Chapter 17: Prelims
Published: 5/17/23
Words: 4,909
Roswell: i wonder what will orochimaru do with the ccurse mark
Evil things ] assuming he hasn't begun doing things already :P
scotty26: I feel like in the beginning of this story it felt like you were struggling a bit to get the characters to this point but I'll give you brownies point for the very creative joke of "naruto Junior". That was Hilarious. With that being said.. Guardians Vol 3 is Gunn Swan song and some of the characters. It was a very good movie than what marvel has thrown out lately outside of No Way Home. What did you mean by being disappointed by Gunn? I thought his guardian trilogy is awesome and The suicide squad was just bonkers awesome.. very underrated movie and what he did with Peacemaker? My god that was just another honker good series. Anyways keep up the good work. I don't know how good you are with fight scenes but I hope you minimize the preliminaries fight to a few.. though I'm thinking you going to skip the sand-sound arc invasion or going a different route with that?
I definitely did struggle with the characterization at first. I'm really coming up with this as I go, with major plot points being the bulk of what I've already planned. No Way Home personally wasn't my style of movie, nor the 2021 Suicide Squad except the Rick Flag vs Peacemaker fight - I'd like to see the uncut version of the 2016 one, though, as the studio really messed it up. I also did like Peacemaker for the most part, especially when it got serious. I'm not too good with fight scenes, but I try my best, and typically keep them short. As for the invasion... Definitely a different route. I don't plan for this fic to run too long, so I'll be amending many things from canon, especially cutting out things I didn't like (most of Shippuden/part 2)
Now... On with the story!
The Next Morning
Having decided to skip breakfast, Naruto and Sakura stopped by the infirmary again.
Fortunately, Dr. Kimiko was still manning the office - she seemed to be the only one there.
Upon noticing the genin, she ordered, "Mr. Uzumaki, I'm glad you came; your tests have come back, and I want to perform a physical exam.".
"What kind?".
"The kind that I need you to take your shirt off for.".
When Naruto reluctantly removed his shirt and gave it to Sakura, Kimiko winced.
She scribbled on a clipboard and commented, "Whoa; you're looking too thin for comfort.".
Sakura interjected, "That's part of the reason I've been concerned.".
Kimiko replied, "Well, you're a good friend, Kid, and you've certainly got a doctor's instinct.". She turned to Naruto and said, "You better hang onto this one...".
As Naruto was guided onto the bed and Kimiko obtained some materials, he asked, "How'd the tests come out?...".
With her tools in hand, the doctor informed, "I'll need more input from you to get the full picture, but it doesn't look too good. It looks like you have a few hormonal imbalances: testosterone, maybe dopamine, cortisol... Further testing will probably confirm tomorrow. I need to know about your diet and exercise habits.".
Naruto squirmed. "Well... I don't really eat much... Usually a bowl of cereal at breakfast and one at ramen for dinner, and water every few hours, but I've been known to switch it up! And I normally hang out with kids at the orphanage at the park for a few hours but I've been busy with shinobi stuff lately...".
Himiko sighed. "From what I can tell, you've got a significant diet issue; having cereal for breakfast, toy might as well be eating candy. Eat something more filling at breakfast - - well, really, whenever you're hungry. Something with lots of protein, and when you're doing physical activities, it should help to switch out water for an energy drink or some fruit juice to replenish. Cut down on soy, sugars, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and sodium, too.".
Naruto blinked. "Oh, okay... So what about these physical exams? What am I gonna learn from them?".
"I just want to make sure your problems aren't physical. Some people have problems that stem from injuries, misshapen or missing organs, tumors, and even malignant bone growth or disease. I'll be giving you an x-ray, a CAT scan, an MRI, et cetera...".
Sakura, who had been taking note of the doctor's advice, smiled at her way of verbalizing 'et cetera'.
Himiko cleared her throat. "Alright, let's get started.".
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Luncthime
This time, Naruto and Sakura, along with Team Dosu and the Sand Siblings, were joined - even if somewhat detested - by teams 8, 9, and 10, who were still sour.
Ignoring the sea of hate surrounding them, Temari questioned, "Hey, how come you dweebs weren't here at breakfast? We missed ya!".
Naruto told her, "Well... I was getting some testing done at the infirmary, and the doctor told me to come back tomorrow for more tests.".
Kin inquired, "Testing? I hope you're fine, Kid; what kind?".
"Some physical stuff, like my breathing and X-rays. I'm fine physically, and she wants me to get blood tests and stuff done tomorrow to make sure she doesn't misdiagnose me. So I gotta fast for the rest of the day today and go in the morning.".
