Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Hey everyone, hope you're doing well! Here is the latest chapter in Part 1 of the Chunin Exams arc. Next time I post will be a chapter for The God of Wind. Well, hope you enjoy!
Chunin Exams Arc Part 1:
Chapter 45: The Preliminaries End
x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x
Deep breath in, deep breath out. Naruto felt the air pass smoothly through his lungs and down to his stomach, then back out through his mouth. The heat of his anger went with it. Well, most of it. Even if he centered himself like this was a battle, in the dark corners of his mind, that anger lingered. Still, he was calm enough to return. Walking back through the large entrance doors, he came back into the vast combat hall. He was just in time to hear Hayate call for the selection board to start. 'Lee, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Omoi. I wonder which one's will fight …' Across from him, within the wood-paneled framework behind the statue arms, the electronic screen reappeared from behind the hidden panel.
His fingers trailed across the metal railing on the stone staircase, it was cool to the touch, as his eyes focused on the yellow letters flickering through names. Pointedly ignoring Neji as he passed Team Guy, he gave Sakura a silent nod as she glanced at him worriedly. "I'm fine now," He muttered to her, taking his place along the rail to wait for the selection.
Amusingly, Lee was acting as if he didn't care if he were selected. "Alright Lee, this time you're gonna be selected for sure, you ready?" Guy asked, giving Lee an encouraging thumbs up.
Lee pouted, folding his arms petulantly across the chest of his green jumpsuit. "I do not care. At this point I've been waiting so long I might as well go last!"
Naruto stifled a chuckle. It was obvious the boy cared, not that he was the only eager one. Even before the board had made its selection, across the arena, Gaara formed a single-handed ram seal, disappearing in a whisp of sand that reappeared on the arena floor, coalescing into the bloodthirsty redhead. He struck an intimidating figure, with the massive gourd on his back and his dead-eyed stare. Naruto heard an unsettled growl in his head. 'Something wrong?'
'That red-haired brat … his bloodlust is coming to a boil. Whoever his opponent is … is in for a rough time.' The nine-tails explained. Naruto studied Gaara. Yes, he could feel it. Even without his sensing, the terrible power of Gaara's chakra permeated the room. Laced with the hateful, sick chakra of Shukaku. It was abrasive and ominous, like there was a sandpaper rubbing against his skin, with just the tiniest electric tingle. Finally, the selector slid to a stop.
Gaara vs Rock Lee, written in glaring yellow letters.
In a complete one-eighty, Lee exploded with excitement, jumping and cheering, his black bowl-cut hair flopping about. "Yes! Finally! I knew if I just said I didn't want to go, I'd be next. The old principle of hitting something once you stop trying to hit it!"
Over the top as ever, Guy began to congratulate Lee and give him advice. Naruto smirked, as Lee gave one last exclamation of joy and leapt over the railing, tucking himself into a ball to land gracefully on the ground. The boys infectious cheer drove away his concern over Gaara. He'd come across plenty of eccentric shinobi around the village, but those two were far and away the oddest. Ino, for one, clearly wasn't very impressed with the eccentric pair. She raised a single thin, platinum eyebrow.
"I still don't see how that short guy is supposed to be that dangerous, but I guess the Lee is kind of goofy as well."
Naruto shrugged. He couldn't help it that she couldn't feel the aura Gaara emanated. "Looks can be deceiving." Lee didn't look like someone you needed to look out for, but Naruto had seen him in action. The speed he could move at wasn't normal, not without chakra. The training to achieve it for someone without a healing factor, it had to be insane. He found himself leaning forward, eager for the match to come. Something interesting was about to happen, he could feel it.
Before the fight had even begun, the cork to Gaara's gourd shot at Lee like a bullet. Lee deftly caught the cork, crushing it and letting the sand trickle through his wrapped fingers.
"Don't be in such a rush." He chastised the redhead.
"Alright, you can begin." Said Hayate.
Lee didn't hesitate. He sped into motion, legs pumping as he closed the distance, and went for a powerful spinning heel kick.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
WHOOSH!
The air whistled from the force of the kick. Sand poured from Gaara's gourd, and sprang to his defense, forming a thin barrier that absorbed the force of the blow. Undeterred, Lee leapt backwards in an acrobatic revers flip. The second his feet touched the ground, he shot forward, barraging Gaara with a rain of punches and kicks to test his defenses. Every time, the sand shot up and repelled the blows.
