Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or its characters.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Storm Arrives Part (IV)
[Ding!]
[Bonus Quest: "Taking it Easy" Completed!]
[Quest Rewards: Exp. 2000]
Naruto noticed with a frown that he didn't receive any level up, but he wasn't really expecting it. He had leveled up exponentially the past month due to the various fights and training he had, and now the experience required to gain a level was getting larger and larger.
Open my stats.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Title: "Stormbringer"
Occupation: Genin of Konoha
Level: LV17
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 2000/2000
STR: 14
VIT: 13
DEX: 13
INT: 8
WIS: 4
LUK: 2
Class: Necromancer
Attribute Points: 0
He had improved leaps and bounds during the Chuunin exams, especially during the tournament part of it. Not only had he gained lots of EXP, but he had received more quests in the past week than he had for a month and a half. It was almost as if the system wanted him to be fighting—and rewarded his fights with skills and little perks. The stronger the person he fought, the more EXP he received and more tantalizing the reward. Fighting Lee and Neji had only proved that suspicion.
If I want to get better…I have to fight even more. The thought slightly daunted Naruto. Regardless, there's no stopping now. My goal is to become Hokage, but before that, I need to survive whatever is coming next. And to survive…
His eyes lit up. I have to become stronger.
"Fuu of Takigakure versus Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha!"
If the previous cheers Naruto had heard for any of the fights were loud, the present explosion of noise blew them all out of the water. The famed Uchiha, poster boy of the Hidden Leaf Village versus the clear favorite for the winner of the tournament fighting against each other in the semifinals was a match made in heaven.
"Good luck, Sasuke. Make sure to weaken her up a bit for the finals, eh?" Naruto said humorously.
Sasuke smirked. "If I don't manage to win, what are the chances that you of all people do?"
"More than you think."
Sakura fidgeted with her fingers. "Good luck, Sasuke!"
"Thanks."
The rest of the rookies wished him luck as well, with Sasuke being relatively perceptive to all of the wishes. He has changed somewhat. Naruto admitted internally. He isn't nearly as much of a douche, though he has his moments.
Sasuke slowly walked down the stairs, his entire presence emitting a calm
confidence that entranced the watching audience. Say what you want about his personality, but Sasuke Uchiha was a showman through and through. Fuu was already at the center of the stage, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. She, on the other hand, wasn't the greatest of entertainers.
"Before you ask, I think Fuu is going to win," Naruto stated plainly. He cut off Sakura before she could retort with that annoyed expression on her face. "Calm down. I obviously want Sasuke to win so I can face him in the finals, but I'm being truthful here."
Sakura harrumphed. "Whatever. I think Sasuke is going to surprise us all. Fuu hasn't actually fought anyone too strong yet, has she?"
That's right. They didn't watch her fight with Gaara with me, so they don't really know how much stronger Fuu really is. Not that I know much, either. She's clearly hiding something or she wouldn't be so high level.
"You'd be surprised," Naruto answered mirthfully.
Not taking his cryptic answer seriously, Sakura returned her gaze to the upcoming fight.
The two enemy Genin eyed each other intensely as Sasuke finally made it next to the proctor. The crowd watched with hushed silence as they waited for the order to begin the fight to be yelled out.
"Begin!"
Shouts of excitement immediately surged from the stadium as the two rushed forward at each other. Sasuke was fast, equaling Fuu's own speed in this particular case, which wasn't an easy task considering her own aptitude. They met in the middle, covering equal distance, and began trading blows.
Naruto suddenly noticed exactly who Sasuke was fighting like. His neck swerved towards Lee, who also had a knowing look on his face. His sharingan must have copied Lee's fighting style completely…
The Taijutsu wasn't what was copied, to be exact, it was more about the utilization of speed and how Sasuke was using random, sudden changes of speed to his advantage during the fight. He moved like Lee. The moment he reached Fuu, however, it was Sasuke's fluid fighting style all over again. The Uchiha Clan Taijutsu was fluid, varied, powerful, and combined with Lee's speed only made it even more dangerous.