Dosu, to everyone's shock, was the next to speak - small talk, no less. "A fast every now and then is always good; helps your body balance itself out.".
Zaku joked, "I don't think it counts as a proper fast if it's involuntary.".
When the genin from the other villages raised their brows at this, the boy added, "Ol' Dosu here started from the lowest of the low in the Hidden Sound. They're not allowed to exceed the state limit of food, which is a lot less for them than even the next caste.".
Dosu remarked, "It's a stupid problem. Wouldn't even be a thing if the Sound was more like other villages, without a planned economy.".
Sakura replied, "Right, we've read about that in school. It sounds like it's got some advantages but the bulk of the theory isn't so attractive.".
"Yeah, and the advantages are just for people who've got an in with the otokage, and people who he decides to spare...".
Then, yet again to everyone's surprise, it was Neji who spoke, albeit lowly. "Doesn't sound so different from the Hyuuga, if I'm being honest. The main family takes precedent, and the patriarch of the main family commands the branch families and other subsidiaries.".
Naruto snickered. "Sounds like an organized crime scheme.".
Though he elicited some chuckles from the groups, Neji remained stone-faced. "Don't insult my clan.", he commanded.
Naruto chuckled awkwardly and responded, "It's not an insult, it's just a joke.".
Neji scoffed. "The only joke here is that an animal like you is allowed to be a shinobi".
Naruto scoffed in return and replied, "So you do have a sense of humor.".
Neji growled. "Forget I said anything.".
"Okay.".
As Naruto returned to eating, he became acutely aware, albeit after the fact, that the rest of the table had been staring at him in expectation of another response - though, they very soon returned to themselves.
Jeez, that kinda stuff still creeps me out.
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Dungeon
In the same hall where Anko had summoned him before, Sasuke had been training for the past few days. He had set up a training dummy, a wooden post, and a slew of lights for better visibility.
Having trained his taijutsu for the past few hours, he opted to train his ninjutsu. He had been using a blank wall as his target, which had nearly gone completely black from ash, roughly and poorly scrubbed off by Sasuke.
He performed the proper handsigns and released a fireball, afflicting the wall with a new, yet smaller scar than before.
Is it losing its potency? Damn, shit! I can't keep going on like this!
He stomped over to the training dummy and began his assault on it, battering the doll in frustration.
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Main Hall, The Next Morning
All the genin had been summoned to the main hall after breakfast. They stood in an unorganized circle in their shinobi outfits, albeit not separated from their teams.
They were now joined by Team Kabuto - they had arrived late in the night when all were asleep.
The hokage stood at the back of the hall, opposite the doors, on a small pedestal.
He announced, "The reason that you have all been gathered here today... Is for the preliminary rounds of the next and final part of these exams...".
The genin shifted.
Preliminary?
"The reason we require preliminary rounds this year is simply because too many of you have passed. Six teams today, as opposed to no more than three in most years, in fact. The final part of the exam does not run so long as to accommodate for so many one-on-one matches, and as such, we have to cull the participants. First off, who wants to quit this part now?".
Kabuto smirked and raised his hand. Then, he nudged his teammates, and they, too, raised their hands. They were the only ones, and were promptly dismissed.
The hokage sighed. "So be it. That leaves... 18 competitors, 9 matches today, and... 5 matches for the final part with the winners of each match fighting each other.".
Naruto was in awe.
Hope I last the longest so everyone watches me triply kick ass!
The hokage bellowed. "Follow me.". He turned around and walked through a wide wooden door, with the genin following suit.
They entered a dome-shaped arena, with seats 20 feet high encircling the empty ring. In the seats were the sensei of the genin present.
The hokage directed the genin toward the seats as he himself joined the otokage and the kazekage - who was present as his children's sensei - in a boxed area. Whereas the kazekage and hokage sat stone-faced and alone, the otokage sat with a long robe and his face veiled, and when he greeted, "Good morning.", he pressed onto his throat to emit a low, scratchy voice.
In the arena, a young man sporting a bandana and a jonin vest made his presence known.
He cleared his throat and announced, "My name is Hayato. I will be the referee for these preliminary match-ups, and if God wills it, the final part of the chunin exams.". He coughed. "The screen opposite the kages' box will display the names of two randomly-selected genin; it is they who will participate in these match-ups. There will be no repeats. Please divert your attention to the screen now.".
As if it were a pachinko or a slot machine, the screen flashed with rolling lights, until it landed on two names.