"Whoa, he's fast, but that redhead is blocking everything so easily!" Said Ino. "It's kind of like your sword, Naruto."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Activating his Sharingan briefly, he could see the chakra running through the sand. It had a sickly violet purple tinge to it, a mix of his chakra and the tailed beasts, but there was something … else there. Another chakra, though it was too faint to distinguish. Most curiously, there wasn't any reaction from Gaara's chakra as the sand defended him.
"Not exactly. I use magnet style to control the metal … this is something different. It's almost like that sand is defending him on its own." Was it perhaps his tailed beast, or was Gaara's sand more like Senbonzakura than it seemed?
As Lee continued to fail to get through Gaara's defenses, he was using a kunai to try and slash the sand away. It had little effect, and with each second Gaara became more aggressive in his counter attacks, sending streams of sand after Lee to try and snare him. Naruto's pulse quickened, his eyes darted about to keep up with the back and forth.
"Is that it? I haven't had enough blood yet!" Said Gaara, his voice dipping into an almost demonic growl near the end. He swiped his arm, the sand lurched forward, snagging Lee's leg and slammed him against the concrete wall below them.
WHAM!
Lee's body hit the concrete wall with a sickening–crack. Naruto's stomach churned, he gripped his forearm tightly. Hopefully, that was the wall and not Lee's bones.
Next to him, Sakura winced, watching in concern as Lee barely dodged away from subsequent waves of sand from Gaara. "I don't get it, why is Lee just using taijutsu? I know he's strong, but shouldn't he try to get some distance and use ninjutsu?"
Naruto frowned. He recalled how Lee's chakra system had felt before the first exam. "I don't know if he can use ninjutsu."
His teammate looked at him, askance. "You're right on that, Young Naruto!" Guy cut in, giving him a gleaming grin full of teeth. "Lee has a rare condition. His chakra coils aren't developed enough to sustain ninjutsu or genjutsu. Though I'm surprised you managed to figure it out."
"So, you're saying, he has no ninjutsu at all?" Asked Sakura.
Guy nodded, watching as Lee continued to dodge the sand. "Indeed. When I first met him, Lee had zero talent at all."
Sakura grimaced. "What, that's hard to believe."
A sharp gasp from Ino drew their attention back to the fight. Gaara's sand suddenly lashed out at Lee. The jumpsuit-wearing boy dodged backwards, but it was a trick. Gaara's sand slid beneath his feet, ripping them from under Lee and slamming his back into the ground. Sand poured from the gourd in a stream as thick as a man chest, intent on engulfing Lee.
Naruto's heart hammered against his ribs, would this be the end? At the last possible second, Lee kicked off the ground, he shot up in a an arc, nearly touching the ceiling. Naruto craned his neck upwards, watching as Lee tucked into a ball, he performed a graceful spin to land on the fingertips of the arm sculpture.
"With Ninjutsu and Genjutsu not being options, we focused entirely on Taijutsu." With A cheeky grin, Guy called out to Lee, giving the boy an encouraging thumbs up. "Lee, take them off!"
"Really, you mean it Guy-sensei?" Guy gave Lee a sharp nod, eliciting a shout of excitement as the boy sat down on the statue cross-legged, he began to pull up his orange leg warmers. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw a pair of tan leg weights strapped to Lee's ankles. Large weight bars bulged beneath the surface. The boy began to unstrap them with a relieved sigh. Finally, he stood and held his arms to the side, dangling the weights. "What a relief, I feel so much lighter!"
"Does he seriously think that's going to make any difference?" Ino scoffed. "Those can't weigh more than fifty pounds."
Did they, though, Naruto wondered. His sharp eyes picked up the symbols painted on the weights. It was hard to tell from there, but they looked familiar. Like a less advanced version of the weights Kakashi had given them. Sakura caught his eye with a curious look.
"You don't think …?"
Naruto shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."
When the weights fell from Lee's hands, they plummeted to the ground in a blur of motion. BOOM! The room shook trembled as a cloud of dust erupted at the base of the statue arms. The concrete dais cracked and cratered under the extreme weight. Lee blurred into motion, disappearing to the naked eye.
Ino gaped in disbelief. "What the hell?"
Lee moved faster than ever, he was like a demon of speed, circling Gaara as he battered the red-heads suddenly sluggish defense. The sand tried to keep up, but it was useless. Flurries of sand began to scatter under the force of Lee's blows, his fist pierced through the holes in the defense as he danced about and avoided retaliatory swipes.