Sasuke's kick flew over Fuu's head, who went for a counter-punch only to see that her opponent was no longer there.
Fast! She thought with a surprised glance.
It took the Uchiha a half second to get behind and launch another attack, one which she had to block or face severe repercussions, Jinchuuriki or not. Sasuke's fist sailed towards Fuu, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest in a blocking motion. His fist slammed her arms with pure power, resulting in her body being pushed backward from the force of the hit.
She used the momentum of the punch to somersault backwards, landing on her feet before rushing forwards again.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Sasuke intoned a second later.
Those hand signs were fast! Naruto noted with an impressed look. Unlike Shikamaru, Sasuke had not hesitated even a millisecond to cast the jutsu.
A ball of fire fabricated itself into thin air, before slowly turning and rotating itself into the distinct shape of a dragon. The fiery monstrosity seemed to roar with rage as it flew through the space between it and Fuu with great velocity, illuminating the entire stadium with a bright red hue.
But Fuu was still faster.
She managed to escape the creature with a well-timed jump to the right. Which would've been enough if it weren't for the fact that the dragon roared once more before turning its head to follow the escaping Fuu. The degree of the turn wasn't too high, but it was enough to direct itself towards its target as she didn't expect the change of direction in the first place.
That must be taking a lot of chakra…. Naruto assumed with a contemplative look on his face. I'll have to ask Sasuke afterwards.
Fuu took a different approach this time. She wasn't sure whether or not the dragon could make another turn, but she wasn't willing to risk the chance. She dashed forward before jumping over the construct of fire near the body, willing to bet that it wouldn't follow her through its own fire.
Unknowingly, Fuu had walked right into Sasuke's trap.
"Is that…ninja wire?" Shino asked, looking for confirmation.
No one answered him, clearly not seeing anything abnormal.
Sasuke Uchiha grinned.
His hands pulled at the wires surrounding Fuu's general area, which quickly constricted her body, too small and numerous to immediately cut. Only something as fast as Neji's rotation may have been able to stop the attack in its entirety.
His fingers twitched.
Crack!
Lightning sparked into life and followed the more than willing wires towards their target. Blue flashes of light reflected along everyone's eyes for a brief second before shocking Fuu with all of their might, who gasped in pain before falling silent entirely.
Why are you just taking the hits, Fuu?
The sound of crackling electricity eventually stopped, replaced by the sound of Fuu's snickering.
"Ahh…that actually hurt a bit," Fuu admitted with a chuckle. "I'm gonna have to end it here, though."
Wisps of chakra arose from her body, taking on an orange hue that blended into the bottom of the dirt stadium. An oppressive aura took its reign onto the atmosphere of the stadium, alerting Naruto whose eyes widened in recognition. This is just like when she faced off against Gaara in the forest!
[Ding!]
[Bloodlust detected!]
He was sure the others wouldn't be able to identify exactly what made Fuu's chakra so immense in its presence, but he had a good reason why. As a Jinchuuriki himself, it was almost as if his body was more receptive to her chakra than normal, but he wasn't sure if he was imagining things or not.
Wind began to pick up in the stadium, either a complete coincidence or something caused by the sudden influx of chakra. Fuu flexed her arms with a sudden movement, snapping the wires surrounding her with ease.
She rolled her shoulder that took the brunt of the electrifying pain before bending her knees and jumping to test her lower body.
Then she moved.
In an instant, she was beside Sasuke whose only saving grace was the Sharingan that managed to track her movements enough for him to raise his arms in an attempt to block. The incoming punch made contact with Sasuke's defense brutally, knocking him backwards ten or so meters.
She's even faster than Lee…is this really the effect of a tailed beast's chakra? Naruto thought with surprise.
She pushed forward again, this time even faster than before. Practically a blur to most of the audiences' eyes, she launched herself towards Sasuke who had the presence of mind to not allow a physical altercation to occur at this stage of the fight. His nimble hands reached into his pockets before throwing something onto the ground.