Naruto Uzumaki vs. Tenten Higurashi
Naruto and Tenten swung their heads around, and met each other's eyes. Tenten nodded in affirmation, whereas Naruto's brow rose.
Who's this chick? Why's she lookin' at me like that?
Naruto was patted on the back by Kakashi. "Come this way, Naruto.", he ordered, pointing to the left. Naruto followed, as Tenten exited through the right side.
Guy taunted, "My girl's gonna kick his ass, Kakashi.".
Kakashi returned, "I'll believe it when I see it.".
The two genin met each other again when they were face-to-face in the ring.
Naruto pouted.
Oh. She's Tenten. Duh.
Hayato stood between them. He ordered, "Listen... Anything goes, alright? Just don't leave the ring. The match ends when I determine a winner, usually because one of you is incapacitated or because you've willingly forfeited.".
The genin nodded when he looked at each of them.
"Alright, now, 3... 2... 1...".
He jumped away as he yelled, "Begin!".
Naruto and Tenten circled each other for a few seconds, wavy waiting for the other to make the first move.
From the stands, Sakura watched anxiously.
Naruto started by throwing a kunai, which whizzed past Tenten and missed by more then a yard.
Tenten scoffed and returned fire by jumping back and opening a scroll as if it were a fan, sending kunai shooting down at Naruto.
Naruto dodged them by running backwards and rolling back, narrowly avoiding the blunt-tipped weapons.
He picked up one of the kunai and threw it back at Tenten, who promptly holstered it.
Naruto sprinted towards the girl, who laid out another scroll, releasing marbles this time.
Naruto slipped on the marbles and began to fell, as Tenten ran towards him to strike the final blow.
Sakura watched anxiously.
Come on, Naruto, move!
Thinking on his feet, Naruto summoned a clone, used the flying thunder to reach the first kunai he had thrown, and summoned another clone, who kicked off the wall, and provided Naruto a vantage point from whom to jump and apprehend Tenten.
The girl was quick to respond, however, and had senbon ready to stop the boy in his tracks.
However, as he was still rising, Naruto summoned another clone, teleported to the kunai Tenten caught, whilst summoning another clone, and kicked off of it, too, giving him extra momentum to sock her right under the lungs.
Tenten immediately fell backwards, out of breath. She lied there for a few seconds as Naruto warily watched over her.
After a few more seconds, Hayato stepped in and said, "Winner - - Naruto Uzumaki.".
As Naruto was returning to the seats, his hand felt oddly warm. He inspected it, but found nothing of note.
Come to think, didn't it used to bleed?
He gulped, and cleared his throat.
When he returned, he was greeted by Sakura, who said, "Great job, Naruto!".
He blushed, and meekly replied, "Thanks...".
Tenten was ignored by Neji, but assured by Guy and Lee that she would become a chunin within the next year.
The screen scrolled once more.
The next match-up was set.
Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka
Before Hayato could even begin the match, Naruto was already shouting, "C'mon, Sakura, kick her ass! You can do it!", to whom Sakura smiled.
When the match began, Sakura was quick to jump to the side and try to avoid Ino's technique, but the blonde had made a good guess, and transfered her soul to Sakura's body.
Alright, Pinky, this match is mine!
Sakura's hand - under Ino's control - rose. Her voice - also under Ino's control - spoke, "I--!"
No other words came out.
Sakura's arm automatically came back down as Ino began to lose immediate control. However, when she concentrated, she was able to stop the body from moving on its own.
What the Hell is going on?
Hayato announced, "The match is over. Sakura wins."
Ino froze.
Sakura?
She looked at her own body, and saw something that horrified her.
When Sakura jumped, she'd also thrown tranquilizer senbon at Ino, whose body fell unconscious just as she'd attempted to forfeit the match for Sakura.
Naruto cheered, "Alright! I knew you'd do it! That's my Sakura!".
Ino remarked, "She knew I'd get in her body... Well, I'm not going back to my body if, like, I'm just gonna be unconscious! I'm going to wait it out in here!".
Asuma rolled his eyes as he grabbed Ino's body and returned to the seats.
Meanwhile, Ino returned to the seats in Sakura's body.
Before she could sit, she was confronted by Naruto.
The boy demanded, "Hey, Ino, get back in your own body!"
Ino scoffed. "No. Not until the effects of those senbon wear off."
Naruto tried to reason, "C'mon, you already caused a real problem when you used it on me and Kin..."
Ino deflected, "Well, you're two people. Sakura's just one."