"It's amazing … he's even faster than yesterday …" Sakura muttered. Naruto rose an eyebrow, so she continued. "Yesterday I went to one of the training rooms. He was already there, so I watched a little, and we talked. But I had no idea he was this fast."'
"Lee has pushed himself to the breaking point and beyond. He doesn't need things like ninjutsu and genjutsu. Because his goal is to be the world's best taijutsu master, and he's well on his way." Guy explained.
Gaara's head whipped back and forth, trying to pin Lee down. With how ineffectual his sand was becoming, Naruto had to wonder if there was at least some unconscious connection to his awareness that made the defense so automatic. Bursts of sand flew, and Lee circled Gaara endlessly. Finally, something had to give. Lee leapt into the air and tucked himself into a ball, spinning forwards to bring his foot down in a devastating bicycle kick.
WHAM!
The sound of his foot connecting with Gaara's head was deafening. Like someone testing the outside of a watermelon. Lee skidded backwards, as Gaara's team was left gaping at the surprise blow. Gaara was frozen, his eyes wide with shock. Unwilling to back down, Lee pressed his advantage, darting in to throw a flurry of blows, each one spreading Gaara's strained defense thin. Lee broke through with a punch to the cheek that sent Gaara flying backwards.
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed the blow. Gaara began to rise to his feet slowly, like a zombie in a horror movie. But something was wrong. His face was cracking, changing color to a pale brown. No, not his face, sand! Chunks of sand poured from Gaara's face, like some sort of thin shell. Ino gasped as Gaara regarded Lee with an insane gleam in his eyes.
"What is that?"
"Armor, made of sand. Another layer of his defense." Naruto answered, Such precise control of the sand … it had to be a drain to keep it compacted like that.
Sasuki stepped forward, eyes shining with interest for the first time since the fight began. "That's got to be heavy. Maybe that's why he doesn't move much."
With a renewed vigor, Gaara attacked Lee in a frenzy. His sand twisted and grasped, trying to snare the taijutsu user. But it was completely useless. Every attack utterly failed to land, and Lee began to circle the redhead in a blur of speed, frustrating Gaara. Just when his agitation reached a fever pitch, Lee darted forwards and slammed a kick into Gaara's chin. Naruto's breath hitched, he heard Sasuki suck in a breath next to him. Lee was going for the finish, the Primary Lotus. Even Gaara's sand armor couldn't possibly stand up to being spiked head first into concrete.
Unlike the fight against Sasuki, the kick didn't send Gaara flying. He was too heavy, barely making it off the ground. Undeterred, Lee began to kick him repeatedly, keeping the jinchuriki out of reach of his sand. As they reached the apex of the room, Guy clasped his hands to pray, as Lee's hand wrappings unwound.
"How long can he keep this up? A regular lotus takes so much strain … if he doesn't finish it here, he might be in trouble." Naruto felt a stray piece of sand in his eye, he winced, rubbing at it furiously. With blurry vision, he watched Lee's bandages wind around Gaara like a pair of vines strangling a tree, hugging him close to Lee as they plummeted headfirst towards the ground. Naruto felt something inside drop away, unbearable anticipation filled him.
BOOM!
The room shuddered from the crushing force of the Primary Lotus, cement dust spreading in a plume from the impact crater. Large slabs of concrete jutted upwards, revealing the gravel subgrade underneath. Lee landed in a crouch, his chest heaving for breath. When the dust cleared, Gaara lay on his back amidst the crater in the floor, a network of cracks littered his sand armor. Hayate approached him, though he didn't call the fight.
'What's he waiting for?' Naruto wondered. The cracks began to spread across Gaara's body, turning to sand. Then chunks began to fall, revealing a dark void inside, like a discarded cicada shell. It wasn't Gaara at all, it was a decoy used as a replacement! Before anyone could react, Gaara rose from behind Lee, a manic grin on his face as his sand lashed out at the unsuspecting boy.
"When did it happen?" Naruto wondered.
"It happened when you rubbed your eyes, and when Guy was praying. Lee closed his eyes from the pain." Kakashi explained.
Down below, Gaara began to batter Lee. In the wake of the lotus, Lee was far too sluggish to hope to dodge. Gaara toyed with him, like a cat batting a mouse around for fun. As the boy tried desperately to dodge, Sakura worried her lip.
