously.
Sasuke nodded to Naruto as he rejoined them. "Nice work. You actually pulled it off."
"Was there ever any doubt?" Naruto asked. "But man, Lee wasn't kidding. I didn't want to show off that much of my arsenal this early..."
The Uchiha shrugged. "Can't be helped. Neji was probably one of the strongest guys here."
"Geez, you three are going to make the rest of us rookies look bad," Shikamaru commented, patting Naruto on the back.
"Yeah, kinda gets me fired up... for training anyway," Choji said.
"Hey, Naruto. How do you know that girl anyway?" Kiba asked, pointing at the green-haired girl.
"Hm? Oh, Fuu? I ran into her back in the forest. I was being attacked by some of the critters, and she lent me a hand. She's pretty cool, and we really hit it off." Naruto replied with a shrug.
Kiba scoffed. "Cool, yeah, right. Crazy chick jumped out while everyone was getting dinner just to ask if anyone wanted to hang out."
Naruto just chuckled and put his hands behind his head. "Yep, sounds like her."
Well, that was more evidence that her behavior wasn't just an act, he guessed.
"She's a little odd... and she might actually be more hyperactive than Naruto... but she seems alright," Sakura said.
... Looks like he'd have to look out for both of them. Well, hopefully, they were right about Fuu. Still, he was surprised Sakura was so quick to consider her a friend.
Oh, right. Sakura had been alone and ridiculed back in the academy until Ino took her under her wing. She probably saw some of that in the way Fuu was blown off by her team. Put that with Naruto vouching for her...
Shikamaru looked at her in disbelief. "Seriously? More than Naruto? Sheesh, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it..."
"Hey, head's up. Looks like the next match is about to be decided." He called out, getting their attention.
"Ooh! Come on, pick me!" Lee yelled as they all looked up at the board. Well, looks like he wasn't the only one who was eager. No surprise, the older genin did want to prove himself.
Shikamaru vs Zaku.
"What? My turn? Oh, great. And I've gotta fight someone who's already seen what I can do..." Shikamaru groaned.
"Hey, if Ino was still here, she'd be yelling at you to; how'd she put it? 'Get your ass down there, you lazy bum.'" Asuma said with a smirk, putting his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.
Choji snickered. "He's right, you know Shikamaru."
"Yeah, don't remind me." The Nara said as he began to walk down to the arena.
This should be interesting. Sasuke hadn't had the chance to see either genin fight. He was curious how his lazy former classmate had made it this far.
Naruto grinned as he leaned onto the railing, resting his head on his arms as Shikamaru took his spot across from his opponent.
"Not who I was hoping for, but I'll kick your ass for what you pulled back in the forest all the same!" Zaku said with a cruel smirk.
Shikamaru sighed. "And my opponent's hot-blooded too. Just perfect..."
"And... begin!"
Zaku immediately raised his arm, pointing his palm at the Nara. "I'm going to blow you away!" And then Shikamaru vanished in a massive wind blast.
Naruto scoffed. Sakura had mentioned that to him. Yeah, letting Orochimaru operate on him just for that was so stupid. With some work, he could probably learn to do about the same. This guy had to be lazier than Shikamaru...
Speaking of Shikamaru, there was no way he was going down like that.
Sure enough, when the attack cleared, Shikamaru was nowhere in sight.
Zaku looked around with a confident smirk. "Yeah, that's right. Run and hide."
Zaku jumped backward as a kunai came down from above. He turned his head upward to see Shikamaru looking down on him. But as he raised his arm, his attention was drawn back to the kunai and the explosive tag on it.
He kicked back to escape as the kunai erupted. When he looked back up, Shikamaru was gone. Then, a shadow shot out of the cloud, growing along the ground and speeding towards him.
"Like you can catch me with something as simple as that!" He yelled as he leaped away. It stopped at then was pulled back towards the disappearing cloud.
There, not too far when his first position, stood Shikamaru, his hands in his pockets.
"Done running?" Zaku asked, still smirking arrogantly. He then pointed his palm at the Nara heir.
Shikamaru chuckled. "Yeah, all that dodging was such a pain..."
