-Jonin Exam – Dinner Party-
Ohnoki had been running around Iwa trying to find Roshi, the four tail's jinchuriki. He was so distracted that he forgot to have his talk with Ruto and Shina Maki. He would have to do that tonight at the banquet. He would need to walk a delicate line because the people of Iwa still fear and hate the yellow flash for his decimation of Iwa's armies. Ohnoki didn't care very much, it was war and Ohnoki would have done the same thing if he could. However, he would use this information to extort them and get Iwa the seals it needed.
Team 12 was getting ready in their hotel room and Naruto was having a hard time not just ripping the elegant dresses off and claiming his mates on the spot. Naruto was never one for such pomp, but he would need to learn to deal with it if he was to be the next Raikage. Not to mention, tonight was going to be a special night. A night that would rock the elemental nations, especially his former home village.
Naruto dressed himself in a royal blue tuxedo with yellow lining, wrist cuffs, bow tie and shoes to match his Sunkissed blonde hair. On the back of his tuxedo jacket, the crest of the Uzumaki was emblazoned in yellow, denoting it as the Kumo branch of the Uzumaki clan. He had removed his mask and face mask, ready to show the world that he no longer feared it. Naruto snuck up behind his two gorgeous lovers as they did the final touches on their makeup and outfits.
Mabui was wearing a slick and elegant ball-gown made of silver silk that revealed her milk chocolate skin and showed off her shoulders and cleavage. The gown went down to her ankles and painted her in the image of a refined goddess. Her silvery white hair was done up in a bun and two thin white bangs framed her angelic face. Her lips called out to Naruto, but he was denied a kiss so he wouldn't ruin her makeup.
Samui was dressed in an icy blue strapless dress that showed off her toned shoulders and generous amounts of her cleavage. The dress hugged and accented all of her curves and transformed her into an icy temptress. Her ass called out to Naruto as she bent over the sink to put finishing touches on her makeup. Samui welcome the pelvic embrace of Naruto and she wiggled her butt a little bit in appreciation for his affections.
After Naruto got ahold of his enhanced sexual desires, which were strengthened tenfold by his Hanyu blood, team 12 joined Ai, Darui and Kushina to head to the banquet. Naruto noticed that his mother was wearing the true Uzumaki crest of a linen coat that she wore over her fiery red dress. Unfortunately, nobody was present that could undo her chakra dyed hair, but she had grown to like the Sunkissed blonde look. The group made their way to the banquet hall and drew the undivided attention of every person they walked past.
Ai, Kushina and Darui parted from team 12 and left them in a staging room with the other contestants. When Kurotsuchi saw Naruto walk in, she instantly flagged him as a threat because of his resemblance to Minato Namikaze. He diffused her with a single look and smirk, which flustered the brunette kunoichi. The other members of Kurotsuchi's team gaped at him in stunned disbelief while the Kiri team greeted them like it was no big deal.
Team 9 from Konoha was confused. Neji recognized the resemblance between the 4th Hokage and Naruto, but he didn't piece it together instantly. Ten-Ten was drooling over the blonde hottie and squeezing her legs together to settle her reaction to the absolute stud. Lee, dressed in a green suit and orange tie, looked on at the man he would like to consider his rival. Since Lee witnessed Naruto's taijutsu display, he had been itching for a fight. Team 12 and team Kiri ignored the others and talked quietly amongst themselves until the banquet ceremony started.
The host's voice projected across the filled ballroom,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Daimyos and other distinguished dignitaries. Iwa is hosting this international event to give each of you the chance to meet the best and brightest up and coming shinobi of the elemental nations. Tonight, we have Ai, the Yondaime Raikage, and Mei Terumi, the Yondaime Mizukage, and Ohnoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the retired Sandaime Hokage, presiding over the banquet tonight. Without further ado, let me introduce the contestants.
Hailing from Iwa, we have Kurotsuchi Kamizura, granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, known for her lava kekkai genkai. Alongside her, her teammate Sayu Kamizuru represents the battle bee clan of Iwa. To wrap up the squad we have Han Mitsuki of the steel release. (The announcer pauses for a round of applause.)
From Konoha, we have Konoha's team 10 being led by the jonin sensei Might Guy. He leads Neji Hyuga, hailed as the Hyuga prodigy, Ten-Ten Higarashi hailed as the weapon's mistress of Konoha, and Rock Lee, taijutsu apprentice of Might Guy.
From Kiri, we have a team led by jonin sensei Zabuza Momochi, wielder of Kubikiribocho and leader of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He leads Maya Terumi, daughter of the Mizukage and wielder of the Lava and Boil releases. Haku Momochi, wielder of the Ice bloodline and Nuibari. Chojuro, wielder of Hiramekarei, rounds out the team.
Finally, we have team 12 from Kumo led by their jonin sensei Darui of the Black Lightning. Leading this team is … I'm sorry, is this right? Yea … okay … okay then. Leading this team is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Tenshi no Raijin and leader of the Divine Bolts of Kumo, Heir Apparent of the Raikage and wielder of the kekkai touta, Storm Release. His teammate and fiancée Samui of the Divine Bolts and swords mistress of Kumo. The last but certainly not least, Mabui of the Divine Bolts … also a fiancée of Naruto and hailed as the fuinjutsu mistress of Kumo."
At this massive revelation, the room erupted in shouts of disbelief and some outrage. Ohnoki cursed under his breath as he missed his opportunity. Now, he would have to play nice. Hiruzen Sarutobi gaped at the long-lost son of his successor in a state of total shock and disbelief. Kurotsuchi kept a firm gaze fixed on the son of the yellow flash. The people from Iwa shouted that the son of 'that man' shouldn't be allowed in Iwa. Neji Hyuga glared at the traitor of Konoha. Jiraiya was in attendance, but he was already drunk off his ass and wasn't paying attention. Ai simply sat there with his arms crossed and a confident smirk plastered on his face.
After the whole crowd calmed down, a tension-filled dinner left the banquet hall quieter than usual except people that were talking talked in hushed whispers. Naruto sat at the table with his teammates and a couple of the more influential people from Kaminari no Kuni, including the Lightning Daimyo, Kirinji. Kirinji was laughing heartily at the unique way Naruto, or the Uzumaki clan as a whole, had of shattering people's expectations.