Naruto whined, "Come on..."
Ino sighed. "Or what? You gonna hit me? Here, I'll give you a free shot!". She whisked away Sakura's hair, outlined her jaw, and flaunted her cheek, taunting Naruto and daring him to hit her.
Naruto began to steam, and Kakashi arrived promptly. He ordered, "Leave it, Naruto. What matters is that Sakura won. Let Ino be a sore loser."
Naruto grumbled, "Ugh, but what about, y'know, autonomy?"
He received no answer as he was led back to his original spot.
The screen revealed the next match.
Dosu Kinuta vs Kiba Inuzuka
Dosu made no comment, but Kiba stated, "You're dead meat, Pharaoh."
Once they were in the ring, the natch started, and Kiba immediately sent Akamaru to bite Dosu.
With those bandages, he'll puss out, or be too busy with Akamaru to get ready for my attack!
Instead, Dosu managed to dodge Akamaru, and held him by the back of his neck.
He held the dog up, using his other hand to aim a sound gauntlet at him. "Your dog's my hostage. Choose your next move very carefully."
Kiba gritted his teeth.
Son of a bitch! Well, Akamaru is, but the other guy too!
He slowly brought his hands out of his pockets, feigning surrender. As he was bringing his hands up, he tossed a pill towards Akamaru.
The dog attempted to catch it in his mouth, Dosu had heard Kiba reach for the pill, so he was ready.
He quickly dashed to the side and blasted Akamaru with an unrelenting sound wave. The dog released a lengthy, loud howl.
"This is a frequency that only dogs can hear; I've fine-tuned it for maximum pain. Give up now, Dog-boy, or I'll make his ears bleed!"
Kiba panicked. "Wait, shit, fine! Fine!". He began to sweat as he raised his arm and said, "I forfeit!", he then begged Dosu, "Please, stop hurting him now!".
When Hayato announced, "Dosu wins.", Dosu deactivated his gauntlet and tossed Akamaru back to Kiba. He then told him, "By the way, it wasn't a painful frequency - - just annoying. Like the canine version of nails on a chalkboard."
Kiba cursed him all the way back to the seats.
Dosu, on the other hand, was internally conflicted.
An annoying sound? I should've used the painful one. Why didn't I?
Naruto directed a side-eyed stared at Sakura, whose body was still inhabited by ino.
The girl threatened, "Quit looking at me like that, or I'll mess her up!", showing off her fist.
Naruto blushed and looked away.
Stupid bitch.
The screen rolled again.
Neji Hyuuga vs Hinata Hyuuga
Naruto commented, "Oh, they got the same last name? They're brother and sister? "
Kakashi corrected, "No, Naruto; they're cousins. Hinata is from the main family, and Neji is from a side family."
"Oh, right... He mentioned something about that earlier."
In the ring, Neji met Hinata with scorn. "This is your one and only chance to forfeit. It would be wise of you to use it the right way."
Hinata's shoulders were turned inwards as she rubbed her hands anxiously.
Wh--what would N-N-Naruto do?...
She looked up at the boy in question, noticing that he was simply bored with the whole ordeal.
Hinata steeled her resolve.
I'll show him... I'll f--f-fight and earn Naruto's love!
She chose to adopt the Hyuuga fighting stance and activated her byakugan, angering her cousin.
Neji adopted the same stance in return, without activating his byakugan, and continued to taunt her. "Your byakugan is weak. Your resolve is weak. Your heart is weak. You will not defeat me."
Hayato began the match.
Hinata replied to Neji, "I--I'll fight!"
Neji began to growl. "One last chance to forfeit, Lady Hinata, before I blow you back to our clan in shame and shattered pieces!"
Hinata rushed at Neji, bringing her palm forward.
Neji quickly dispatched of her by dodging the blow, and striking her directly in the center of her chest. He then hit her with his other palm, sending her flying back, albeit still on her two feet.
Hinata was barely able to stand, and trembled, but Hayato wasn't ready to call the match.
However, anyone could see that she would not win this match.
Naruto called out, "Hey, call the match already!"
He received no response.
Neji nonchalantly walked towards Hinata, who couldn't even move. The boy then swung his arm back and thrust it forward, using his fingers to chop her directly on the throat causing her to collapse.
Hayato announced, "Neji wins."
When Hinata fell, her eyes seemed lifeless and blood oozed out of her mouth, as her breathing was jagged.
After she was stretchered away, Neji was promptly approached by Naruto.
The blonde shoved him and said, "What the Hell, man?! That was overkill!"