Zaku grinned, but then a flash bomb exploded behind Shikamaru, trapping the Oto genin in his shadow.
"What!? No!" He shouted as Naruto and many others averted their eyes from the glare. When it cleared, Zaku was now mirroring Shikamaru.
"Welp, I guess it's about time I finished this." Shikamaru mused.
Zaku grit his teeth. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do? All this does is force me to imitate you. You can't do anything to me without hurting yourself! And as soon as this jutsu runs out, I'll-"
He never got to finish as Shikamaru suddenly bent backward. He went so far he fell back and had to prop himself up with his hands. Zaku was forced to do the same thing.
And slammed his head right into the wall he'd been maneuvered in front of.
"You really need to pay more attention to your surroundings," Shikamaru said to his now unconscious opponent.
"Zaku has lost consciousness. The winner is Shikamaru!" The proctor declared.
Naruto smirked. For all his laziness, his old classmate had a good head on his shoulders. "Nice one, Shikamaru. That was pretty cool." The blond said as Shikamaru rejoined them.
The Nara rubbed the back of his neck. "Wasn't exactly aiming for cool. It was just the easiest way to take him down with what I had."
"Come on... pick me. Pick me!" Lee said eagerly, his hands gripping the railing as he stared at the board above.
Naruto looked up just in time for the next match to be decided.
Shino Aburame vs Gaara
'Ooh. Tough break, Shino...' Naruto thought as he and many other genin looked to Shino with sympathy. Kiba gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.
The scion of the Aburame clan immediately raised a hand. "I forfeit."
"What? Shino?" Kurenai looked at her student in shock.
The proctor raised a brow but nodded. "Shino has forfeited the match. The winner is Gaara."
"I'm so sorry, Shino..." Hinata said beside him.
Shino sighed. "It is what it is. Nothing at my disposal could circumvent Gaara's sand."
"I feel like we're missing something here," Kurenai said, looking from what student to another with a frown.
Kiba glared across the chamber at the sand wielder. "Yeah, we saw him back in the forest. The guy's bad news." He said with a slight growl.
"He went out of his way to kill an entire team, even after he had their scroll." Shino continued, seeming calmer than his teammate.
"I see," Kurenai answered, now frowning at Gaara. She then closed her eyes. "If you can't think of a way around his style, then that was the right call."
Naruto sighed. He'd have at least tried to fight, but then, he felt he could find a way to win. And unlike him, Shino had actually seen what Gaara could do first hand. He could respect the other genin's choice.
He looked back at the board as names ran across its surface.
Sakura Haruno vs Choji Akimichi
"Looks like you're up, Sakura," Naruto said back at the pink-haired girl.
"Guess so. See you in the finals." Sakura replied before she made her way to the stairs.
Choji hung his head and groaned. "A few months ago, I'd have been relieved to see that..."
Shikamaru clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, relax. Just get down there and try your best. Now, quit moping and head out. You're not going to let yourself get shown up by a girl, are you?" He said before shrugging. "Not that fighting one's much classier, but my point stands."
Choji sighed before making his way towards the stairs.
"Right about now, Ino would probably call him fat to get him fired up. But that's not my style," Shikamaru noted as he watched his old friend join Sakura below. "Give it your all, Choji!"
"You got this, Sakura!" Naruto shouted.
"You can do it! Take him down!" Fuu yelled from her place on the other side of the room.
"Begin!"
The proctor yelled.
Choji immediately formed a hand seal. His torso expanded into a massive, round mass before his head and arms pulled in like a turtle's. "Human Boulder!"
The Akamichi barreled towards Sakura, who raised her arm above her head and punched the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt. Choji plowed through it, only to reveal broken tiles and a hole in the exposed earth. Sakura was nowhere in sight.
Shikamaru sighed. "Yep, I knew that would happen. Well, at least one of us will get to the finals..."
Naruto frowned at the lazy genin. "Shikamaru, what the hell? Don't you have any faith in your teammate?"
"Of course I do," Shikamaru replied with a shrug, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I also know what he can do. He's got a lot of potential, more than he knows, but right now, he's a one-trick pony. He doesn't have any way to deal with an opponent who can avoid that attack." He said as he watched Choji spin around.