"Sorry, Kirinji-Sama, for not letting you know ahead of time. There were factors that we didn't account for, and we decided to just rip the bandage off. Plus, it stopped the old Fence Sitter from attempting to bend us over the proverbial barrel." Naruto's tone was polite but informal, just the way Kirinji liked it.
"That is quite alright my boy. Now that you are out in the open, I will be sending the proper documentation around to my fellow Daimyo. If they do not turn over your inheritance, well let's just say I will make it unpleasant for old Kinshi. We may even revoke the seal work you did for him."
Samui spoke up. "Daimyo-Sama, do you really think the greedy bastards in Fire country didn't cut corners and steal Ruto's inheritance for themselves as soon as he was pronounced dead?"
Kirinji sighed, "You are quite right child. However, even if we cannot get money out of the equation, we can exert political pressure and public shaming. Lady Kushina provided all of the necessary documentation to me shortly after her arrival in my country."
"Kirinji-Sama, I don't presume to demand anything of you, but if I may ask you to enjoy turning the screws and to turn them slowly, would that be appropriate?" Naruto's question earned a full-blown laugh from the usually prim and proper Daimyo of Kaminari no Kuno.
Dinner continued along friendly lines until it was clear that most of the guests had finished their meals. Then the contestants formed a greeting line toward the front of the banquet hall and the visitors had the chance to greet each of them. It was quite boring and mechanical, but it gave people the chance to meet the contestants. Unfortunately for Naruto, he was the most high-profile person there; thus, he was forced to deal with many people, promise many future conversations and blow off many opening discussions about some daughter or niece or aunt that would have been involved in marriage proposals.
The one strange conversation that Naruto had that night was with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Nothing serious could be said out loud, but the look in the old man's eyes was … interesting. It wasn't disappointment and there was definitely a healthy amount of relief and pride. Naruto asked about his prosthetic and kept the conversation short and light, but Hiruzen let him know that they would most definitely talk later.
After the greeting line came dancing, which was something that Naruto truly enjoyed. It might be considered strange to see a 6-foot 3-inch, 225-pound man dancing gracefully on the dance floor, but not for Naruto. As soon as he had his first dance with Mabui, he had a line of girls waiting for their turn to be treated like ballroom princesses. Naruto danced with Samui, his mother, Maya, Haku, Krishna (Kirinji's daughter), Maria (Hanzo's wife), and a number of other beautiful girls. Naruto had long since shed his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white button-down shirt.
As Kushina sipped on a whiskey drink and watched her son dance, she couldn't help but thank Kami for the smile on his face. Naruto always loved to dance with her when he was a kid, and the unhindered smile of childlike joy made its appearance once again. That smile didn't care about the worries of tomorrow or the regrets of the past. It simply spread its radiance around the room and made everyone that saw it feel just a little bit better inside. For those that danced with him, that smile lit a fire in their souls and brought blushes to their cheeks.
Hikari watched from inside the seal with a mixture of wistfulness and slight tinges of jealousy. She was the one that taught Naruto to dance on nights where neither one felt like sleeping. Okay, she taught him some of the dances and the kitsune begrudgingly admitted that she only did so because watching him dance with his mother made her jealous. Regardless, Hikari focused on the enhanced link to their senses and enjoyed the dances. She would be sure to pull in into the seal and get her own dance before the night was out.
-Jonin Exam Finals-
Team 12 showed up in the massive colosseum that Earth country used for its fights. The arena was about twice as big as Kumo's own and the terrain was divided into five pie-like pieces. Each piece of the terrain represented a different battlespace and offered various advantages to the competitors. The wooded, water, rocky/mountain and desert terrains seemed pretty standard. What threw the competitors for a loop was the terrain where random bursts of electricity seemed to dance around an uneven metallic landscape.
The competitors walked out onto the field with nearly 40,000 viewers cheering for them. On top of that, camera crews were performing last minute touches and making sure that they could capture the action to televise the event. They walked to the center of the field where the five landscapes merged and the jonin proctor, Akatsuchi, led the group through the opening speech and instructed them on the rules of the fights. After getting their instructions, the competitors drew numbers and the matches looked like this:
Match1 – Naruto vs. Rock Lee; Match2 – Mabui vs. Neji Hyuga; Match3 – Maya vs. Sayu; Match4 – Ten-Ten vs. Samui; Match5 – Haku vs. Han; Match6 – Chojuro vs. Kurotsuchi.
The competitors cleared the field and the enthusiastic Rock Lee bounced around in a green blur. The over-excitable Konoha chunin was like the bouncy ball that the kid on crack in the candy store threw. Eventually, Lee settled down and stood across from Naruto.
Naruto cocked an eyebrow and smirked at Lee's display. "Alright, Lee-San, I know you wear weights, so take them off."
"Only if you do the same, my unyouthful opponent." Lee shot back.
"Well now, Lee-San, what have I done to earn your ire? From what I am told, you calling someone unyouthful is the equivalent of cursing at them." Naruto cocked his head to the right in a gesture of questioning and mock innocence.
Lee was undoing his leg weights as he responded. "You abandoned you home village, what could be more unyouthful than that?"
Naruto ignored the anger that tinged Lee's voice and picked his ear with his pinky. "Oh, I don't know. How about a village that regularly beat a four-year-old? How about the 60 visits to the hospital in under a year? How about said village attempting to assassinate my mother? If that isn't enough reason, how about that village stealing my birthright and inheritance from me? You tell me, Lee, would you remain loyal to such an unyouthful village?"
Naruto's voice was caught by seals that projected it around the stadium, which had since gone incredibly silent. Lee was frozen with he left ankle weight in hand and his big round eyes with caterpillar mounts bore into Naruto looking for any sign of deceit. Of course, there was none.
Lee's head fell and his bowl cut shadowed his eyes before anime tears began flowing. "If that is true, Naruto-San, then I apologize for my village's unyouthful actions."
Naruto waved him off. "Don't worry about it, Lee. Now, let's see if your flames of youth match up to my buddy Atsui's fiery passion for life. Come and let your flames burn brightly Lee, because I will keep this match strictly taijutsu." Naruto undid his gravity and weight seals in preparation for this high-speed matchup.
Lee rose from his knee and threw a fist into the air. "That is the most youthful display of fiery youth that this youthful youth of Konoha has every seen in my most youthful life!"