A cloud of smoke flourished out of the bomb, covering one-eight of the stadium in nearly opaque fog. Naruto couldn't see much anymore, trying to squint his eyes into the dome of fog to no avail.
Fuu, straight headed as ever, didn't deter from her path.
While no one could see what was happening, they could certainly hear.
It was almost like the chirping of a bird.
"CHIDORI!"
Sasuke zoomed through the smoke with breakneck speed, one hand holding the other arm as electricity bundled around his hand with ferocity. The air around him crackled with energy as ground beneath him teased up due to his blinding speed. Lightning surged around his arm, arcing around the rest of his body with faint sparks as well. It was like he personified a bolt of lightning itself in that moment. As if it wasn't flashy already, the high-frequency wailing of the jutsu was screaming out a single word: danger.
For a moment, it looked as if Sasuke Uchiha would win.
But no—Fuu was an absolute lunatic.
Her fist was coated with a thick, almost slime-like orange chakra. And without any hesitation whatsoever, she met Sasuke's technique in the middle. A loud explosion lit up in the center of the arena, as a blinding light flashed in everyone's eyes.
Naruto closed his eyes instinctively, before opening them immediately after to see the result of the clash.
Sakura looked like she was about to cry. "Please…Sasuke-kun…"
…
Sasuke had fallen.
Fuu stood with a charred, scratched up right hand, a pained expression evident on her face.
Winner: Fuu of Takigakure!"
—
This is awkward…
Naruto sat down on a chair next to the patient bed in the hospital room, not saying anything as Sasuke remained silent. The blond wasn't the best at feelings, to say the least. He especially didn't know how to handle the current situation. Sasuke Uchiha, one of the greatest prodigies Konoha has seen, lost in a fight.
That meant the finals would consist of Naruto versus Fuu.
It had been an hour since Sasuke lost in the semifinals, meaning Naruto's fight would probably start soon. The reason for the rather extended delay was due to the injuries received by both parties, and more importantly Fuu, who had to fight in the finals. Naruto hadn't seen exactly what happened, but her hand was more or less severely injured by the Chidori. He didn't worry too much, though. As a Jinchuuriki himself, Naruto's self regeneration wasn't anything to scoff at, and in unison with modern medical ninjutsu it would be healed swiftly.
The more pressing issue at this point of time was Sasuke's mentality. The normally aloof, cold demeanor of Sasuke was gone, replaced by a scary emptiness of emotions. The Uchiha would just stare into the window that had a wonderful view of Konoha for abhorrent amounts of time, occasionally drinking the water that was beside him. His hand was mostly healed, having faced less backlash than Fuu did from the clash.
"Sasuke…" Naruto started, before wincing at the vacant look on his rival's eyes. "Are you fine?"
Sasuke paused before responding. "No. Not really."
"Do you wanna talk—"
"I was outclassed. From the very beginning. Speed, strength, experience…everything. Chidori, my ace in the hole, was completely useless against her."
Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, that's what happens when you face someone stronger than you."
Sasuke growled, anger finally showing on his face. "You don't understand, do you? I guess I shouldn't have expected it. For me, every fight is life or death. Everytime I practice, it's for a purpose. Everytime I throw a shuriken, practice my ninjutsu, or even wake up in the morning—it's all for a reason, Naruto! If I can't beat a random girl from Takigakure, how will I beat—hmph."
Sasuke had cut himself off, but Naruto knew what he was talking about. Back when Kakashi had asked Team Seven to introduce themselves, the Uchiha had mentioned that he wanted to kill a certain person. At first, the more immature Naruto at the time had shelved it as another edgy comment by Sasuke. Yet the more time he spent with his teammate it became blatant with how much conviction Sasuke trained with that he clearly had a greater goal in mind.
Similar to how Naruto wanted to become Hokage. Whereas Naruto's aspirations were rooted in the desire for admiration and respect, as well as proving everyone wrong in their assumptions of him, Sasuke's goals for the future were puppets controlled by the strings of revenge. Everything Sasuke did was for killing that certain somebody. Naruto had always wanted to ask who that person was, but in the end was too scared to ask. He wasn't sure how he would respond to such a question.