"What's going on, why doesn't he dodge?"
"Like I said, the lotus was a risk. It strains the user's body. Right now, he can't move." Said Naruto. He clenched his fist–it was hard to just sit their and watch Lee get toyed with.
"Why isn't he giving up? They should stop the fight." Sakura muttered. Next to her, Ino nodded in agreement.
"That's not gonna happen." Guy stepped forward, flashing an assured grin that was out of place. "Lee doesn't know the meaning of giving up. Besides, this fight is about to turn. After all, the Leaf Village Lotus, blooms twice!"
Sakura tilted her head curiously. "Lee said something similar yesterday when I watched him train, what does that mean?"
'The lotus blooms twice … he can't possibly mean Lee knows that as well!' Naruto's mind began to churn. Distantly, he began to recall his grandfather talking to him about the Primary Lotus. It was a powerful move on its own, but it was also just the opening for a far more devastating and reckless technique.
Kakashi let out a gasp, just as Lee began to move faster. Seconds before he couldn't move, now he weaved through the attacks as though they were nothing. Lee braced his feet on the ground, holding his arms clenched at his sides as he let out a defiant roar.
The silver-haired man looked to Lee's sensei angrily. "Guy, tell me you didn't. Are you saying that boy, that he knows how to open the Eight Inner Gates and use the Hidden Lotus?"
Guy nodded grimly. "He does."
As the jonin bickered, Naruto's gaze was locked on Lee. Chakra began to pour from his body, his skin turned red as veins bulged under his skin. 'Incredible. I never though someone our age could use such a dangerous technique!'
Sakura nudged him. "Naruto, what are these gates they're talking about? You look like you recognize what's happening."
Naruto nodded absentmindedly. Though the question was quiet, the rest of the surrounding genin leaned in, eager to hear the answer. "The Eight Inner Gates, they're chakra limiters, ones you need to release to use the Hidden Lotus. They're located where our chakra is concentrated the most." Naruto held up his hand and began to count them off on his fingers. "The Gates of Opening, of Rest, of Life, of Pain, of Closing, of Joy, of Shock. and finally, of Death. If you open them all, you could have enough power to rival a Kage, last gates name implies, it'd mean death. The Primary Lotus opens the first gate. Once Lee opens the third gate, he'll enter the Hidden Lotus, a taijutsu technique so powerful it'll increase his strength tenfold."
"Whoa, that's insane!" Said Sakura.
Lee finally finished powering up, releasing a fourth pulse of chakra–now tinged green–before blasting off and disappearing. The concrete cracked and gave underneath his feet. Naruto could hardly see his blurring form. He had to activate his Sharingan, to see Lee dashing around his enemy.
BAM!
To the naked eye, Gaara was knocked into the air by an invisible force. Lee leapt into the air and knocked him about, treating Gaara like a pinball as Lee bounced off the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling to hammer his enemy with a barrage of blows of unbelievable strength. Gaara was completely helpless, his sand couldn't keep up. Finally, Lee wrapped one of his bandages around Gaara's waist, yanking him back towards the taijutsu user for one last devastating blow that sent him crashing to the ground. The room held their breath as the redhead careened to the floor.
At the last possible moment, Gaara's gourd collapsed into a pile of sand to cushion his fall. Lee collapsed to the ground, his limbs spasming erratically, eyes drooping, his chest heaving for breath.
"Is … is it finally over?" Ino whispered. In the silence of the room, her voice seemed deafening.
'The redhead is planning something … Shukaku's chakra is surging.'Said the Nine Tails. Naruto looked at Gaara sharply, unconsciously, his Sharingan activated. He didn't need his sensing to feel it, that hateful chakra, like a putrid wind mixed with sand rubbing his skin raw. Like a horror movie villain, the redhead raised a shaking arm, sand shooting forth to grab Lee.
The boy tried to dodge, but it was useless. His left leg collapse under him. The sand lunged, snatching Lee's left arm and leg in its grasp. Naruto's Sharingan showed him a glimpse, a glimpse of the sand compressing and crushing Lee's limbs. Gaara was about to cripple Lee. In an instant his hand flew to Senbonzakura's hilt, partially drawing it to reveal a few inches of gleaming steel.