Sakura then burst from the tiles on the other side of the arena. Choji immediately changed direction and moved after her as she ran through hand seals.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I see what you mean. And knowing Sakura-"
He was cut off when the ground gave out below Choji once he was just a few feet away from Sakura. He yelled as he fell into a huge hole.
"Earth Style: Mud Spore!" A wave of mud erupted from the ground before her and flooded the hole as Choji cried out. She stopped, and Naruto guessed Choji was probably buried up to his neck. He could hear him sputtering in the now mud-filled pit.
"... she'll do that." He finished.
The pink-haired girl smiled and put her hands on her hips.
"Choji is unable to battle. The winner is Sakura Haruno."
"Great job, Sakura!" Naruto cheered.
"Whoo! Nice going!" Fuu cheered from across the arena.
Sakura made a hand seal before leaping into the pit. One moment later, she came out and pulled Choji out with her, covered in mud from the neck down. "Sorry about the mess. No hard feelings, right?"
"Yeah... thanks for not leaving me down there, I guess," Choji said as he looked sourly down at the mud covering his body, flicking his arms and sending some onto the tiles.
"Don't mention it," Sakura replied.
"Guess I'm the last one," Sasuke mused as he looked to the still blank scoreboard.
"Well, you know how it is," Naruto said with a shrug. "You've gotta start the show off strong."
"More like saving the best for last," Sasuke replied.
Naruto then turned and smiled as Sakura rejoined them. "Hey, congratulations, Sakura."
Sakura smiled. "Thanks, Naruto," She replied as she looked up at the scoreboard. "I'm starting to feel like I can really pull my weight."
"Come on... pick me! I want to show everyone my strength!" Lee said eagerly as the board came to life.
Tenten vs Kin
Lee slumped forward in disappointment. Tenten clapped him on the back.
"Don't worry; your time will come sooner or later. Now, if you'll excuse me." The brunette said as she started to make her way down to the arena.
"Good luck, Tenten," Sakura said.
Naruto watched as the two kunoichi stood across from each other and stared each other down.
"And begin!" Hayate called out.
Kin immediately reached for her pouch and threw a three senbon. Naruto noticed Sakura suck in a breath beside him as Tenten dodged to the side below.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"That girl; she uses genjutsu based around bells. Bells she attaches to her senbon." Sakura replied worriedly, gripping the rails.
Tenten leaped into the air, drawing a series of shuriken between her fingers.
Kin smiled as Naruto grimaced. Tenten had just put herself right where the Oto kunoichi wanted her. Kin pulled back with her hand and the tinkling sound of bells ringing echoed through the room.
Tenten jolted in mid-air, her body seizing up. The shuriken fell to the ground before she grabbed at her ears.
Kin burst into motion then, running forward and jumping up. She drove her fist into Tenten's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her, before spinning and lashing out with a kick that sent Tenten into the far wall. Before the pink-clad girl could recover, Kin threw more senbon her way, riddling her arms with needles before landing in a crouch.
Tenten grit her teeth as she stood up, only to jerk as Kin picked something up off the floor, ninja wire no doubt, and pulled again, once more filling the room with the sound of bells.
She charged forward as Tenten gripped at her ears. Blood ran down from the Konoha genin's mouth as she bit her lip, the pain shattering the illusion. She reached into her pouch as she blocked a high kick with her forearm.
Tenten pulled out a scroll while Kin kicked herself backward. The scroll burst into smoke before a hail of weapons burst out. The Oto kunoichi's eyes widened as she backflipped and moved farther away, weaving around dozens of kunai and shuriken all the while.
At the same time, another scroll shot into the air, unraveling as it went. More weapons rained down on Kin from above, and this time there were more than just kunai and shuriken. Naruto could pick out katana, tanto, kusarigama, and spears mixed in.
As Kin dodged, Tenten shot forward, drawing shuriken and throwing them as she picked a kunai off the ground.
Kin ducked under the ninja stars while the weapons coming down from above boxed her in as Tenten raised her blade.