Naruto was willing to get the kid fired up, but this was going a little too far. So, Naruto fell into the opening stance of his 'brawler fox' taijutsu stance and beckoned Lee forth with the universal hand signal for 'bring it'. Lee needed no further invitation, and the battle of the blurs began. Both fighters were incredibly quick and monstrously strong. Every block sent shockwaves, every parry sounded like a rush of wind, every missed strike left a crater.
The fight continued to escalate as both fighters grew accustomed to the movements of the other. Lee transition from the Goken to the Swallow fighting style, which Naruto answered by changing to the Whirpool Fist that his mother practiced. Up in the stands, Might Guy was watching this display with a fixed gaze that didn't miss anything. Then he saw Naruto's switchup and knew that Lee was in trouble. The Whirlpool fist was a perfect counter style that used the movements of the opponent to buildup momentum throughout the fight to land a critical blow.
Naruto was playing to his counterstrike style and absorbing blows from Lee in graceful swirls, twirls and parries until Lee overextended with a straight kick. Naruto spun out of the path of the blurring leg, clamped the leg to his side with his left arm and sent a bone-shattering, spinning backfist with his right hand. The blow landed on Lee's temple which catapulted Lee end over end for nearly 100-meters. The crumpled form of Lee filled the end of a dugout pathway and Naruto watched to see what he would do next.
The blow that landed rattled every bone in Lee's body, especially his skull. He knew that he had a concussion, a pretty bad one at that. The whole world was spinning and the signals to his body were nonresponsive for a couple seconds. Once he regained control of his hand, he reached into his kunai pouch and drew out a vial. He popped the top of the vial and brought the contents slowly to his lips. Once the vial was properly aligned, he tilted it backward and chugged the contents in a single gulp. Like a magic potion, Lee was able to move again, and he stumbled to his feet.
Lee stood swaying shakily on his feet, hiccupping every now and then. The flush on his cheeks told Naruto that he was drunk, which greatly confused Naruto, who was scratching the back of his head as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
"You alright there, Lee? You don't seem to be doing too well?" He asked his opponent.
"Hic, don't you, hic, worry about, hic, me Naru-hic-San. Hic, hic, just be, hic, ready!" In between hiccups, the fire in Lee's eyes returned and he stumbled forward toward Naruto.
Naruto couldn't for the life of him understand what was going on. Lee went from a practiced and clean fighter to a lucky brawler. Each of his stumbles were ungraceful, but they helped Lee dodge Naruto's strike. Lee's strikes were stronger and more unpredictable, which meant they landed on Naruto more often. They didn't really debilitate Naruto, but they definitely hurt.
In the contestant's box, Ten-Ten was shaking her head and she talked to Neji. "I can't believe he brought that out in a public fight. I hope Naruto-San can beat him, otherwise everyone in this arena is in danger."
Neji answered her, completely disgusted by the display. "The Drunken Fist is an unusual style and I agree that it should never be displayed in such a public setting. Even though Lee is a natural prodigy with it, it is still disgraceful."
"On the bright side, he is doing better against his opponent." Ten-Ten replied cheerfully.
"The whole idea of this exam is to prove yourself worthy of a jonin promotion. This type of fighting would never be condoned on a mission, Lee can't even standup straight." Neji countered.
Back in the arena, Naruto started to understand what was going on and it made him smile. It was truly a brilliant opportunity to fight such a unique combat style. Deciding to take it up a level, Naruto channeled lightning chakra throughout his body, not even the stage one lightning cloak, but enough to speed up his responses. He disappeared in a crackle of lightning as he dashed at Lee. If Lee would naturally dodge, then Naruto didn't plan on aiming for him. Naruto performed a jumping roundhouse kick which Lee tripped and ducked under, but Naruto instantly flipped his body and turned the attack into a heel drop. Lee stumbled to the left and dodged the heel drop, but the ground that shattered under the weight of the blow sent him flailing through the air. Naruto disappeared in another crackle of lightning and caught Lee around the waist as he flew through the air. Naruto's lightning armor crackled to life, and he performed a 'Liger Bomb' on Lee.
After the dust and debris cleared, there was a 10-meter-wide crater with human legs sticking up limply in the middle of the crater. Naruto watched on impassively as the proctor jumped into the crater to check on Lee's state. Surprisingly, the legs began moving and after a couple seconds Lee was back on his feet, but something was different. Something was wrong. Then Naruto and the proctor noticed that Lee didn't have any pupils, his eyes were rolled back. Lee stood in a loose, combat ready stance on pure instinct. Naruto could respect that, and he didn't wish to damage Lee any further.
"Proctor-San, I wouldn't get too close to him, but Lee-San in unconscious. I do not wish to permanently damage such a youthful opponent."
The proctor called the match in Naruto's favor and the whole stadium heard Guy's thunderous applause and repeated shouts of Lee's name. Naruto disappeared in a lightning shunshin and appeared next to Mabui. He gave her a passionate kiss and wished her good luck in her rematch with Neji.
Up in the Kage and judge box, the votes were being taken. Each country's representative was allowed to select one judge for a complete panel of judges. The discussion about the fight was interesting, but each judge had expected the outcome.
Ai led the discussion as the taijutsu expert amongst the judges. "Hiruzen-Dono, it is good to see such a dedicated young man. His prowess in taijutsu is worthy of consideration, but his mentality left something to be desired. Although that was the first time I got to witness a master of the Drunken Fist, truly an interesting fighting style."
Hiruzen chuckled, "Yes, Rock Lee is an interesting young man. I have always enjoyed his positive attitude; alas, I must concede to your point that he is not yet ready for the jonin rank."
Ohnoki cut in and glared at Kushina, who stood proudly at Ai's right shoulder. "You Uzumakis are fearsome. Tell me, Lady Shina, what are your plans for Uzushiogakore? I have heard of its reconstruction, but we have gotten nothing out of it."
"And it will continue to be that way, Ohnoki-Dono. So long as you do not raise your swords against Uzu or Kumo, we will stay our swords." Kushina shot back.
Ai cut in, not liking the direction this was going. "Can we please return to judging the contestants? Ohnoki, you will be invited for diplomatic talks after these exams have concluded."
Ohnoki waved Ai off, "Look, it is obvious to all of us. Your brat will be promoted, and the green clad boy is not yet ready."