Without needing to ask, the Nine-Tails chakra raced through him, it radiated from Naruto's body in a visible crimson aura. Naruto directed the full brunt of it onto Gaara, it slammed down on the boy like a rushing wave, his gaze snapping to meet Naruto's. He stared into the maddened jade eyes of his fellow jinchuriki. A heavy weight settled on Naruto's chest, as the chakras of their respective beasts clashed. There was a tightly wound coil in his stomach, ready to snap at a moment's notice.
"… I believe I gave you a warning. Might want to reconsider your next move." Naruto growled
Gaara glared, hatred and bloodlust danced beneath the surface of his eyes. For a moment, Naruto was afraid he'd ignore his warning. His hand tensed on Senbonzakura. Chakra surged through the blade in preparation to activate it. After several tense seconds, the emotion drained from Gaara's eyes, they became cold and calculating once more.
"…Very well."
Everyone else tensed as the sand crept up Lee's body, holding him in place even as he struggled against it, until the sand covered everything below his eyes. Naruto, on the other hand, felt an inexplicable ease. He just … knew. Gaara wasn't planning to kill anymore.
Lee struggled frantically, his eyes bulging in panic. It was in vain, there was no escape, and eventually he began to fade. As his brain shut down from asphyxiation, Lee's eyes drifted shut. Finally, he slumped into unconsciousness.
Gaara forced himself to his feet, recalling all his sand. It whispered across the cement, reforming his gourd first and then pouring back inside of the hard shell. The sand receded from Lee's body, leaving the boy lying on the ground. Gaara glanced at the proctor moodily.
"… Call the match."
Hayate stepped forward, looking Lee over briefly. Once he was satisfied the boy was indeed unconscious, he raised his hand into the air. "Winner of the match, and advancing to the finals, Gaara of the Sand."
Unconcerned with the result, Gaara spun on his heel and began to walk away. Hayate let out a sigh, glancing around the ruined fighting area.
"We'll have a brief recess while we clean up as best we can, then we'll hold the final match between Omoi of the Cloud, and Shikamaru Nara of the Leaf, to determine the final person advancing to the finals."
Naruto let out the breath he'd held since Gaara moved to cripple. The tension in his muscles drained away, leaving him somewhat exhausted. Finally, they were almost finished. It'd been a long day, and he was ready to go home and relax.
"Ugh, what a drag. Maybe I'll just forfeit." Shikamaru muttered.
The lazy boy winced as Ino slapped the back of his head. "Hey, don't be so lazy! You're our last shot to get someone in the finals, so get out there!"
Naruto looked across the arena to the Hidden Cloud team. Omoi held his chin thoughtfully, muttering to himself as he looked at the workers clearing the worst of the rubble from Gaara and Lee's battle. Unless he differed significantly from Samui and Karui, Omoi was a close quarters fighter. Such rough terrain would be a disadvantage and, though Omoi might not know it, an advantage for Shikamaru. It would provide plenty of crevices to extend his Shadow Possession Jutsu. 'With any luck, this'll be pretty short.'
x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x
The arena looked like a warzone just after reconstruction began, all the loose rubble had been cleared, leaving only the shattered slabs behind, now settled back into place somewhat neater. All the finalists had been called to stand before the Hokage and the proctors, to hear the explanation of the Third Exam.
'Called it.' Naruto thought, as he took the last spot on the end, right next to Shikamaru. The fight had gone exactly as predicted. A smoke bomb followed by a flash bomb was enough to force Omoi to stumble, and Shikamaru had quickly capitalized by snaring the dark-skinned boy with his shadow and forcing him to hold his sword to his own throat, leaving Omoi no choice but to surrender. Anticlimactic? Yes, but it was also expected.
With the line finally formed, Hayate cleared his throat. "First, I'd like to congratulate you all for moving on to the finals. Now, Lord Hokage will explain the final exam. When you're ready, sir." Hayate stepped aside, allowing the Hokage to step forward.
Pursing his lips around the stem of his corncob pipe, Hiruzen took a deep drag of smoke, before exhaling smoothly. "You are all to be commended for making it this far." He said, sweeping his gaze across the gathered genin. "Each of you will get a chance to show the mastery of your skills, in a tournament of one-on-one matches to be held in one months' time. This should provide you with enough time to prepare and strategize. To that end, you will each draw lots from the box Anko here is holding." Hiruzen nodded at Anko, who carried a yellow box with a hole in the top.