Then Kin lifted her hand, and a bell, this one only attached to a wire, was pulled back, its ringing heard by all.
Once more, Tenten jerked while Kin lashed out, landing a kick square on Tenten's head. As Tenten was driven into the ground, pushing the scattered weapons aside, Kin leaped forward. She raised her fist and slammed it into Tenten's head, slamming her head into the ground.
Kin stood up while Tenten stayed down.
"The match is over. Winner; Kin Tsuchi."
"Damn..." Sakura grumbled under her breath.
"Tenten..." Lee said.
Gai sighed before vanishing, reappearing beside his student in a burst of speed. He picked her up and carried her back to her team, laying her beside Neji.
"She fought well," Kakashi noted. "Sound-based genjutsu are difficult to deal with. That was probably one of the worst possible matchups for a long-range specialist."
Gai hummed in agreement as he stood and sighed. "Hopefully, they take these lessons to heart. After all, enduring hardships and using them to push yourself farther is not only the beauty of youth..." He smiled. "It is one of the core attributes of a great shinobi."
Sakura raised a brow. "'Hopefully'?"
Gai grimaced. "I'm sure Tenten will learn from her match. Neji, on the other hand... I've tried to turn him away from his unyielding belief in destiny before..."
Hinata threw a sad look Neji's way. "Big brother..."
"Huh? Brother?" Naruto asked; his eyes widened.
"Cousin," Kurenai corrected, looking down at her student. "They used to be very close..."
Naruto frowned, wondering what had happened, but soon his attention was drawn back to the board.
Yoroi Akadō vs Kankuro
Naruto frowned, not recognizing the first name. He heard footsteps and saw one of Kabuto's similarly garbed teammates making his way down to the arena.
Soon enough, he stood across from Kankuro, who was smirking confidently. Whatever expression Yoroi might have had was hidden behind his mask and sunglasses.
"So, I hear this isn't your first time around," Kankuro began conversationally. "Far from it, in fact. Too bad; you won't even make it to the finals this time."
"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Yoroi replied.
"And... begin!"
Yoroi made a hand sign before throwing a volley of kunai at Kankuro, who leaped to the side. He skidded to a stop as Yoroi charged toward him, taking the bandaged object off of his back and planting it on the ground.
Yoroi didn't give him a chance to use whatever it was, closing the distance and throwing a punch at him.
The Suna genin blocked the blow with his forearm. He brushed the attack aside and swept out his arm, only for the purple-clad man to duck under it and lunge at him.
Yoroi grasped his arm, leaving him wide open, only to suddenly jump back. He stood a few feet away from Kankuro, suddenly wary.
"I see," The masked man said. "That isn't the real you, is it?"
Naruto frowned. "Huh? What's that mean? Is he a clone?"
Kankuro smirked. He then dashed forward, launching a series of blows and kicks that Yoroi blocked and weaved around before jumping back to avoid an ax kick.
Suddenly, 'Kankuro' flew. Literally. He shot forward without kicking off the ground, charging towards Yoroi with his arm reared back.
The purple-clad man had no chance to dodge and instead blocked with his forearm, only to let out a pained grunt as blades shot out of 'Kankuro's' arm, slicing through flesh and spilling blood onto the tiles.
Yoroi didn't let this affect him, spinning into a kick, only for 'Kankuro' to fly above it, flesh splintering away to reveal the wood beneath.
It dove down at Yoroi, only for him to drop a smoke bomb. It exploded into a cloud of smog, and in an instant, the young man charged out of it.
"The real you has to be-!" He yelled as he charged towards the white object, sitting idly on the floor.
Sure enough, it unwrapped itself to reveal Kankuro, who leaped backward the moment he was uncovered. The older genin was faster, however, and closed the distance almost immediately.
"I've got you now!" Yoroi yelled as he grasped at Kankuro, whose eyes went wide.
Then he smirked. The instant before Yoroi would have reached him; he burst into smoke to reveal a wooden thing in his place. It was vaguely humanoid, with thin arms and equally thin legs hanging out of a brown cloak. It had three eyes, one almost hidden between its spike brown hair and jagged teeth.