Back in the arena, for his part, Neji walked nervously into the arena. The last time these two had fought, Neji and the Hyuga clan had been thoroughly embarrassed. The elders had called for Mabui's head for exposing their clan secrets in such a way and Neji couldn't blame them. Unfortunately, that fight also shattered Neji's confidence and changed him as a person and ninja. Neji became submissive to those that were clearly stronger than him, and this girl was most definitely stronger than him.
Mabui enjoyed watching the twitches of nervousness and submissive tendencies and she got a crazy idea that would make Naruto and Samui laugh. Let's see if she could pull it off. She squared up against Neji in the arena, except before Akatsuchi could start the match, she henged into a dominatrix outfit. Male jaws around the stadium dropped and Naruto wondered what she was doing with an amused expression.
"Now, Neji-San, last we fought you were fate's bitch; however, I believe that you are my bitch now." The transformed kunai took the shape of a whip and the sharp crack of the whip made Neji flinch.
"I…I don't know…" Neji replied.
"That is right, slave. You don't know, you simply listen." Another crack of the whip. "Do you need more punishment?" This crack of the whip made Neji flinch visibly and drop his eyes.
"N-n-no, mistress…" He whimpered.
At this, Mabui dropped the henged and was bent over laughing. All around the stadium, people were laughing at the display. Most people had watched the Hyuga get dismantled in the Konoha chunin exams and they had taken notes. Now, this was too much, and the stadium roared with laughter.
"Alright, slave-Kun, give me your best shot. At least you aren't fate's bitch anymore." Mabui said and took a battle-ready stance.
Neji nodded sheepishly and put on a pair of fuinjutsu reinforced sunglasses. Mabui laughed because of the last time that she had blinded him and every other Hyuga in Konoha. Akatsuchi started the fight and jumped out of the way. Neji blurred toward the trees in the wooded landscape and Mabui walked along after him. She casually pulled two seals out of her pouch and stopped about 50-meters away from the woods. She slapped once seal down at the base of the feet and attached the other seal to a kunai she was holding.
She charged up her lightning chakra into the seal she was still holding until the seal glowed blue on the kunai. She aimed it up over the tops of the trees and let loose before flip through hand seals and whispering 'kunai kage bunshin no jutsu'. The kunais multiplied and formed a downpour on the woods. Nothing happened as Neji remained hidden in the wooded terrain until Mabui flipped through a chain of 12 hand seals and called out 'raiton fuin– collapsing lightning cage'.
A brilliant cage of electricity covered the wooded area and Neji. The electric blue whisps of chakra demonstrated where the boundary of the cage was. Mabui stepped on the seal at her feet and made the boar seal with her hands. The lightning in the cage intensified and the cage began to shrink. The cage shrank slowly and methodically for nearly a whole minute. As the lightning collided with the trees, the tree caught on fire and were shredded to sawdust, which lit up in brilliant blazes of blue fire.
Neji simply wanted the terrain to benefit his fighting style. He would have the advantage of his Byakugan with so much cover. However, his mistress didn't enter the woods. Neji watched as Mabui channeled a significant amount of chakra into a fuinjutsu seal that he didn't recognize. He watched her throw it and knew it wouldn't land anywhere near him, then it multiplied into ten identical kunai with the chakra in the original tag divided onto the copies. He watched in amazement as a chakra cage appeared around him. He tried to shunshin out, but the chakra interference blocked his attempt. Now he was caught in a cage that was moments away from electrocuting him and to make matters worse the woods are being destroyed and turned into a combustible fuel.
Mabui continued to hold the boar seal with a bored look on her face, but she was expending a sizeable chunk of chakra. Finally, it was time for the last part of the seal trap. The cage was now a ten-by-ten prison of electricity and Mabui gave her opponent one opportunity to forfeit, which Neji didn't accept. Mabui looked at the proctor who simply shrugged back at her. Mabui flipped to the bird seal and the cage was filled will electricity and yelps of pain. Neji tried to perform the kaiten, but he was caught offguard by the first jolt of electricity that disrupted his chakra flow. He ended up twirling in spot with no chakra dome protecting him. Throughout the next minute, Neji was repeatedly and mercilessly electrocuted until Mabui was sure that he was unconscious and incapacitated.
Back in the judges' box, Kushina was still recovering from rolling on the ground. It was an admittedly unsightly display, but the mind games that Mabui pulled on Neji were exactly why Kushina loved the girl. Then she went and thoroughly dominated the match with fuinjutsu, truly a proud addition to the Uzumaki family. Kushina stood up and dusted herself off.
"What's there to say about this match? My daughter in law just showed a glimpse of what Kumo and the Uzumakis can do in battle. Isn't that why you were so scared of us and attacked my home village, Ohnoki?" Kushina said in a boastful taunt.
Ohnoki scowled, "Yes, Kushina. So, you are holding onto past grudges?"
Ai growled menacingly, "Tsuchikage, I have asked you to refrain from such talk. Kushina, please refrain from antagonizing him."
Kushina shot a wry smile at Ai, "Sure thing, Ai-Kun. My apologies, old man."
Ohnoki growled a not so menacing, old man growl before grumbling about insufferable brats under his breath. The next fight started and Ohnoki watched as his Kamizuru kunoichi got defeated. Lava and boil release were an effective counter to bee insects and the fight was over rather quickly.
Ohnoki sighed. "Well, I suppose that was to be expected. The Kamizuru were always more of support type ninjas and back line fighters. You have quite the promising kunoichi, Mizukage-Dono."
Kushina ran over and gave Mei a congratulatory hug. "Oh, that was so cool! She fights just like her mother! Congrats cuz!"
Mei rubbed Kushina's blonde hair over her shoulder as she tried to maintain a bit of her professionalism. "Thanks, Kushi-Chan. Thank you as well, Tsuchikage-Dono. I am indeed proud of her, but the next fight will be the real test."
Hiruzen smiled, "Ah. Yes, young Ten-Ten is the promising young weapon's mistress of Konoha…"
"My apologies, Hiruzen-Dono, I was referring to young Samui. Those two had a bit of a rivalry back in the war over young Ruto." Mei halted the errant thought process of Hiruzen before it began.
Ai smiled proudly, "Samui is one of our best and brightest. If that girl is a weapon's mistress, then we could have a good kenjutsu match coming up."
Hiruzen grumbled, "Why is everyone acting like my kunoichi has already lost?"