"So you were just weaker than her in all possible ways?" Naruto surmised in a sentence.
A frustrated sigh was released. "Yes. I was."
Naruto crossed his arms. "Then I know exactly how you feel, dattebayo!"
To say Sasuke was flabbergasted was understating it. He knew Naruto wasn't the most normal of people, but to reach that conclusion was completely mind-boggling. "How?"
"How do you think I felt during the Academy? Everytime we fought, I could barely scratch you," Naruto said, scratching his head bashedly. "You were the first in everything, except for maybe written exams, Sakura took the lead in that. But in everything that mattered for little me, you were better. Adding to that insult, you got the attention of everybody! And the worst part, it looked like you didn't care the slightest bit! You had everything I wanted in the palm of your hand."
"It's not like I wanted the attention…"
Naruto chuckled. "Oh, I already knew that. I didn't want to admit it, though. It was obvious for everyone who wasn't a fan of yours. Shikamaru saw it, so did Choji in a way. Looking back at it now, I think I really wanted to be your friend for the longest time. Of course, I didn't really know how to show it besides challenging you to a fight. So I trained, trained, and trained my ass off. One week I didn't come to the Academy for a week so that I could do nothing but exercise! When I came back and challenged you, it felt like nothing changed. I got whooped the exact same way as last time."
Sasuke scoffed. "I fail to see how this—"
"Well, I really needed to get that out of my chest. Listen. If I, Naruto Uzumaki of all people, could manage to get on equal grounds with you, why can't you do the same with Fuu? Is getting outclassed like that really a bad thing? If anything, it just prevents you from becoming overconfident and complacent with yourself, right?"
Sasuke remained still in complete silence.
Then a small chuckle escaped from his mouth. "It's funny how you make everything seem so trivial, Naruto. Yes, you are right…as much as I hate to admit it."
Naruto grinned triumphantly. "Aha! Uzumaki Naruto strikes again. I guess it's true that no one can resist my charisma, not even the cold-hearted Uchiha. Well, now that you're back to normal…I have a fight to win."
His rival raised an eyebrow. "Good luck with that."
Naruto felt a sudden influx of information from a shadow clone that dispelled itself. "Oh shit. The fight is starting right now?!" In about a minute, in fact. "Make sure to keep the window open so that you'll hear the cheers when I win!" Naruto exclaimed loudly before rushing to the exit.
Sasuke just shook his head in disbelief. This guy…
As Naruto rushed towards the stadium, he saw a notification appear.
[Ding!]
[New Title: "The Shinobi Therapist" Achieved.]
[Title: "The Shinobi Therapist" gives +40% efficiency of Talk No Jutsu when conversing with shinobi who have a reputation of fifty or higher with the user. The user will find it easier to connect with his 'patient' and talk affluently.]
Wow. Is there anything this system can't do?
He eyed the approaching coliseum and the number of people lined up at the entrance, looking for any last minute entry that might be available, along with others who wanted to see the fight through any holes or angles. Goddamn it!
Naruto tried to move through the scrambling crowd with no relative success.
"Excuse me! Coming through! I have a fight! Please move!" He shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd.
Someone began yelling in annoyance. "Hey, you're taking my spot! Wait a second—is that Uzumaki?"
"You better win this, brat!"
"I put a shit ton of my savings on you!"
"Oi, how about you just lie down and let her beat you this one time?"
"He looks a lot shorter close up…"
The last one got on Naruto's nerves. As if they hadn't already seen him in the village before. The only reason he was even in this position was because he went outside of the stadium initially. The proctor had ordered that contestants weren't supposed to leave during the event, but Naruto had just wanted to visit Sasuke before the idiot could wallow forever in his own misery. His remaining shadow clone was probably stalling as much as it could right now, giving one excuse or the other as to why he wasn't descending onto the match. He finally made it through thanks to some guards who recognized him, thank Kami.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Naruto suddenly shouted, panting heavily. He kept a finger up, his other hand on his bent knees. "Just…phew…wait a second."