"Substitution!" Yoroi yelled as the cloud cleared, revealing Kankuro, his hands pointed towards him as his fingers shifted.
The newly revealed puppet lunged forward. Yoroi ducked beneath the attack, only for it to suddenly fire kunai from beneath its cloak. He dodged to the side, but it sent volley after volley his way, pushing him away from Kankuro.
Then it charged at him. Yoroi readied to dodge, only to suddenly grunt and stumble.
"This is... poison?"
"Took it long enough to kick in," Kankuro said with a grin.
Weakened and off-balance, he was powerless as the puppet reached him and wrapped its arms around him. He struggled weakly as its grip tightened, its arms constricting until he cried out.
"That's enough! Yoroi is unable to battle. The winner is Kankuro!"
"Aw. Well, if you say so." Kankuro conceded before his puppet let his opponent go.
"A puppet? Huh, never heard of that before." Naruto muttered as he frowned at the Suna genin.
"That's because it's a discipline exclusive to Suna," Kakashi informed him and the others. "They use strings of chakra to manipulate their puppets, and they're always chock full of all sorts of dangerous weapons. And often poisoned, as Kankuro demonstrated."
Naruto hummed as the electronic board came to life once again.
"Come on..." Lee said eagerly, gripping the railing tightly as he looked up at the board.
Fuu vs Dosu Kinuta
"Alright! My turn!" Fuu cheered before she leaped over the railing and ran over to take her spot.
Dosu soon followed suit soon after, walking over to take his place across from Fuu.
Naruto gripped the railing as he frowned. Maybe he should have warned her about him too. From what Sakura said, his sound attacks were hard to deal with. He raised his fist. "Get him, Fuu!"
Fuu gave him a confident smile before turning to Dosu. "Don't hold back, ok?" She said as she slipped into a fighting stance, bending slightly at the knees with one foot swept back with her right arm was held in front of her.
"Oh, don't worry about that," Dosu replied as he raised his gauntleted hand.
"And... begin!"
Fuu vanished. Disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared in the air at Dosu's left side. She swept her arm out at him, only for him to duck underneath. The mint-haired kunoichi twisted her body, planting one hand on the ground and reversed course, lashing out with a kick.
Dosu raised his forearm to block and began to lash out with his gauntlet, only for Fuu to somersault back onto her feet and kick backward. She crossed half of the arena in a moment before blurring into motion again, jumping from one spot to another.
'Whoa...' Naruto's eyes darted from place to place. 'She's faster than Bushy Brow!' And it looked like he didn't need to warn her that the gauntlet was dangerous.
Fuu continued to jump around the arena, attacking Dosu on his left side at every opportunity before darting away.
"Is running away all you can do?" Dosu asked.
"I don't know what the deal with that gauntlet is, but there's no way you'd just show it off like that for no reason," Fuu replied as she jumped back.
"Well, give the girl a prize," Dosu responded before frowning as she vanished again. His eyes immediately shot up to where Fuu stood on the ceiling above him.
Fuu came down in a blur. "Takigakure Hurricane!"
Dosu jumped back as she crashed into the arena amid small whirlwind and shattering tiles. The bandaged boy's eyes widened as a large section of the floor came flying at him, blowing away the dust cloud to reveal it had been kicked by Fuu.
It slammed into him and drove him into the far wall with a cry of pain. Fuu followed after him, closing the distance in a moment and ready to continue her attack.
Then Dosu banged his gauntlet against the wall, and shock filled Fuu's face before it twisted in pain as she grasped at her ears.
Naruto gripped the railing again, as did Sakura beside him. "Oh no." He heard her say.
"Pretty good. You're quick on your feet, but you can't outrun the speed of sound." Dosu said one hand on his chest as he stepped forward. "The vibrations my gauntlet become sound waves. I can use them to attack my opponent's inner ear. And once that's damaged, you lose your equilibrium. I don't even need to hit you. One swipe of my gauntlet, and I've all but won."
With that, he ran forward, raising his gauntlet.