Kushina got a devious smile on her face. "Okay, old man, I will give you hundred-to-one odds. How much do you want to put down on your kunoichi?" This earned raised eyebrows from everyone in the judge's box.
Hiruzen was now backed into a corner, but hundred-to-one odds are pretty nice and tempting. "10,000Ryu then, and I will hold you to it." Hiruzen tried to project confidence in his tone.
"Deal, old man." Kushina cheerfully chirped, completely at home amongst the most powerful people in the world.
It wasn't a long or particularly close fight. Ten-Ten did indeed agree to a kenjutsu battle since Might Guy did instill a strange sense of honor into his team. Guy wept like crazy since all of his students were defeated in the first round, but that is what happens when they were each paired against Kumo ninjas. The Kages exchanged knowing looks as Kushina merrily collected her winnings from a downtrodden Hiruzen that was staring at his empty wallet.
After watching the spectacle between Hiruzen and Kushina and Kushina slapping a drunken Jiraiya into the wall, the judges decided that they didn't see enough to promote Samui. They gave her positive marks and said that they would need to see more from her next fight. They universally denied that Ten-Ten was ready for promotion since she only displayed adequate kenjutsu skills.
The judges listened to Mei brag about Haku, one of the last known ice bloodline users in the world, as the next two contestants walked out onto the stadium. After the match was started, Han moved the fight into the earthen arena, but Haku was still able to call on the water from the water in the arena. The fight went on with Haku controlling the pace of the match using her superior speed. However, her usual ice attacks were unable to pierce his steel armor, which led to a stalemate of sorts.
The stalemate was broken by Haku soaking the ground under Han's feet, which immobilized him long enough to get trapped in her demonic ice mirrors. The crowd was blinded from the rest of the display until the dome collapsed, which showed them a steel teen surrounded all around by nearly a foot of ice. Inside the dome, Haku continued to escalate her ice jutsu but was unable to penetrate the steel armor of her opponent. After giving him a chance to forfeit, Haku utilized her 'ice release – absolute zero' jutsu. This dropped the temperature inside her ice dome to nearly absolute zero and caused Han's steel to gather all of the water inside the ice dome. The result was a steel man bundled up tightly in ice.
"Don't Kushina, just don't." Ai cut off Kushina's smart ass remarks before she could get started. He had his head buried in his hands since his mind had already projected the most likely jokes that Kushina would make.
Kushina glared at Ai, but she took another look at the human popsicle in the arena and erupted in a fit of girly giggles. The tick mark on Ohnoki's temple pulsed rhythmically with Kushina's giggles and steadily grew in size. Eventually, steam poured out of the midget kage's ears and Kushina's giggles evolved into laughter. Ai had to intervene and lightly chop her on top of her head. The group agreed that Haku demonstrated jonin potential and that Han was a formidable opponent, but rather mono-faceted.
The fight between Chojuro and Kurotsuchi was interesting to Naruto and those in the contestant's box. Kurotsuchi's demonstration of lava jutsu was impressive and Maya was able to comment on it. Turns out that blending earth and fire jutsu is way easier that water and fire, at least according to Maya. Chojuro displayed a basic mastery of Hiramekarei, which can transform into various forms of chakra weapons. Unfortunately, Chojuro was still growing into the chakra drain that the sword inflicted on its wielder, which meant that he tired first. Kurotsuchi was announced the winner shortly after she dodged a strike from Chojuro, and she landed a knee to his chin.
Kushina, always able to appreciate a strong kunoichi, decided to make some amends with Ohnoki. "Well, Tsuchikage-Dono, your granddaughter is certainly talented. That was a splendid display of earth and lava jutsu. She also controlled the fight very nicely; I would love to fight alongside her in the future."
Ohnoki, taken aback by the abrupt change in demeanor, grunted before saying, "Thanks, Lady Uzumaki. I would appreciate the opportunity to create such a friendship that would allow or shinobi to fight side by side."
Ai picked up on this. "Well, we will invite you to Kumogakore and show you how some of our reforms have benefitted our people and village. We can start any talks after that."
Ohnoki nodded and hid a smile. He knew that he needed to be on friendly terms with Kumo and hid a smirk at the sour look on Hiruzen's face. "That is a welcome suggestion, Ai-Dono. Why the sour face, old monkey?"
Hiruzen scoffed, "So, when the son of the kiroi senko is in Konoha, you want to kill him? However, if he is in Kumo, you wish to make friends with your so-called greatest enemy?"
"Don't play petty games with me, old monkey. If my people and nation can benefit from a friendship, why wouldn't I seek to take advantage of that? A Kage is duty-bound to do what is best for his, or her in the Mizukage's case, people." Ohnoki retorted sharply.
Hiruzen suppressed a growl. If Fugaku didn't fuck things up and chase the Uzumakis out of the village, this never would have happened. Unfortunately, Hiruzen knew he would have to report this to the Konoha council and things would escalate from there. A drunk Jiraiya stumbled forward and spoke with a disrespectful tone to Ohnoki.
"Lookit the lil ole' man, hic, actin strong, hic. From what I hears, hic, hic, yous guys lost, hic, Roshi, hic, earlier this month."
Ohnoki was now enraged. A surprising amount of killing intent filled the booth and caused everyone's hairs to stand on end. "Oh, so you know about that, do you? So, should I assume it was Konoha that took my jinchuriki?"
A think tension hung in the air and eyes darted all over the place. Every Kage or judge inspected the other. It was clear to everyone that Hiruzen was shocked to hear the news and he was clearly ashamed of his student's behavior. Ai and Kushina locked eyes knowing that this was somehow linked to the attack on Takigakore and the disappearance of the 7-tails. Ohnoki's face had darkened, and his eyes were fixed on Jiraiya, who had realized that he severely fucked up.
While Jiraiya struggled to form words, Hiruzen stepped in. "Ohnoki-Dono, Konoha has nothing to do with such a thing. We are here for these exams and that is it. We will keep an eye out for your lost jinchuriki. Were there any clues you could share with us to help identify the attackers?"
Ohnoki grumbled and debated whether or not to share the information. "I do not trust Konoha, Hiruzen. It is nothing against you. However, the one-tails, three-tails, seven-tails and now four-tails have been attacked, killed or gone missing in the last year or two. I believe that in itself is suspicious."
