Chapter 20 - Let The Finals Begin!
The eleven finalists stood in the middle of the large arena, basking in the dying cheers of a captive audience that was more than happy to see their skills get put to the test. As the volume continued to die out, a tall, brunette man dressed in the traditional Konoha shinobi uniform approached them from an entry point opposite to the one they just entered through.
Most of his hair was hidden under the dark blue bandana tied around his head, and a toothpick hung from his mouth, more for aesthetic purposes rather than picking out food from his teeth. When he raised his hand, those that were still chattering in the crowd fell silent, now ready to listen as the proceedings started below them.
"First of all, I would like to start these finals by welcoming everyone that has made the time to come out and watch today's proceedings. . . Some have come from just down the block," His words immediately earned some chuckles, especially since the arena was mere blocks away from the nearest residential district.
". . . While others have ventured here from kingdoms both near and far, and as a citizen of the Fire Kingdom, I would like to take the time to formally thank you all for coming!" The brunette called out, his formal words earning him a nice smattering of applause and shouts from the audience, who appreciated the recognition.
"Now then, my name is Genma Shiranui, and I am the official referee for today's final competition," He said after plucking out his toothpick, which turned out to be half a senbon needle. "Just like in the preliminaries, you 11 finalists will compete in a series of one-on-one matches until one of you is left standing. Killing is not illegal during these finals, but we do encourage you all to not murder your opponents as you progress through the competition. . ."
"Why do I feel so targeted by that statement?"
"Because you're the only tailed beast known for having a tendency for going on a bloodthirsty rampage if ever given the chance. . . That's why."
"Oh yes . . . Never mind."
"Overall, the rules are basically the same as they were during the preliminary matchups. If you are knocked unconscious, you lose. If you decide to forfeit, you lose, and if I determine that you have no way out of your situation, I will call the match in the opponent's favor." Genma calmly explained, looking into the eyes of every competitor to make sure he was getting his point across, and only looking away when he was satisfied.
"Now then, originally, there were supposed to be 12 of you competing today," He announced, finally addressing the elephant in the room. ". . . But due to the death of Sound genin Dosu Kinuta prior to today's proceedings, that's no longer possible, taking this three-kingdom battle to a duel of two."
"Wind against Fire, Suna against Konoha . . . This should be fun," Kankuro mumbled as excited chattering could be heard from the crowd. "The betters are likely having a field day with this."
"Wouldn't put it past them. . ." Temari added, shaking her head in agreement.
Dosu'sdeath had slowly been making the rounds around the village in the weeks since his body was discovered, so it wasn't new to anyone who had been in Konoha for a while. Rumors as to why he passed were rampant during the first few days since the discovery, but they eventually petered out once cooler heads prevailed, especially since no one would dare to insinuate that Princess Shizuka had in a hand in it since she was supposed to be Dosu's first opponent.
Everyone knew that her mother Queen Kushina had quite the temper after all, and she was quite protective of her children and their reputation.
Those who had only recently arrived at the village were completely caught off guard by this development, generating a buzz within the audience that didn't cease until Genma signaled for silence once again.
"Going by established Showcase rules, when one finalist is unable to compete for any reason in the final segment of the competition, the opponent he or she was supposed to face will automatically go to the next round." Genma addressed the finalists and the crowd before turning to the princess. "Princess Shizuka, you were supposed to face Kinuta first, but since that is no longer possible, you officially move on to the second round."
"Well look who gets the free pass. . ." Kankuro mumbled as the audience buzzed above them, with many of the pro-Fire contingent happy to hear that one of their own was already in the next round, much to the rest of the crowd's chagrin and reasonable displeasure.
"Oh, don't complain. You would be ecstaticif you got a free pass to the next round if it were Nekonome who was unable to compete today."
"I bet he'd break out into a happy dance if that were the case . . . We all know he sucks at close quarters combat."
"Takes one to know one little brother!" The puppeteer whispered as he glanced at the redhead. "And how about we not talk about my combat deficiencies within feet of my opponent, who likely has superhuman hearing, might I add."
"You're sure her feline attributes go that far?"
"They go pretty far, to tell you the truth," Haruka cut in, her voice shocking the siblings so badly that Kankuro almost jumped three feet in the air.
"Is something wrong?"
The group was so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice that Genma had been watching them the entire time, smirking slightly as he watched them get lost in their own world for a bit.
However, he had to get things back on schedule, or else the audience would start making their displeasure known, and knowing his fellow Fire citizens, he knew it wouldn't take long to make the crowd ignite in boos.
"No? Nothing?" He further asked, his smirk getting even bigger as Kankuro noticeably blushed under his purple face paint. ". . . Anyway, as I was saying, Princess Shizuka, whoever wins the matchup between Princess Temari and Lord Shikamaru will be your opponent."