With one eye screwed shut, Fuu kicked herself back, not nearly as fast as she had been, and made a single hand sign. She inhaled, and sparkling silver powder poured from her mouth, filling the air and shining so bright Naruto winced and averted his eyes.
It probably worked like a flash bomb on Dosu and stunned him, as he didn't follow her immediately.
Fuu drew a kunai with an explosive tag and threw it into the cloud. The sound of steel crashing into stone told everyone it missed, and then Dosu charged out of the cloud, ready to continue his attack.
And then the cloud exploded.
The whole thing became a massive fireball. The blast sent Dosu flying forward, the fire licking at his back. Fuu jumped at him and twisted her body, using the momentum to slam her foot into his head.
They both fell to the ground in different directions, landing ungracefully and sliding across the floor until they stopped. But only Fuu was still moving.
It was hard, that much was obvious, but, with her right hand on her ear and one eye still shut, Fuu shakily climbed to her feet. She was unsteady but standing.
"Thanks for the lesson. Thought I'd return the favor," Fuu said with a smile. "That's called a dust explosion."
"Dosu has lost consciousness. Winner; Fuu!"
Fuu pumped her fist in the air, only to nearly lose what balance she had and stumble.
"Great job! Way to go, Fuu!" Naruto cheered, getting another smile and a thumbs up from the tan kunoichi before she started to make her way back to her team, stumbling along the way. Her jonin-sensei soon came to help, but Naruto couldn't help but frown as his gaze followed her back to her team, who didn't seem to pay much attention to her.
"Good thing she didn't let Dosu get another move in. If he'd managed to hit her with another sound attack, she'd have been done for." Sakura said.
"Her teammates don't seem too thrilled..." Naruto said.
"Didn't you say she mentioned that they were thrown together for the exams?" Sakura asked, and Naruto nodded. "Well, I guess that kinda explains it. They probably barely know each other. Though they're all from Taki, so you'd think they'd show some concern..."
"Tell me about it..." He grumbled before turning back to the board as it lit up again.
"All right, Lee! Believe, and your chance will finally come!" Gai encouraged, raising one fist in the air.
"I don't care anymore," Lee replied.
"Huh?" Gai's arm dropped as he raised a brow.
"I'm sick of getting my hopes up. I don't care, even if I go last." He replied and turned his back to the board.
"Is he sulking or something?" Naruto wondered aloud.
Sasuke Uchiha vs Misumi Tsurugi
"Looks like I'm up," Sasuke said with a smirk as he stepped away from the wall, his hands in his pockets.
"Aw..." Lee slumped forward.
Naruto frowned at him. "What's wrong? I thought you didn't care."
"I thought that if I said I that, my fortune would turn around..." Lee replied, and he was definitely sulking now. "Like maybe I was jinxing myself..."
Gai rubbed the back of his head. "Lee, I don't think it works like that." He then crossed his arms. "That sort of thing includes one's thoughts, so..."
"Oh, I see now! So no matter what I said, it wouldn't cover my true desire!"
'I don't think that's the problem here...' Naruto thought before turning to his teammate. "Good luck, Sasuke. Sakura and I are waiting in the winner's circle for you."
"Well, you won't have to wait much longer," The Uchiha replied as he made his way down.
It wasn't long before he stood across from his opponent, Kabuto's remaining teammate. Like Yoroi, the man wore a mask and had coal eyes behind a pair of glasses.
No banter. Just like Naruto expected of Sasuke as the Uchiha stared down his opponent on the arena floor below.
"Get him, Sasuke!" Fuu cheered him on.
"And... begin!"
Misumi charged at Sasuke as crimson bled into the Uchiha's eyes.
The purple-clad man threw a punch at Sasuke. His teammate started to block, but then Naruto saw his eyes widen.
Sasuke ducked down at the last moment, letting the attack sail over his head, before aiming a kick at the older genin's jaw. The purple-clad man tilted his head back, the blow missing him by inches.
Sasuke threw himself away from his opponent, flipping through the air to land on his feet before kicking back. He ran through hand seals as his opponent closed the distance.
The Uchiha inhaled and breathed out a stream of fireballs. Misumi ducked and weaved through them before leaping to the side to avoid one aimed right at him.