Everyone stared at him in bewilderment before looking back at his shadow clone. His clone just winked before dispersing itself, leaving behind a curtain of smoke. The eyes were back on the original again. Naruto felt another surge of memories envelop his mind. Really? You told everyone that I had a
headache from talking to Kakashi sensei too much? Well, they did believe it…
Hayate looked unimpressed. "You broke exam conduct and left the premises."
Naruto smiled toothily. "What're you gonna do? Disqualify me? Hehe. It's the finals! Loosen up a bit Mr. Proctor!"
"Kids these days…" Hayate mumbled beneath his breath. "Get in the middle, Uzumaki."
He slowly made his way towards the middle of the stadium where Fuu was also standing. She had a small, annoying grin on her face.
"How's the hand?" Naruto asked casually.
Fuu looked at her own hand nonchalantly, before staring back into blue eyes. "Good. Is your friend okay?"
Naruto shrugged. "Pretty much. Anyways, just remember I won't be taking it easy on you."
She crossed her arms, leaning forward. "Oh yeah? Did you really not just see me beat up your so-called 'rival'?"
"We're not the same."
"And I—"
"Now will you two please stop flirting before I start the fight?" Hayate said, pinching his forehead in annoyance.
Fuu blushed pink and began to stutter incoherently. "H-he's just—"
Hayate ignored her completely. "And now, for the finals of the Chuunin Exams, we have Fuu of Takigakure versus Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha."
The crowd rumbled in excitement for the final to begin, eager to see who would take the victory home. Like always, the palpable energy from the crowd was grating against Naruto's nerves, pumping his adrenaline to the very limit. He felt his heart beating and his feet twitching automatically.
Breathe.
"Begin!"
Watching from afar was one thing, but actually fighting against her was an entirely different experience. Fuu was fast to look at, and even faster to fight.
[Activating… ]
[Skill: Uchiha Clan Taijutsu- Lvl 5 Activated!]
[Usage drains 8 MP Points each minute. User can initially use this skill for 2 minutes without draining MP.]
Narutoducked and weaved past most of her hits, and the few ones that managed to sneak past weren't too strong. The issue was that he wasn't able to strike back at all, and for someone whose entire fighting style depended on their offense, that wasn't good news.
He felt a swerving roundhouse nearing his head, and unable to dodge it quick enough, he simply uttered a mental command. Iron skin!
[Skill: Iron Skin- Lvl 4 Activated!]
[Usage takes 7 MP and lasts for one minute before a skill cooldown of ten minutes applies.]
His head took on the properties of iron and didn't budge when Fuu's leg landed, and Naruto used the moment of surprise to finally launch an attack of his own. He reached forward with his hands, trying to grasp hold of her for a better vantage in the fight, but to no avail. An orange chakra enveloped her body in an instant, boosting her senses to mask. She evaded before Naruto could administer any attack.
"Running away, Fuu?" Naruto asked somewhat desperately, trying to bait her in.
"Well, according to you, that's what I've always been doing, right?" Fuu responded sharply.
Touché.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A dozen clones ran towards the other Jinchuuriki, eager to get some damage done against the enemy.
Activate iron clones.
[Activating… ]
[Skill: Iron Clones - Lvl 1 Activated]
[Usage takes 30 MP and lasts for a variable time before skill cooldown applies.]"
The clones stood absolutely no chance. Fuu, when boosted by Chomei's chakra, was simply out of their league. The fight was unfair from the beginning, actually. Even if he managed to outsmart her once or twice, it didn't matter in the end. The party tricks he used to win against Neji and Shikamaru were useless against someone of her caliber.
The main issue was the chakra she was receiving—if he could somehow manage to stop that form and land a hit on her…
It doesn't matter! I don't have something like Chidori in my arsenal! Unless…
It was risky, but also worth a shot.
He stretched out his hand before beckoning Fuu to come forward, who had just finished off the last of his clones with ease. Never one to back down from a challenge, Fuu rushed forward.
I'll have one shot at this. It won't work a second time against her.
