Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Chunin Exams Arc Part 1:
Chapter 43: Blade and Fang
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The Leaf shinobi's bones crackled and popped, like broken pretzels. Naruto winced in remembered pain as he watched an odd, wooden puppet with its arms wrapped around Kabuto's second teammate. Kankuro, the puppet user, stood to the side. Around his feet lay the scattered remains of the bundle of bandages he'd used to disguise his true body. Their fight–if you could call it that–had been even shorter than his teammates. Yoroi had moved in to attack Kankuro, but the second his hand had touched the Sand Shinobi, Kankuro's skin began to flake away into bits of sand, revealing a face of darkened wood.
Before the Leaf ninja knew it the puppets segmented arms had wound around him like snakes, squeezing tight until the Yoroi's bones gave way. The sounds had been hard to stand, with the man's agonized screams echoing the entire time, tears falling from behind his dark sunglasses. In the end, Yoroi was left in a crumpled heap of purple cloth and broken limbs.
Ino shivered as Yoroi was carried away, his arms twisted and limp. "Those Sand Ninja are crazy strong!"
"The Sand ninja are certainly brutal; I'll give them that." Naruto said, watching as Kankuro collected his bandages and wrapped his puppet in it. "Though I kinda wonder how he'd do against an opponent with more oomph." Kankuro was an ambush fighter, and his puppet didn't seem to be terribly durable. Unlike his sister he could be entirely helpless simply by destroying the puppet. "That third one is the one people should worry about. His power dwarfs theirs, and he's got a bloodthirst that's disturbing." Naruto stared across the hall to Gaara, who's face seemed to be expressionless. But the way Temari subtly kept her distance, told a different story. The secret was his eyes, they danced with a barely suppressed excitement at the cruelty. All that, was without mentioning what went unsaid. The fact that Gaara was a jinchuriki, though he suspected the Jonin like Kakashi and Asuma already knew that.
'It looks like Shukaku's turned that jinchuriki as crazy as that glorified trash-panda is.' The Nine-Tails commented drily.
'Like you've got much room to talk, you're always trying to get me to be more brutal.' Naruto replied.
"Sharp eyes ya got there kid." Asuma said. He looked at Naruto with appraising eyes.
Naruto's lips twitched into a teasing grin. "Oh, you've got no idea." Sasuki gave a soft scoff, which went unheard by most of the others. Their attention was still on the Sand ninja.
"None of you should take Kankuro lightly, though. I guarantee those arms aren't that things only secret, and Sand ninja are known for their poisons. It's usually the weapon that isn't obvious that kills you." Asuma glanced at his own team specifically, though his eyes met Naruto challengingly. He inclined his head just a bit, conceding the point. While poison wasn't a concern for himself, it would be for the rest.
Once Kankuro had collected his puppet and cleared the floor, the selection board began to spin for the next match. Naruto watched the yellow letters flash across the black screen. Both his teammates had already gone, he was eager for his shot. His foot tapped impatiently on the ground in anticipation. After what felt like minutes, the first column finally slid to a stop. Kiba Inuzuka, it read. Naruto frowned, he even had to wait for Kiba! Less than a second later the second column stopped, along with his heart. Then it sped back up as he felt the world shrink. There on the board was his name, his real name.
Kiba Inuzuka vs. Naruto Uchiha
"What the hell is that!" Kiba yelled.
Heat bloomed in his chest and radiated out, spreading across his body. A pit formed in his stomach. For a moment, panic and anxiety threatened to consume him. What was his real name doing on the board? Naruto took a breath to calm his nerves trying to think rationally. Gramps must have decided this was the best time, what with his secret being outed in the forest. Before long rumors would spread. Best to nip it in the bud, or so he figured.
Ino looked at him with wide, quizzical eyes. "That's some sort of glitch, right? Like it put Sasuki's family name there?"
"No, it's not."
Stepping away from the two teams, Naruto started down to the arena. As he left, he could hear Ino turn her questions on his teammates. Walking down the aisle, everyone's gaze fell upon him, sizing him up, judging if it were true. He tried to remember his grandfather's training. Restrain your emotions in battle, think of them like water in a cup. If even a drop spilled, you could lose. The heat drained away, leaving behind icy calm.
As he approached where Team 8 stood, their reactions varied. Shino's was impossible to tell with his coat and dark sunglasses. Hinata's eyes were wide and shocked, while Kurenai hid her reaction rather well under a cool demeanor. His opponent's reaction was the most extreme. He glared at Naruto, standing in his path.
"Oi, you're no Uchiha, what's this nonsense about?" Kiba asked with a snarl.