Ai was in a thinking pose and had maintained steady eye contact with Kushina as they sorted out the information. Of course, they each knew where Gaara was, but the other biju were causes for concern. "Ohnoki-Dono, Kumo is more than willing to help you locate this group. My intelligence officers have formed a dossier of sorts and have identified certain 'S' ranked individuals that are most likely responsible."
Ohnoki coughed in surprise before he recovered himself. "'S' ranks? Why have I not heard of this?"
Kushina took over for Ai, "Look, Ohnoki, Suna falling in a day is suspicious and my informants told me that it was due to massive explosions and a puppet army. Taki fell to its own missing nin, Kakuzu, and another individual yet to be identified. I don't know who took your jinchuriki, but maybe we could work together to figure this out."
Ohnoki smiled earnestly and nodded. "Indeed, send me the invite through the proper channels and I will visit Kumo. In the meantime, I suggest we watch this most interesting match…"
As all of the judges' attention returned to the field, they noticed that a unique battle was truly underway. Mabui and Naruto each had their fuinjutsu kits out and they were throwing around seals liberally. Explosions countered by barrier seals, kunai multiplying and flying toward Naruto only to be repelled by and equal number of shuriken. These flying instruments were engraved with fuinjutsu that replicated the 'shuriken/kunai kage bunshin' jutsus.
Mabui had a look of absolute bliss on her face as she cranked out seal after seal, each move she made was countered effortlessly by Naruto and vice versa. She noticed that she was being backed onto the lightning field by Naruto, who remained true to his word in keeping this a fuinjutsu fight. Mabui tried throwing four kunai and setting up a barrier around Naruto, who threw out incendiary tags to destroy the tags attached to the kunai. She then whipped two more kunai with flash tags to buy her some time.
Naruto saw the two kunai flying at him and quickly identified the tags before he closed his eyes and reinforced his eyelids with a layer of chakra. He pinged her to get her current position and tossed five kunai high into the air. The flash tags went off, which also forced Mabui to close her eyes and made her miss the airborne tags that Naruto just threw. Both contestants opened their eyes and restarted the fight.
Naruto's fingers glowed blue as he wrote a seal in the air before he placed his palm on a tag. The palmed tag was attached to a kunai, and he tossed it to Mabui's left. Mabui reacted the to explosive tag that was clearly aimed to make her dodge to her right. Unfortunately, she had no other option, but then the air seal went off and shot a concentrated wind ball at Mabui's new location. Mabui once again dodged to her right side and tossed a taser seal at Naruto.
As the taser tag flew through the air, five kunai clinked to the ground and surrounded Mabui in a hexagonal barrier. The taser tag Mabui threw flew true and impacted on Naruto's left leg, which sent a jolt of electricity through Naruto. The foreign chakra jolted his system and forced him to take a knee. For Mabui, she was fixed in her position and unable to do anything. She couldn't move at all, and her chakra was locked up while she simultaneously felt the immense drain on her chakra. She was struggling to remain standing, and her breath was coming out in pants, but that did nothing to suppress the brilliant and breathtaking smile on her face.
After a minute or so, Naruto was able to move freely, and he walked over to Mabui while shaking out his leg. He looked at the proctor meaningfully, which caused the proctor to snap out of his daze and call the match in Naruto's favor. He dropped the barrier and caught Mabui before she could fall to the ground. He scooped her into a princess carry and walked off the field while chatting amicably with her.
Up in the judges' box, all eyes were on Kushina, who just finished explaining how that was a standard fuinjutsu exam for those wishing to go from journeyman to master sealer. They were all impressed by the display and agreed to promote both shinobi to jonin, much to Ai and Kushina's joy. The other Kage each recognized the battlefield implications from such a display, especially when combined with such overwhelming combat prowess. After Kushina's explanation, a stunned silence fell on the judges' box until the start of the next match.
Maya and Samui eyed each other from across the field with small, hidden smiles on their faces. The proctor had started the match, but the two remained fix in their positions with their eyes locked in the first phase of this battle. For Maya, she was searching for an answer to the question that she asked Samui on the way down.
Two minutes ago, Maya was walking side by side with Samui, "Samui-Chan, now that Kiri has stabilized, my mother plans on sending two bloodlines to Kumo. If I volunteered, would you be willing to share Naruto-Kun? I always remembered each of you fondly but seeing him again confirmed my feelings and I want to know."
Samui was honestly surprised it took her this long to ask. She knew that Naruto hid nothing from her and that he had done nothing out of his way to attract her affections. "That's cool with me, but it is not my choice. Let me ask you this, why do you want Ruto-Kun?"
Maya shot a look at Samui, evaluating her posture and response. "Why wouldn't I want the hero of Kiri?"
Samui's gaze hardened. "So, it is because of his status then? Not cool."
Maya sputtered out in shock and shook her hands rapidly in front of her. "No, no,no,no,no. I mean, no, that's not the only reason." Maya's gaze shifted to her feet, and she started twiddling her fingers. "Who wouldn't love the man that saves their nation? But I can tell that he is real, like totally genuine and kind. Then I see how he treats you girls, and I can't stop the jealousy that creeps into my chest…"
Back on the battlefield, Samui was evaluating this kunoichi, not just as an opponent but as a potential mate for Naruto. She was strong, no doubt about that. She seemed kind and genuine enough, but that wasn't enough. She determined that a fight would be the only way to get to know her, so she firmed her resolve and shifted to her taijutsu stance.
"Maya, I don't know if Naruto likes you and quite frankly, I can't make up my mind myself. Speak to me through this fight and show me who you are. If you are cool enough, then I will give you my stamp of ice-cold approval."
Maya nodded and took up her 'lava fist' taijutsu style. To the crowd's surprise, Maya's cheeks bulged and she spart two globs of glowing lava on her hands. The lava shifted around her forearms and solidified into gauntlets. Samui smirked and cased her fists in lightning, one of the first stages of Naruto's lightning armor that he taught her and Mabui. Each girl smirked before they disappeared in bursts of speed.
Clashes of blue, orange and red appeared around the arena. They weren't fixed into one of the arena variants as the battle danced around battlegrounds. Each sparking of blue and orange drew 'ooh's' and 'ahh's' from the crowd as they witnessed a high-level kunoichi fight. Samui was laughing, internally of course, a cool person such as her would never laugh out loud in the middle of a battle. She gracefully deflected blow after blow from Maya and was impressed by the girl's nintaijutsu.