"What?" Misumi's eyes widened.
What he'd noticed became apparent a moment later when Sasuke pulled his hands back. The fireballs still in the air broke apart as shuriken hidden within them cut their way out, attached to wires held in Sasuke's hands.
Misumi was wrapped up in the wires as the shuriken planted themselves in the ground, held immobile in the air.
"Winner; Sasuke!" The proctor declared.
"Whoa! Nice work, Sasuke!" Fuu cheered.
"Well, that was quick..." Naruto noted as he watched his teammate loosen his grip, allowing the wires to fall harmlessly to the ground. He then made his way back to their spot while Misumi glared at his feet.
As Sasuke rejoined them, Sakura smiled. "That was amazing, Sasuke."
Naruto grinned. "That didn't take long. Trying to show off by having the shortest match?"
"Hardly..." Sasuke said; his hands in his pockets. Then, he closed his eyes and quietly added. "I almost lost that fight."
Naruto and Sakura blinked. "Huh?" The blond voiced.
"That guy did something weird with his body. He could somehow loosen his bones and slither like a snake. If I'd blocked that first strike, he would have coiled his arm around mine and then wrapped me up completely. It would have been over if I hadn't seen it coming with my Sharingan." He opened his eyes and looked at the purple-clad man who frowned at the ground as he returned to his place. "I came up with that plan on the fly when I realized close-range combat wasn't an option."
"Huh. That's freaky." Naruto commented, raising a brow at the guy. It wasn't his style, but he could see how useful something like that would be.
The board came back to life, running through just three names.
"Come on, pick me!" Lee cried as he looked up at the board, one fist raised to his chest, trembling as he bore holes into it with his eyes.
Finally, the last match was decided.
Kaito vs Hinata Hyuga
"Uh... it... it didn't choose me... I... I passed without a match?" Lee said, dejected as his arms fell limply at his sides. His unbelieving eyes continued to stare up at the board.
"Hey, look on the bright side," Naruto said; putting a hand on the green-clad boy's shoulder. "You'll get to show your stuff in front of a crowd! And you're the only one here no one's seen in action."
Gai nodded, crossing his arms. "He's right, Lee. I know this is a disappointment, but this is an advantage. It puts you in a better position than all your rivals, and you'll still have the chance to prove you're a splendid ninja."
Gai then gave his student a thumbs up and a sparkling smile. "You'll show everyone that hard work is just as good as raw talent in the finals!"
That seemed to raise Lee's spirit as the thick-browed boy raised a fist in the air. "Yes, Gai-sensei!"
Kiba turned to his teammate, smiling and raising a fist. "Good luck, Hinata. Kick his ass for me!"
"Do your best, Hinata. Show everyone how much you've grown." Kurenai told her, her eyes briefly glancing at Naruto for a moment.
Hinata steeled herself and nodded before making her way down to the arena.
She soon took her place across from the remaining Taki ninja, who smirked.
"This should be a cinch. I've already seen what you can do, thanks to that cousin of yours," He said confidently.
Hinata didn't say anything back. The pale-eyed girl just frowned and slipped into the same combat stance as her cousin, the veins around her eyes bulging as her dojutsu activated.
"Give it all you've got, Kaito!" Fuu yelled from above.
"And, begin!" Hayate yelled.
Kaito immediately leaped backward as Hinata moved to close the distance between them. The Taki genin ran through hand signs as Hinata approached.
"Earth Style-!" He called out before Hinata reached him. threw a palm strike his way only for him to block with his forearm.
Naruto remembered the pain that shot through his arm when Neji managed. Looked like Hinata was off to a strong start.
Emphasis on looked like, because then Kaito burst into smoke and was replaced by a log.
He reappeared behind Hinata, his hands running through seals again. "Earth Style: Stone Daggers!" He placed his hands on the ground before chunks of rock burst from the ground, their sharpened points facing Hinata.
The Hyuga heiress drew a kunai and deflected the chunks of stone, but then a brief look of shock passed over her face. She threw herself to the side, just in time to avoid a series of daggers with explosive tags.