Naruto activated his eyes, causing the irises to bleed red, tomoe spinning hypnotically. "That's where you're wrong dog breath."
He stepped around Kiba and continued to the staircase, passing Team Guy along the way. Lee gaped at him, while the Hyuuga eyed him with a new interest. From the center of the floor, he could hear several muttered conversations, the occasional snippet becoming slightly louder and reaching him.
"…thought there was only one."
"He's more interesting than I thought."
Blocking out the whispered conversations, Naruto waited for Kiba to make his way down to the arena. The Inuzuka stomped down the metal stairs, Akamaru running along at his heals, nails clacking on the ground. As Kiba came to a stop across from Naruto, the small white puppy hovered around his ankles wearily. The Inuzuka ninja hounds could smell an enemy's chakra level, no doubt Akamaru could smell the change in his reserves. Naruto's gaze softened just slightly.
"You sure it's a good idea to involve him?" He asked.
Kiba glared, gritting his teeth menacingly. "Shut up! Worry about yourself, this isn't going to be like last time. Akamaru and I have worked out butts off to get better."
"Whatever you say, your bark is always worse than your bite." Naruto shrugged; he'd offered a way out for them. It would be a shame to hurt the little dog but at the end of the day Akamaru was a ninja hound. He couldn't use any truly lethal techniques right now anyways.
With a hacking cough, Hayate stepped forward. "Both fighters ready?"
The boys nodded, never taking their eyes away from their opponent. Hayate swept his arm down and stepped backwards. Naruto's hand snapped to Senbonzakura's hilt, his eyes straining for any move by the boy and dog. Kiba reached into his equipment pouch and pulled out a small brown pill that he tossed to Akamaru, before chewing one himself.
His eyebrow shot up when the dogs fur turned rust red, muscles bulging beneath his fur as he grew ever so slightly. Even with his limited sensing he could feel the pair's chakra shoot up. Kiba crouched and clasped his hands, Akamaru hopping on his back. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Man Beast Clone!"
A plume of smoke erupted, with two rotating drills piercing the cloud and heading straight for him. With his eyes, he could see Kiba and Akamaru spinning rapidly with claw-like nails jutting out to tear into him. 'Pretty fast, and he used the cloud to hide the first move.' Ripping Senbonzakura from its sheath, the seals glowed white.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Silvery streams of sand flew forth and intercepted Kiba and Akamaru, forcing them to change directions. The drill-like attacks redirected and tried to flank him, forcing Naruto to recall his sand and block the attacks.
Naruto was vaguely aware of surprised exclamations from Temari and her sensei, but he paid them no mind. Just another drop of water in the cup. Grunting in exertion, he shoved away the 'Fang' to his right, giving him a chance to smash the second out of the air with his sand. Kiba went skidding across the ground, the force slamming him into the wall, driving the breath from his lungs. Naruto spun on his heel to grasp Akamaru's transformed hand as he took a swipe, turning and tossing the ninja hound into his owner.
Their bodies collided and Akamaru was forced to drop his transformation, a pained yelp escaping the dog's lips.
"Akamaru, you alright buddy?" Kiba asked his partner. The hound stood up and let out a bark. "Let's keep at it! Man Beast Clone!" Akamaru hopped onto Kiba's shoulders and transformed again, leaping up and beginning to spin.
Once more the twin drills attacked Naruto, twisting, and turning as they tried to hit him. He deftly countered with his steel alloy sand. Though he wasn't content to simply block the attacks. Occasionally he'd dance out of the way of one of the twin 'Fangs', countering with a whipping blow from his sand. The entire time his Sharingan tracked and recorded Kiba and Akamaru's movements, piecing together the rhythm and timing. He hesitated to capitalize, though.
'If I just try and grab them like usual, I might accidently crush them with my control so spastic.' A good shinobi knew when to use a sword and when to use a scalpel, this was one of the later instances. Naruto shook his head, he had two bloodlines, not just one! With renewed determination Naruto set his sights on Kiba.
`WHAM!
A carefully timed punch weaved through Kiba's spinning guard and sent him rocketing into the wall. Spinning on his heel, Naruto slammed a kick into Akamaru's jaw as well. The transformed dog hurtled through the air to slam into the wall next to his master. The pair lay motionless, sprawled haplessly on the ground. Naruto took a brief, steadying breath. That last exchange was intense.
"That's probably it, you should consider calling it." Naruto glanced at the proctor, who subtly shook his head.