"Everyone stay put, I'll coming to you." She said gruffly.
One by one, they reached into the box, rustling the papers around before pulling them out with a folded-up slip of paper. Naruto waited anxiously for his turn at the far end. When Anko reached him, she smirked playfully.
"Hopefully it won't take you too long to pick one." Naruto felt his face heat up, whether on accident or on purpose, her canvas trench coat fell open a bit more as she leaned forward to let him make his pick, revealing a bit more of her chest beneath that mesh top. He tried to hide his embarrassment, giving a snort of sarcastic laughter.
"Sure, cause I've got so many options." He replied snarkily, as he reached in and grabbed the last slip of paper. Unfolding it, he saw the number one printed in bold lettering. 'Guess that means I got the first match … wonder how that shakes out.' There were ten finalists, an odd number for a tournament bracket. That meant four of them would have to participate in an extra match. After Anko returned to the Hokage's side, Ibiki stepped forwards with a clipboard in hand.
"Starting on the left, I want each of you to call out your number." He commanded them.
One by one, starting with Sakura, they called out their numbers. Every time a number was called, Ibiki would jot something down on his clipboard.
"Three," She said.
Next was Samui, she had seven. Then Sasuki with eight, and Shino and Temari with nine and six respectively. His heart began to beat a little faster, as Neji went to read his slip. A vindictive part of Naruto hoped he'd face Neji first. "Two."
Naruto silently pumped his fist, yes! There was no doubt in his mind, he was going to beat the pompous Hyuuga.
Ibiki stepped around Neji, and offered the box to the next in line, which happened to be Gaara. "… Four."
Naruto's eyes shot to Gaara, as the boy stoically called out his number. Not just any number, the number after Sakura. He felt a cold pit settle in his stomach, and excitement for his own match was quickly dashed. Gaara had to be one of the worst matchups for Sakura. Her skills relied on trickery and effective use of her reserves, Gaara had a defense you needed brute force to get through. Not to mention his instability, if she wasn't careful, it could be a lethal matchup.
Distracted, he failed to catch the next Kankuro and Shikamaru calling out their numbers. A sharp elbow to the ribs from Shikamaru reminded him it was his turn. Naruto hissed, rubbing his side tenderly, he shot a side-eyed glare at his friend.
"One."
"Very well, give me one moment." Ibiki muttered, scribbling a few last things on his clipboard. Once he was done, he flipped the board around to reveal the matchups for the finals. "These are the matches for the final exam, make sure to memorize them."
He had drawn a typical eight-person bracket, with the quarterfinals taken up by six of the participants. Where the names for the fourth match should have been, two smaller brackets had been drawn, with one match showing his name opposite Neji's, and the other Sakura and Gaara.
"What's up with the fourth match? I'd assume my match was first." Naruto asked curiously. He was number one after all.
Ibiki nodded in acknowledgement of his question. "Indeed, it is, and Sakura and Gaara will fight in the second. Since you are fighting an extra match, you four will go first so you have the longest amount of rest possible before your quarterfinal match."
Naruto nodded slowly. "Oh, makes sense I guess."
Hiruzen cleared his throat, bringing a halt to any conversation. "Thank you all for your patience and your effort. I wish you all good luck in the coming month, take advantage of that time to prepare for your potential opponents. Now, you are all free to leave."
With his final piece said, and one last nod, the Hokage disappeared in a puff of smoke, quickly followed by the proctors, leaving the exam participants and their sensei's alone in the room. Naruto let his body untense. After some tense moments in the day, there was suddenly a celebratory mood in the air. Several of the other finalists were dispersing, regrouping with their teams, and chatting in excited tones. Weaving between the bodies, he managed to catch up with Sasuki and Sakura, who had been much closer in line. Coming up between them, he nudged his teammates playfully with a cheesy grin.
"Well, we all made it to the finals. All according to plan."
Sasuki glanced at him, then quickly away. "Guess so."
"Yep … we made it." Sakura said, a slight edge of anxiety in her tone.
His smile dimmed just slightly. Of all three of them, Sakura was the only one to draw a complete mismatch. She'd need to approach the planning carefully.
"Any idea how you're going to try and fight him?" He asked carefully, as they exited the arena. He was trying to balance his concern with her feelings. Sakura had worked hard to make it this far, she wouldn't appreciate it if he patronized her. Though she didn't voice it, the quick glance of concern Sauski shot her showed she was worried as well.