Her incoming punch was coated with the viscous chakra, threatening to end Naruto's tournament run with a single inch of contact. Instead of dodging to the side like normal, he leaned towards Fuu to get closer into her guard.
Activate Hyūga Clan Taijutsu!
[Activating… ]
[Skill: Hyūga Clan Taijutsu- Lvl 1 Activated!]
[Usage drains 15 MP Points each minute.]
He had gained this style from the rewards of the quest regarding beating Neji, and hadn't been able to use it against Shikamaru. While he didn't have the Byakugan for seeing the chakra nodes directly, Naruto had an instinctive, broader sense of where to strike given to him by the system. It was a crude imitation of what was clearly a well practiced and highly efficient style, but it would serve its purpose. He wouldn't be able to disrupt Fuu's chakra entirely, but even a second of discourse would be enough for him.
Memories of training that he never did, instincts that he never honed, and skills that he never learned rapidly entered his mind.
The fist that was going for Fuu's arm turned into an open palm.
He drove the palm forward as hard as he could, ignoring the searing pain that he felt on his right rib that was just hit even through the iron skin. Fuu gasped as she felt her chakra suddenly stop moving for a lack of a better statement. The orange chakra dimmed for a moment of time.
Naruto closed his eyes before letting his chakra course through his body. Focus. Concentrate. It's all about timing.
Black overcame his mind.
He pushed his fist forward with purpose, with clear intent in his soul. Only two words rang in his mind.
"BLACK FLASH!"
The space around his fist warped black for a brief second before returning back to normal. His fist made direct contact with Fuu's stomach, the sheer force surprising even Naruto who couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was launched back with insane speed, saved only by the returning orange chakra.
He had messed up.
The timing was off.
He wasn't sure what exactly Black Flash was, but he knew that whatever he did right now was a poor version of it. It's a lot harder than it sounds….
Fuu's eyes were wide. "Wow. That actually hurt a shit ton."
Back to the fight…
But the fight never continued…
Are those feathers? Naruto thought incredulously.
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
A sudden urge to sleep overtook his senses, and Naruto, already tired from the constant fighting of the day, complied to the command without much struggle.
What is happening…
—-
Naruto woke up to the sound of screaming.
Heavy rain pelted down onto the stadium as he drowsily shook his head in confusion. Water poured down his hair and body as he finally regained control of his body and mind. The fight! He looked around the stadium to find Fuu, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He tried to recognize the scent that was ruthlessly entering his nose.
Ah, that's right.
Blood.
"You're awake," a voice said from behind him.
Naruto looked back to see a small dog not even reaching his knees. "W-what?"
[Ding!]
[New Quest: "Naruto Uzumaki, Save The Hidden Leaf." Created]
[Quest Details: Prevent Konoha from getting destroyed by Orochimaru.]
[Quest Rewards: Exp. 5000, ?, ?]
[Failure: The decimation of your home.]
[Does Player Accept The Quest?]
[Yes/No]
Suddenly, purpose filled Naruto's mind as he narrowed his eyes. Yes. The dense rain that muddled his vision couldn't at all pierce through the clarity that was in his mind.
[Title: "A Sorrowful Titan Dancing In The Rain" Equipped.]
[Title: "A Sorrowful Titan Dancing In The Rain" gives +35% Chakra Efficiency when using either Water-Style Jutsus or Lightning-Style Jutsu during a rainstorm, along with increasing all other stats by 10%.]"
….
"Let's fucking do this," Naruto growled.
—-
Yo!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Officially starting Konoha Crush! One of my favorite arcs in the original Naruto series! Hope you liked the chapter!
Plot will get seriously diverged from this point on…the story is hitting the turning point to say the least. People will die. People will live. But nothing will be the same afterwards.
Question of the day: Which character in Naruto had the most wasted potential? I'd say Lee.
Make sure to follow, review, and favorite to keep up with next week's chapter! Cya' next week. Review down here, it really makes my day!
Next chapter is releasing on Tuesday, 7th of August. Follow so you don't miss it!