"Shut … shut up …" Kiba clawed at the ground, his arms shaking as he tried to pull himself up. On unsteady legs, the Inuzuka began to stand and pierced Naruto with an angry glare. "Yer' always doing that. Talking like you're so much better. And dammit, you're right!" Kiba slammed his hand into the wall in frustration, blood trickling from his fist to the ground. The Inuzuka finally stood to his feet.
Despite his gut screaming to finish the fight, Naruto found himself seized by curiosity. Kiba's brash overconfidence was one of his defining qualities. Deep down, a part of Naruto admired it. It was odd seeing that confidence wavering.
"I'm surprised to hear you say that."
Kiba scowled. "I can't stand it. We used to be on the same level, our fights were fun! Then you got better, and every day you got further and further ahead. Why is that? Only Sasuki could challenge you, and she wouldn't even acknowledge me."
"Is this about your little crush?" Naruto scoffed.
"NO!" Kiba retorted heatedly. "I'll admit I like her, but it's more than that! It's about the fact I can't keep the promise I made to myself! When my dad ran off cause' he couldn't hack it being weaker than Mom, I swore I'd never be weak like him, that I'd never feel inferior, and I'd become the strongest. Even now, I refuse to take a step back! No matter what, I want to win. Akamaru, come on, it's time for our secret move!" Kiba's hand dove into his pouch and pulled out another pair of soldier pills.
Akamaru, back in the form of a small white dog leapt onto Kiba's head as his teeth crunched on the soldier pill his master had tossed. With Kiba chomping down on his own pill, their reserves took another massive leap. "Inuzuka Style: Man Beast Transformation Combo: Two-Headed Wolf!"
Smoke billowed from the pair. Amidst the cloud stood a large, shadowy form. A deep growl emanated from the whiteness. The shadow lumbered forward, revealing a monstrous dog that bore a striking resemblance to Akamaru. It had snow white fur, with a massive, hulking form, and two snarling heads with mouths full of razor-sharp dagger like fangs.
The dog sprang forward, beginning to spin so fast it created a vortex. A massive version of the Passing Fang. Concrete was ripped apart in the path of the gigantic Fang. 'Crap, gotta end this. Nine, I need some chakra!'
Familiar tailed beast chakra filled Naruto's body, just in time to escape the path of the attack, though he felt a large slice open on his arm simply from the wolfs wake. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Naruto willed his steel sand to gather. As the wolf turned and began to race towards him again, the sand began to form a massive fist.
BANG!
The two attacks met in a terrible screech as the metal fist pushed through the vortex formed by the wolf. It slammed into the jaw of the wolf's right head, sending the beast crashing down to the ground. The concrete cracked beneath the creature's bulk. With one last puff of smoke the wolf transformed back into the unconscious form of Kiba Inuzuka, his body bruised and battered. Akamaru lay beside him.
"Winner of the match, Naruto Uchiha!" Hayate declared.
Naruto smirked, even as he held in a wince from the stinging pain in his arm. He recalled Senbonzakura's sand, sheathing the blade with a sharp click. As he made his way towards the stairs, a team of medics came to inspect the participants. Kiba was loaded onto a stretcher as one of the nurses picked Akamaru up gently. One of the medics, a mousy looking man, tried to treat Naruto.
"Here, let me look at that arm."
He waived off the medic. "It's fine, I'll heal. Besides my teammate can do it."
Kiba was just coming to as Naruto passed the pair of medics carrying him. The boy let out a groan. "Dammit, still lost."
"It's not that bad. This time your bite matched your bark."
Naruto smirked as Kiba gave an indignant shout. "What the heck is that supposed to mean!"
Retaking his place in the viewing area, Naruto brushed off the congratulations of Sakura and Ino with a smile and a "Thanks". His mind was elsewhere, on what Kiba had said before his final attack. He'd never known much about Kiba's family, it hadn't ever crossed his mind that there was more to Kiba's attitude than just jealousy. 'I guess … there's more to him than met the eye.'
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After a quick earth jutsu from Hayate to fix the ground, the selection board sparked to life again, cycling through the slowly shrinking list of participants. Finally, it came to a rest. Next to him, Choji started coughing on his mouthful of potato chips.
Choji Akimichi vs. Karui
Across the room, the red-haired kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud gave a shout of glee. She smiled broadly and started to swagger towards the stairs. Choji, on the other hand, looked slightly queasy.
"Oh man, do I really have to go fight? Those Cloud ninja look tough." He said worriedly. Asuma slapped a reassuring hand
"Tell you what, if you win, I'll take you for all you can eat barbecue." The Jonin said.
It was an evil tactic, playing on Choji's insatiable love of food. Worthy of a shinobi, and it worked. Choji's eyes blazed with competitive fire. "All you can eat, here I come!"