Neji replied without emotion. "It's better than she deserves."
Naruto scoffed when he was pushed aside, and was approached by Kakashi, who warned, "Control yourself, Naruto."
When Naruto returned to his seat, he once again glared at Sakura's body before burying his face in his arms over the railing.
I wanna kill something.
The next match was revealed.
Gaara no Sabaku vs Rock Lee
The mizukage excused himself from the kages' box.
Gaara and Lee both stared each other down.
When the match began, Lee immediately attempted to make way toward Gaara, hoping to attack him directly.
The redhead, however, used his sand to push Lee back in waves.
Now with his back against the wall, Lee attempted to kick off, but was quickly trapped by Gaara's sand holding him against it.
The boy eyed his sensei, seeking approval, and received a thumb up from him.
Gaara insisted, "Forfeit, it'll make this end quicker.", but instead, Lee closed his eyes. He seemed to be meditating for a few seconds, breathing wholly and deeply, and a blue aura began to creep around his body as his skin turned the slightest bit redder.
To Gaara's surprise, Lee not only managed to break his arms out of the sand, he also managed to break the sand blocking his chest. Following that, Lee began to dash around the arena, swiftly dodging every attempt Gaara made to block him with sand.
Guy announced, "The first gate..."
Lee finally found himself a few inches away from Gaara, and tried to punch him, but he was finally successfully blocked by the sand.
Gaara once again threw Lee back, himself backing up to make more distance. His eyes became sharp, as did his breath, as he formed a sand dome around Lee, hoping to make him forfeit by scaring him with the threat of suffocation.
Naruto watched with envy.
How come the stupid fox doesn't let me do that with like, chakra or whatever? Stupid fox.
The spectators' anticipation rose as a minute passed without any move from Lee. The dome remained intact, and hadn't budged an inch.
Guy had a sudden surge of shock, and his eyes widened.
You wouldn't do something as foolish as that, would you, Lee? Not here?!
Kurenai questioned, "Bowl-Head, what's wrong?", to which Guy droned, "Lee's gonna kill himself... He's jumped to the third gate!"
The sand dome suddenly burst.
Before anyone could register what was happening, Gaara was punched with such force that he was thrown into the wall behind, and even began bleeding.
Lee now stood where Gaara had been, his skin red and his hair frayed.
Gaara looked up at him, and insanity took over.
With barely a thought spared as to what he was doing, Gaara sent his sand to quickly grab Lee and lift him up, holding him tight, crushing his bones as he rapidly knocked his head against the wall of the ring again and again and again.
Even the audience couldn't believe what was happening.
Temari began to sob, and was hugged by Kankuro for comfort. Similarly, Tenten clutched onto Guy.
By the time Gaara composed himself, the damage was done. He crawled over to Lee, who was now nearer to him and unconscious, and lamented what he had just done.
I thought it was over! It should've been over! Why did this happen?! Why, after all this time?!
Lee wasn't dead, but when Hayato announced the match in Gaara's favor and the stretchers came, the medical personnel initially referred to him as a "corpse", before realizing their mistake.
Gaara broke down in the ring, weeping as he punched the floor and drew his own blood.
Hayato commanded, "Gaara, medical personnel will be taking you to the infirmary, too..."
Temari stopped by Gaara, and insisted that she go with him, but was convinced by Kankuro and Gaara himself to stay, at least until she had finished her match.
Thus, Naruto was the only one accompanying Gaara. Had Sakura's body not still been under Ino's control, he would have invited her, too, but he chose to not think about it.
Stupid bitch.
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Infirmary
Although Gaara had been taken to the same room as Lee, he was placed at the other end, and he could not bring himself to look at the other boy. Instead he, looked away at the window in shame.
Truthfully, he didn't need much physical medical care, as he only had a small cut on his fingers. Regardless, he insisted on staying in the infirmary, stating that he was not feeling well.
Naruto sat nearby in a chair, and was eventually approached by none other than Dr. Kimiko.
She told him, "I've got the results of your tests, it really looks like you just need to work on a more nutritious diet; ramen, cereal, and small meals won't cut it for someone as active as you."
Naruto nodded as he received some papers.
He replied, "That's exactly what Sakura's been saying."
Kimiko chuckled and responded, "Tell her it looks like she's serious about being a doctor. How about when these exams are over, you bring her along whenever you have a checkup?"
Naruto asked, "Checkup?"
"Oh, it's right in the paper; I'll be at the General Hospital, and I'll be your nutritionist. I'll use that time to train Sakura as an apprentice of sorts, and maybe you'll learn something, too."