"No clue, I'm not fast or strong like Lee, and I don't enough chakra to throw jutsu at him like you two can. But there's got to be some way I can fight him." The pink-haired girl bit her lip in concern, despite her confident words. They fell into a gloomy silence, only dispersed when Kakashi appeared behind them in a puff of smoke from a Teleportation, drawing a surprised squeak from Sakura as he mussed her long locks of hair.
"Now, now, let's not worry about all that heavy stuff!" He said, his one visible eye curling in amusement.
"Hey, hands off! My hair's already messy enough." She protested.
Kakashi held his hands up in mock surrender as they, turned a corner into a relatively deserted corridor. "Alright, alright. I was just trying to congratulate my cute genin. I'm proud of you for making it to the finals. You've all come a long way from those kids that just graduated. Especially you, Sakura."
Sakura ducked her head, long hair covering her rosy cheeks. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei …" She mumbled.
They were just about to turn into the entrance hall when a sassy, loud voice calling out stopped Naruto short. called out from behind them. It was Temari, from the sand team, a confident smile on her lips. "Hey, cutie in the black shirt, hold on a second."
Naruto turned, he took a cursory glance to confirm, yes, he was he only one wearing black. He pointed to himself, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, you mean me?"
"Yeah, I meant you. It's Naruto, right?" Temari said as she sauntered towards him, the skirt of her lavender battle dress shifted with her steps, revealing more of her pale thighs before dipping back down. Naruto's cheeks burned, and his stomach tingled pleasantly, as she nodded with a self-assured smile. He found himself nonplussed by her.
"Yep, that's me. Can I help you with something?"
Glancing at his teammates for help, Naruto was met with the amused gazes of Kakashi and Sakura, and a narrow-eyed glare from Sasuki. Her eyes were like daggers, trying to stab him with her gaze alone. Though he honestly couldn't fathom why, obviously she was still upset, but he hadn't said anything to remind her of it. Shoving any unease about Sasuki's attitude down, he looked at his sensei and jerked his head towards Temari, as if to ask what to do. Kakashi waved off his concern.
"We'll be just outside; you go on and take a minute."
His teammates, two still amused, and the third now decidedly moody, stepped through the doorway into the entrance hall, the distant noise of the door to the tower shutting echoed through the concrete halls. Naruto shifted nervously under Temari's interested gaze, he'd been hoping Kakashi would give him a reason not to stay, the sand kunoichi made him nervous. Though not in a bad way. He got the same feeling from her as when Ino would flirt, only Temari was more subtle.
"So uh, what did you wanna know?" He asked.
"Well, when you were fighting, I noticed your sword," Temari began, leaning towards him and running her finger down the hilt of Senbonzakura. "Mind telling me where you got it?"
Naruto leaned back ever so slightly, trying to ignore that pleasant tingle increasing as her breath ghosted across his face. Flustered, and head filling a bit fuzzy, he didn't really think about his response.
"From my grandmother, why?"
"It's got a very unique ability, being able to control metal. I don't think I've ever heard of a sword with that ability." As Temari spoke, the distracted buzz disappeared from Naruto's head. The way she emphasized "sword" sent alarm bells ringing, and it was impossible to miss the calculating look in her eyes. He could kick himself, of course the Hidden Sand shinobi would have taken note of his Magnet Style. They'd probably figured Temari was the most approachable and sent her to needle him for information. Villages could get rather protective of their bloodlines, after all.
"Oh, that's what this is about." He stared into her eyes with a serious look. "There's not much point in beating around the bush. We both know It's not just the sword letting me control metal."
Temari's face turned blank for a moment, stepping back and regarding him carefully, all signs of playfulness were gone. "No, I guess there isn't. So, tell me, how is it that a Leaf Shinobi, an Uchiha no less, has one of the Hidden Sands bloodlines?"
Though she did well to hide it, there was an accusatory edge to the kunoichi's voice. Now that he looked closer, there was an undercurrent of anger in her eyes. And she was the levelheaded one of her team. Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair agitatedly. If he didn't handle the situation carefully, it could get ugly. They surely didn't take kindly to the idea the Leaf might have poached one of their most infamous abilities. He could certainly sympathize; the Hidden Leaf had been targeted several times over the years for one of their bloodlines. It being an ally would almost make it worse.