Samui increased her speed a bit and created some space to switch to a ninjutsu battle. She could have won the fight with kenjutsu, but Samui was very poor at holding back with her sword. She always struggled to hold the bloodlust at bay whenever she palmed her sword. She believed that 'Raikuzaki', her sword's name, called for her opponent's blood whenever she wielded it.
Returning to the fight, Samui flashed through hand seals and used a base-level 'raiton – beast tracking' jutsu that created three wolves made of lightning that dashed toward Maya. The girl didn't hesitate as she used two hand seals and bulged her cheeks before she spat three globes of lava and erased two of the three lightning wolves. The last one lunged at Maya, who ducked and rolled the attack before she placed her hand on the ground and an earth spike bisected the lightning wolf.
As Maya regained her bearing, she noticed that Samui had just finished sealing and saw a lightning dragon wrap around Samui before darting toward her. Maya countered the attack with a Kiri special, 'suiton – water dragon'. The twin dragons fought briefly for dominance before the lightning dragon won out. The lightning dragon was smaller after its fight with the water dragon, but it was still fearsome as it roared toward Maya. Maya panicked a bit but erected a lava wall that halted the beast's progress.
Samui's concentration was fixed on her lightning dragon until she saw the lava wall erected. She let go of the jutsu to focus on her next move. She dashed around the wall and saw Maya panting with her hands still on the ground. Samui decided that she had tested the girl enough, so she used her top speed to take Maya's back. She placed both hands on the girl's shoulder blades and used 'raiton – shock current'. Maya's body glowed blue and sparkled with lightning as the foreign chakra shocked her system and rendered her unconscious.
In the judges' box, Mei was clutching her chest in concern. Otherwise, her features remained schooled as the fierce Mizukage she was. When Maya rose to her feet with the aid of Samui's shoulder, a brief smile flittered upon her face.
"Raikage-Dono, I do believe that we will need to be more aggressive in our negotiations to discover the secrets of Kumo's success. Your shinobi are clearly on a different level than we have come to expect." Mei's tone was flirty and seductive, which earned a scowl from Kushina.
Kushina couldn't catch the scowl that escaped from her throat. She then asked herself why she would react in such a way? Ever since the talk with Naruto, she had been more open to her feelings for Ai. She still clung on to her affection for Minato, but she was admittedly torn between the two great men. She shoved the feelings down to deal with at a later date.
"Oh, Mei-Chan, I believe we can work something out. Did you get the feeling that those two were fighting for more than just these exams?"
Mei chuckled melodiously, "Well, I do believe that it concerned young Naruto-Kun. Which reminds me, those two bloodlines we owe you, if I agree to Maya being one of those offered, could we select the suitor?"
Ai sighed, "I don't know whether to be proud or jealous of my pupil… Sounds like we will need to schedule another visit, or would you prefer to conduct a joint visit with Tsuchikage-Dono?"
Mei tapped a thin, sensual finger to her lips, "Hmm, well, let me get back to you on that."
The next battle was a battle of opposites. Calm, endearing, shy and icy versus boisterous, overly confident, loud and fiery. Ice flew and lava answered it. The main problem was that Haku used a significant chunk of her chakra in her previous fight when she activated absolute zero. Haku didn't have enough to perform her higher tier jutsus, meaning that demonic ice mirrors, absolute zero and frozen blizzard were out of the question.
Haku attempted to attack, but Kurotsuchi's offensive was fierce. Taijutsu led to a momentary break that would be filled by lava. The ninja wire threads of her sword were melted before she could begin to immobilize her opponent. The senbon were countered by accurate swipes from the Iwa ninja's kunai. Haku's mind was reeling, desperately trying to come up with another idea to gain victory over her opponent.
Kurotsuchi was breathing hard as she countered each move her opponent made. She was wary of being trapped in the ice dome that she saw earlier, but Haku never attempted to use it on her. Her senses told her that her opponent was running out of chakra while she still had half of her reserves to call on. Kurotsuchi saw the opening in Haku's stance and darted forward to exploit it. After diverting and melting the ice senbon, Kurotsuchi was able to engage in a clinch with Haku. Then, a mud clone appeared behind Haku and held a kunai to her neck. Haku bowed her head and gracefully forfeited.
"That's my girl!" Ohnoki jumped out of his chair and pumped his fist into the air. "Ow, ow, ow … my back!" Ohnoki fell to his knees after tweaking his back. The giant of a man behind him knelt, scooped him up and placed him into his chair.
"Grandpa, you need to be careful. You know your back can't take all of that excitement." Akatsuchi's tone was soft and gentle, with a slight bit of chiding.
Mei stifled a laugh as she sighed with her last kunoichi being knocked out of the tournament. "Well, judges, what do you think? I will abstain from the vote on Haku while recommending Kurotsuchi for full promotion to jonin."
Ai responded. "Hmm, well young Haku is a great kunoichi. The problem with these tournament formats is the stamina. She was very worn out from her previous fight against that steel bloodline, and she couldn't use any of her game changing jutsu. I recommend Tokubetsu jonin."
Ohnoki winced before he replied. "Indeed, I would be proud to have a kunoichi like her in my ranks. Tokubetsu jonin is fair and it won't take long for her to be a full jonin."
Hiruzen added his two cents. "I believe that to be fair. Now, how about the finals?"
Ohnoki realized that he should address the crowd, so he hovered out of his chair and then over the edge of the balcony. "Alright everyone, I am sure we can all appreciate the amazing displays of skill thus far. We will take a 20-minute break before the finals and the contestants will have their chakra reserves topped up. The finals will be a free for all, three-way finish. Use the restroom and place your bets because you won't want to miss this."
Ohnoki turned around and noticed the massive blondes talking to one another. Ai nodded and whispered something to Naruto before the blonde puffed into smoke. Ohnoki cocked an eyebrow at Ai, which Ai returned with a cocky smirk.
"Well, Naruto requested a 2v1 and asked permission to show off a special skill. I am not going to tell you what because I wish to witness the look on your face firsthand."
Kushina giggled, "Is it really time for the world to know?" Ai simply nodded in response, and everybody looked on highly intrigued.
Twenty minutes later, the three finalists walked onto the field to the roar of the crowd. Naruto had discussed with the two kunoichi that they should come at him first. Kurotsuchi initially protested but changed her mind when she saw the serious look on Samui's face. Samui focused her resolve and committed herself to giving her all against Naruto, since it would require her all if they were to last even a minute.