Hinata shielded her face as the tags exploded beside her, just outside of the blast range. She then leaped back as a pair of snakes made of mud crawled out of the cloud and tried to wrap around her feet.
She drew a second kunai and threw them both, impaling the serpents and causing them to break apart into brown puddles on the floor before she moved to close the distance.
Narrowing her eyes, she suddenly shot forward in a burst of speed and jumped as the ground opened up beneath her feet.
Kaito's eyes widened as he jumped back, trying to avoid close-range combat, but Hinata had come too far. He gritted his teeth as he drew a kunai and stabbed at her, wincing in pain as she sidestepped his attack and pressed one palm to his elbow, the other moving to his chest.
As he kept kicking himself back, trying his best to weave around her attacks while she bent her body or ducked to avoid swipes of his kunai, he reached into his pouch and threw a flash bomb behind him.
Hinata looked in shock at the small sphere while Kaito ducked down. Naruto saw her shield her eyes just in time as the bomb went off, causing all to avert their eyes from the blinding light.
He heard a cry of pain. When the light cleared, Hinata and Kaito were standing inches apart, the Taki ninja's kunai held out, having just barely missed her, while her hand had struck his chest.
The brown-haired boy coughed up blood, and then Hinata went to finish the fight and delivered several palm strikes to his torso. One final strike sent him to the floor, where he feebly tried to stand, his movements so slow that it was clear who won the match.
"The match is over; Hinata wins."
'Whoa... I made a good call trying to keep Neji at a distance.' Speaking of whom, Naruto heard a slight grown and turned to see that Neji had woke up at some point. He doubted he'd just now regained consciousness; he'd probably been stewing in his loss and hadn't said anything. The older boy seemed to have a real stick up his ass, so it wouldn't surprise him.
But right now, he was glaring down at Hinata, who looked back at them all and smiled, though she looked away and to the ground when his own gaze turned back to her.
Naruto grinned in anticipation. 'So, guess it's about time we talk about the main event.'
And with that, Hayate declared, "With this, the preliminary trials have been concluded. All those continuing to the Third Exam, come down to the floor."
I hope you all enjoyed that. Like I said, I really just don't like writing the prelims, and I'm worried that might have been reflected in the quality of the writing. I wanted to fit a Fuu POV scene in, but it felt a bit jarring to jump from one side of the room to another, what with how little time there is between the matches.
Speaking of Fuu, let me say this now in case someone gets concerned. Fuu is not faster than Lee. Don't forget, in this story Naruto has only seen Lee in his pre-exam sparring match with Sasuke. He doesn't know about Lee's weights. Fuu is faster than he is with them, but he's a lot faster than her without them.
I opted to draw inspiration for her fighting style from both the anime and the game version. One of her in-game quotes has her bragging about her speed, and her team was one of the first to reach Suna. So, yeah. Plus, Konoha may have tried to treat Naruto like a normal kid, but the other villages, including Taki, did not do that with their Jinchuriki. Fuu's received far harsher training, about on par with what Kakashi's been putting team seven through, since as long as she could conceivably handle it. Though, she also had inferior teachers, still that effort has paid off.
Unfortunately with Neji, without his canon match with Hinata Naruto didn't really have any reason to dig into his problems, and he didn't have any reason to bring them up. So, while there's a dent in his ideology, it's not completely proven wrong as in canon. And... let's face it, Naruto's not actually a good example of that. I mean, it looked like it at the time, but then we have to consider that part of why he was dead last was he wasn't given the training he needed to properly control his enormous chakra. And then we have to factor in he's the son of the Fourth Hokage, and one of the last survivors of a clan implied to rival the Uchiha and Senju in power. And all that's before we learn he's the reincarnation of the son of the Sage of the Six Paths. If anything, he kind of proves Neji's beliefs about fate right. He was born destined for greatness, and anyone who knew his heritage and didn't have their judgement clouded, never mind the reincarnation thing, probably would have suspected that. That said, Naruto did provide a good counter argument; you can't know what the future holds for you. And running with that will help break Neji of his ideology, but that won't be until later.
Anyway, please review.