"I know it seems suspicious, especially given I'm from the Uchiha Clan. It must seem like I'm the result of a secret Leaf Village plot to breed a super-shinobi," As he spoke, his guts were twisting themselves in knots. He wasn't used to handling things like this.
Despite herself, Temari's lips twitched in amusement at his joke. "The thought had crossed my mind."
"As unbelievable as it might seem, it's really a coincidence. My grandparents on my father's side left their villages after the First Ninja World War." Temari rose a questioning eyebrow, but didn't interrupt, so Naruto continued. "My grandmother was a retired kunoichi who had the bloodline, and she was killed by bandits while protecting my father. Some Leaf Shinobi found him and brought him back to the village. The bloodlines never manifested. I never knew either of my parents, so you can imagine it was a bit of a shock when they manifested in me."
Temari stayed silent for an alarmingly long time. She studied him, weighing his words. "You're right, that does sound unbelievable." She said rather bluntly. "Though, I guess I don't have much choice but to take your word for now. Besides, this is probably more a matter for people much higher up the chain to handle."
Naruto agreed with a nod. No doubt, the leadership of their respective villages would be talking about the matter quite a bit in the coming month. There wasn't much input he could have as a genin. Not that he really cared. He had a long way to go before politics were any concern for him.
Clearing his throat, Naruto said, "Well, if that's all, I better go catch up with my team."
"Same. See you around, Naruto Uchiha." Temari nodded at him politely, before spinning on her heel and walking away with a fast clip. Before he knew it, she was around the corner and out of sight.
'Hopefully this doesn't become a massive pain in the neck.' Turning around, he walked into the entrance chamber and quickly made for the exit. As he went through the double doors at the entrance to the tower, Naruto took a moment to stop and soak in the warm sun and get a breath of the fresh air. After all day stuck inside the stuffy tower, it was a bit of a relief to feel the breeze across his face. The scent of the pine trees, and the musty earth of the forest, they set him at ease.
"Are you just going to stand there all day?" Naruto cracked open his eyes, his team was standing to the side of the entrance. Sakura was the one who had spoken, she stuck her tongue out at him when she saw him looking her way. "So, what did she want?"
"Just wanted to know about my Magnet Style. The Hidden Sand were bound to have questions about it. It's not really a big deal."
While Sakura was satisfied with the answer, Kakashi glanced at him curiously, but otherwise didn't comment. "So, do you two want to go to Gintaku Lounge to celebrate making the finals?"
Sasuki shook her head quickly, her eyes fixed on him. "No thanks. I'd rather get right into preparations. Besides … I want to be on my own for a bit."
Naruto felt his stomach sink. During the matches, they'd gotten along well enough. Part of him had begun to hope maybe she was coming around. But the resentment she'd shown the past week was still there, hidden behind a blank stared. 'Just got to give her more time.' He tried reassuring himself.
"Uh, yeah, I suppose I do too. Maybe next time, Sakura." He gave the pink-haired girl an apologetic look. She didn't deserve to be caught in the middle of he an Sasuki's drama.
As he was about to use a Teleportation to leave–with Sasuki looking like she was going to do the same–Kakashi called out to them, halting their departure.
"Before you two run off, you should know I'll be sending a clone to meet with each of you individually tomorrow. We'll discuss how you plan to train over the next month. Even if I don't train each of you personally, I'll be sure to line you up with a suitable teacher who can help."
Naruto smiled. "Sounds good Kakashi-sensei, see you tomorrow."
Giving one last nod to Kakashi, and a wave to his teammates, Naruto used a Teleportation Jutsu and began to speed through the forest. There was a hot shower and a warm, familiar bed waiting for him at home. Then, he could begin his preparations for the exams tomorrow, and hopefully forget about all this distracting drama. He had no intention of letting anything get in the way of passing the exams.
x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x
Well, what did you think? I felt like this was a good place to break things in the middle of the arc. As I said, the next upload for me will be of The God of Wind, my Naruto x Fem-Shikamaru (actualy very small harem but that's the only one revealed yet). I'm up to chapter 10 on my pat reon.
Again, thanks to all my patrons, their support helps me continue these stories. If you're interested in reading ahead, as well as chances to help decide what I write, feel free to check it out, though no pressure. I'll still end up publishing most of what I write on the publc sites. I can be found at the pa treon web domain by adding /rinnetaicho to it.
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Until Next Time,
RinneTaicho, Signing Off!