Kurotsuchi shook off her surprise and looked Naruto up and down. She was forced to gulp and suppress the warmth spreading throughout her body. Every fiber of Naruto's being screamed alpha and Kurotsuchi couldn't suppress her body's response to such a specimen. The glance turned into a stare, which turned into a full body scan that would be on the same level to a Hyuga activating their Byakugan. It only ended because Kurotsuchi caught the cocked eyebrow and pleasant smirk on Naruto's face.
"Okay you three, this is the finals of the Iwa Jonin Exams, and it will be a free for all format. The same rules apply, and I expect a fair fight where you will obey my commands at all times. Ready? Begin!" The proctor's voice echoed across the arena and was answered by a deafening roar from the crowd.
Samui remained tense and she ignored Kurotsuchi and focused on Naruto, the obvious and most pressing threat. No mate of Naruto would ever bow down in a fight, he expected them all to fight fiercely and never give in. She gasped and her mind panicked when she saw eight storm chains sprout from Naruto's back. She knew it was all for nought when the chains wrapped around his wrists, hands, shins and feet.
Kurotsuchi took in the glowing chains that seemed to emit white, black and blue sparks. She knew they were bad news when she sensed the power coming off the chains and even more when the four of the chains created gauntlets and greaves. That didn't even include the four chains waving lazily behind the blonde hunk. She readied herself and steadied her resolve.
Naruto sighed contentedly as his power unleashed itself and Hikari purred in his mind. She was most pleased at her mate's display of power and was happy that he was no longer hiding from the world. Naruto answered her feelings with a mental hug that seemed to embrace Hikari from behind. After a projected kiss over the mating mark on Hikari's neck, Naruto focused on his two opponents. Samui had her sword out and sheathed in lightning while Kurotsuchi had her two standard kunai out. Target acquired.
Before anyone knew what was happening, Kurotsuchi was on the back foot and her kunai shattered and her hands were shocked with a potent power. She couldn't focus on the numbing feeling as a blow from Naruto's left hand hit her gut. She flew back 5-meters and her body failed to respond normally due to the shock of the storm powered punch. Luckily, Samui came in to protect Kurotsuchi and distract Naruto.
Samui intervened and opened with a 'thunderstrike slash', which Naruto casually blocked with his right gauntlet. Samui transition into 'tempest current' and she spun rapidly while lashing out with blows from various angles with each spin. Each strike was blocked by one of Naruto's gauntlets and counterstrikes came from one of Naruto's four storm chains. If Samui hadn't experienced this style of fighting before, she would have been easily overwhelmed. Luckily for Samui, she wasn't the apprentice of Yugito Ni for nothing.
Samui's lightning covered blade blurred to counter the incoming strikes from Naruto's lightning chains, and she was nearly overwhelmed until Kurotsuchi found her way back into the fight. Naruto smiled fiercely as he felt the incoming wave of lava before he stomped a foot on the ground and a wall of storm chains rose from the ground and halted the advance of the lava. Kurotsuchi's shock at her 'lava flow river' being countered was priceless and open her up to a lash from a storm chain that emerged from the ground behind her.
Samui couldn't afford to worry about Kurotsuchi because she was fighting off a coordinated attack from four storm chains, barely keeping pace with the seemingly sentient chains. The secret behind Naruto's four chain attack was that it mirrored his four natural tails. The fourth one sprouted overnight after the encounter with Jiraiya, which Hikari said Naruto's rage subconsciously pulled some of her power to finish his fourth tail overnight. Thus, each of the four storm chains was as natural to move as his kitsune tails.
Naruto decided he wanted a true one on one with Samui, so he blurred over to the downed form of Kurotsuchi and one of his chains tapped her back and applied a paralysis seal, which took her out of the fight. He turned calmy to Samui, who took the moment to catch her breath and prepare a jutsu for Naruto. A lightning dragon greeted Naruto's vision as he turned, and he flipped through a couple seals rapidly before a white, translucent wind dragon roared to life in time to counter Samui's lightning dragon.
The two dragons clashed before a third dragon joined the fray from behind the white wind dragon. The blue water dragon joined the wind dragon and crashed through the lightning dragon while absorbing the lightning dragon. Samui's eyes widened, and she executed an emergency 'kawarimi', which left her in the wooded area. The storm dragon crashed into the log, turned it to splinters and then exploded in a fabulous display of wind, water and lightning. The crowd gasped as the 50-meter crater left by the storm dragon appeared through the dust cloud.
Naruto wasn't fooled and knew that Samui had dodged that. He sent out a chakra ping and got a faint response in the wooded area. He slowly turned his gaze to the makeshift forest before a devious smirk appeared on his face. He created ten clones, each clone blurred to the edge of the forest and executed a high powered 'futon – wind talons' jutsu. Naruto aimed the attack at just above ground level, which resulted in the mighty groan of a multitude of trees as they struggled to remain upright.
"Timber!" Naruto called out gleefully as Samui jumped over his head and took a combat ready stance behind him. He chuckled as he turned to address his mate. "You know I have always wanted to say that."
Samui sighed exasperatedly before shaking her head. "For such a fine man, your child side is still overwhelming, Ruto-Kun."
Naruto laughed and flung out his hands, which led to the dispersing of his chakra chains. "Greatsword or katana my love?" He asked casually.
Samui immediately replied, "Katana." Nobody that knew Naruto wanted to fight against his greatsword.
Naruto unclicked the safety latch on his katana and bent into an athletic stance. Samui did the same and the two blurred forward. Even though they ended up behind one another a split second after disappearing, there was a rapid exchange of five swings a piece in that instant. Unfortunately for Samui, Naruto was still far superior at speed and kenjutsu. A trickle of blood fell into Samui's cleavage and exposed a shallow cut across her chest. She knew that Naruto could have killed her easily in that exchange and this was his way of showing it.
With her back still to Naruto, she called out to the proctor. "Proctor-San, I forfeit. He could have killed me in that last exchange, and it would be dishonorable to push this further."
"Very well, the winner of the Iwa Jonin Exams is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."
A/N: Fun is over, now we get into the fallout of the big reveal! Feel free to comment and tell me what you would like to see in the inevitable clash. I have not written too much further into this story and I will probably start writing it again soon.