Naruto watched Choji leave, noting something curious as he passed Lee's team. The Hyuuga on the team gripped the metal rail tightly, his knuckles turning white. He was staring a hole in the Cloud kunoichi, and all three of his teammates seemed ready to restrain him. It was like they expected him to snap any second. 'Odd, wonder what that's about.' Naruto was jarred from his thoughts by a nudge from Sakura.
"Does Choji actually have a chance of winning?" She asked.
Shrugging, Naruto looked at the cloud kunoichi closely. From what he remembered, she had impressive chakra reserves, most likely a lightning affinity as well. The thing he was most curious about was her sword.
"If she knows how to use that sword as well as most Cloud ninja, it'll be a tough fight. But if she's even close to adept at using Ken-Ninjutsu then I doubt he has much chance." He finally replied.
"Come on, don't be such a downer Naruto!" Ino protested.
"Hate to say it, but I agree with him." Shikamaru muttered as he leaned against the railing.
Ino looked at her teammate, askance. "Not you too!"
"Now, now, just simmer down everyone, and watch," Asuma interrupted them.
Down in the fighting area, Karui stood confidently across from Choji. His competitive fire had dimmed, instead staring at the dark-skinned kunoichi.
"What're you looking at?" She asked in irritation, her loud voice carrying upwards easily.
Choji's face flushed. "Sorry, it's just I-I've never seen someone like you."
Karui scowled. "Well knock it off, it's pissing me off, Fatso!"
"What did you just say?" Choji asked dangerously.
Naruto slapped his forehead as Shikamaru groaned in annoyance. "She just had to say it." He muttered.
"Choji Akimichi vs Karui of the Hidden Cloud, fight start!" Hayate declared.
The second he leapt away Choji let out a shout of rage. His body bulged, expanding into a gigantic ball with his limbs and head retracting. "Expansion Jutsu: Human Boulder!"
Just as the name suggested, Choji had turned himself into a boulder of flesh and blood. He skidded across the ground towards Karui at a breakneck pace. The Cloud kunoichi dodged to the side with a shout of surprise, drawing her sword with a sharp ring of steel. Choji bounced off the wall and redirected towards her. Thus began a game of high-stakes tag, Choji trying to hit Karui as she dodged and tried to cut him.
While the rest of his team and Team 10 were wrapped up in the fight, Naruto found his gaze drawn back towards Team Guy. Guy-sensei had stepped forward and placed a hand on Neji's shoulder, whispering something in his ear.
Naruto's gaze slid across the rest of the room, wondering if anyone else had noted the odd occurrence. Several Jonin seemed to be keeping a subtle eye on Neji. More curiously, he noticed that Team 8 seemed to be huddled around Hinata as though to comfort her. That made both teams with a Hyuuga acting oddly, what in the world was going on?
A crackle of lightning and the harsh smell of ozone drew his attention back to the fight in time to see Karui stab her sword into the ground. Arcs of blue electricity raced forth and slammed into Choji, who was barreling towards her full speed. It slammed into him, buzzing about the giant round ball of cloth and flesh.
WHAM!
Choji slammed into Karui, rolling straight over her, and laying the kunoichi out. His massive form crashed into the wall and finally came to a stop. His head and arms popped out as his body returned to normal size. The boy was knocked unconscious, eyes closed and mouth agape. His opponent wasn't any better, lying motionless and letting out groans of pain.
Hayate Gekko looked between the two ninja carefully, waiting for one to get up. When it was clear neither would, he rose his hand up.
"Since neither competitor can continue, I'm calling this a double knockout." He declared.
Stunned silence followed his statement. "Well … that was anti-climactic." Kakashi commented.
Ino and Asuma let out groans of disappointment. That made two members of Team 10 to lose. As Asuma left to retrieve Choji, Naruto watched Lee's teammate for his reaction. If anything, his gaze was even more intense, fixated on the headband of the blond Hidden Cloud Jonin as he retrieved Karui.
This little situation had him curious. He'd have to keep his eye on it.
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Well, there you have it, Naruto and Kiba have finally fought. After all the annimosity between them, and finally some closure on just why Kiba disliked Naruto. Next chapter, we get to a fight that'll really grind Naruto's gears.
As always, I want to give a big shout out to my patrons, who make this possible. If you'd like to get a chance to read ahead and support my work, you can find my pa treon by typing in the pa treon web domain and adding /rinnetaicho. Chapters 44 and 45 are up there now, as well as Chapter 7 and 8 of The God of Wind.
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