Naruto watched with awe as she walked away.
She's so cool...
After a few minutes more, Temari and Kankuro walked into the room. They made their apologies to Lee - who probably couldn't hear them in his state - and made their way to Naruto and Gaara.
The blonde boy inquired, "So, you guys had your matches?"
Temari bragged, "Yep; I put the beatdown on that fatty Choji, but Kankuro wasn't so lucky, he got chewed by Shikamaru."
Naruto chortled as Kankuro blushed.
Temari suggested, "You should go back to the arena, Kid; your emo friend's coming up soon."
Naruto agreed, but was only able to leave after getting his cheeks pinched by the girl.
Arena
Naruto returned to his seat just in time to hear Hayato announce, "Kin wins.", in relation to her match-up against Shino.
The screen immediately flashed to the final two names.
Zaku Abumi vs Sasuke Uchiha
Naruto initially jolted when he heard Sakura swoon, "Alright, Sasuke, you've got this!", and cringed when he remembered that Ino was still refusing to relinquish control.
In the ring, Sasuke wasted no time when the match began.
The first thing he did was blow a humongous fireball at Zaku - larger than anyone had seen from him before - and dash towards the boy.
Zaku desperately threw a small metal ball at him, and then caused it to explode.
Unlike a conventional bomb, however, the ball Zaku threw was a weapon of sound; it emitted a shrill, coarse sound placed in such a compact container that when it exploded, it created visible waves in the air, thoroughly disorienting Sasuke.
Zaku managed to close in and kick Sasuke in the gut, before grabbing him and tossing him into a wall.
As Zaku began to run to Sasuke again, the Uchiha quickly rose. He kicked Zaku up into the air, and bashed him with his forearm. He then grabbed him in a piledriver and corkscrewed, slamming the crown of Zaku's skull into the ground, making a small hole in the floor.
The dust settled, and Sasuke stood tall over the unconscious Zaku, revealing his sharingan eyes.
Hayato announced, "Sasuke wins."
Naruto frowned.
That's the move Bushy-Brows tried to use on him!
The hokage exited the box and walked over to the seats, commanding, "Follow me - winners first."
He led the spectators and Sasuke out of the arena.
Main Hall
Now in the hall again, the genin stood in two crowds - the losers in their own, and the winners closer to the hokage and their sensei.
Sakura nudged Naruto. "Hey, they finally made Ino get out of my head, since she lost."
Naruto smiled, and they each held the other's hand.
The hokage made another announcement.
"The 3rd part of the chunin exams will be held on November 5th. That's a little more than one month from now. Please reach into this jar, one at a time, and take a piece of paper, then look at the number, then show it to me."
He presented a ceramic jar, and the winning genin did as ordered.
The hokage scribbled on a clipboard, then revealed what he had written.
It was a tournament tree detailing the matches of the 3rd exam.
Naruto Uzumaki vs Dosu Kinuta
Neji Hyuuga(s) vs Kin Tsuchi
Temari no Sabaku vs Shikamaru Nara
Gaara no Sabaku vs Sasuke Uchiha
Sakura Haruno (R)
The hokage explained what it meant.
"The tournament will continue until there is one decisive winner. The R next to Ms. Haruno's name stands for 'Remainder'. She is the odd one out in this case, and will only come in during the second round, during which one of the other winners will sit out. Remember that regardless of the outcome of each match, the proctors reserve the right to promote or not promote whomever they will."
Naruto questioned, "What's the s next to Neji's name?"
Neji bitterly answered, "Subsidiary."
Naruto nodded slowly. "Oh..."
They really gotta remind him of that when he's the only Hyuuga there? Talk about family drama!
The hokage then dismissed the genin and their sensei.
Team 7, due to Kakashi staying in the tower, were last to leave.
He had been absorbed in conversation with Anko and the hokage about Orochimaru and the curse mark - a conversation which culminated in the deal Anko had to Sasuke about before regarding his training, in addition to one more factor.
When Kakashi returned to his genin, he informed, "Sasuke, Sakura, I'll be training you two personally, with Anko. Naruto, I've set up a program for you; you'll be training under Ebisu-sensei, an elite--"
"I know who he is.", Naruto interjected.
That perv... It's better than nothing.
Let me cook!
Yes, Hinata stutters even in her thoughts.
I've been watching some "boring" and "bad" movies from the 80s to 2000s recently. Why are they better than many popular movies today? I lament.
Drop a review!