"Also, since we now have one less fighter to deal with, if everything goes as we expect it to, there will be a three-way battle for the final match instead of the simple one-on-one. . . If you care about winning this entire competition, you better try your damn hardest to be one of those final three. Everyone understands that?!"
The young finalists all nodded their heads, all ready to get the show on the road. The audience were feeling the same, as their cheers of anticipation rose once they realized that the action was about to start in earnest.
"Now then, let's get these festivities started!" Genma exclaims, much to the delight of the audience surrounding them. "Naruto Namikaze, Neji Hyuga, please remain where you are. The rest of you can make your way to the viewing area."
The applause was almost deafening as the nine other finalists made their way to the viewing room, leaving Naruto and Neji to face each other in the ring. The viewing area itself was just under the lowest level of the main stands, giving the group a splendid view of the arena floor so that they wouldn't miss anything happening down below. Though there were plenty of chairs in the viewing area, the finalists opted to stand or sit on the railing for a front row seat of the action.
"Alright everyone, who ya got?" Haruka called as she sat on the railing, crouching on it like a lazing cat. "Who's winning this match? Our blonde crown prince, or the stoic, pale eyed striker!?"
"It's really too close to tell Haruka," mumbled Nanami as she looked down at the boys in the ring. "At the very least, this is definitely not going to be a genjutsu battle. . . Neither ever really developed the knack for it."
"Well, that's something to take note of for later. . ." Kankuro mused as the three siblings just stood off to the side of the main group, keeping his tone low so that the others wouldn't hear him too much.
"Oh, shut it. Genjutsu was never your strong suit either."
"Sis, whose side are you on again?" The puppeteer grumbled as he glared at his older sibling.
"The side of logic, little brother, which you seem to forget about sometimes."
"Hmm, Temari got you there Kankuro," Gaara mused as he turned back toward the main group, hoping to hear more about his future opponents, and ignoring the glare Kankuro shot his way.
"Hmm, Neji has the slight advantage in taijutsu thanks to his Byakugan and his knowledge of his clan's Gentle Fist technique, but Naruto has the definite advantage in ninjutsu, so this could be one of the more balanced matches we'll see today," Shino uttered, the normally silent genin speaking for the first time all day. "It should be interesting to see how this match turns out."
"This is going in Naruto's favor, no question." Sasuke pronounced, the barest traces of a smirk showing on his face as his eyes remained unmoved from the blonde below.
"And how are you so sure about that?" Kankuro bluntly asked as he turned to look at the Uchiha. "I know you guys are part of the same unit, but don't you think you're being a little too biased toward your teammate?"
"I understand why you may think that, but trust me, you shouldn't take my words lightly," Sasuke was quick to say, shooting the puppeteer a quick glare before turning his eyes back to the arena. "Yeah, Naruto may come off as dimwitted at times, but trust me, he's a lot more dangerous than he lets on."
"Considering who he must share his body with, Duck-butt isn't lying on that one . . . Still, the Hyuga brat looks like he'll be tough to beat. His match with his cousin didn't show me much, but he could give the prince a run for his money, even if he is heavily reliant on taijutsu."
"Well," Gaara thought as he looked down at the field below, his gaze switching between the stoic Hyuga, and the eager looking prince. ". . . At the very least, we're going to get quite the show."
"Namikaze, are you ready?" Genma asked as he turned to the blonde.
"Ready as I'll ever be!" Naruto confidently answered as he quickly stretched out his arms. Genma nodded at that before turning to Neji to ask the same question. The Hyuga simply gave him a quiet 'Ready' as he got into his traditional starting stance. He already looked poised to strike, but everyone with a working mind knew that the teen wouldn't be too obvious with his intentions.
"All right then. I won't delay things any further," The jonin declared as he took a step back. "Let the first match begin!"
Neji was in attack mode from the jump, his fingers poised to strike the tenketsu in Naruto's abdomen as his Byakugan came to life. Naruto, anticipating the attack, immediately went through a few hand signs, which summoned a large cloud of smoke that obscured the prince from view.
Seconds later, the smoke cleared, and everyone in the arena was shocked to see what Naruto conjured below.
Many would not be able to look at a certain color the same way again.
"Well, that's a whole lot of orange . . .'' Temari mumbled, her eyes wide in disbelief as she looked down at the multitude upon multitude of orange-suited Narutos standing at the ready. "What the hell is this? This can't be genjutsu!"
"Because it isn't," Shikamaru quietly spoke up as he let out a yawn, earning him the blonde's immediate attention. "Naruto has little to no skill in genjutsu. Even he will admit it himself if you go up to him and ask."
"Then what exactly are we looking at here?" Kankuro decided to ask, having not moved his eyes from the sight below.
"Well Puppet Prince, what you are witnessing is one of Naruto's newest specialties: the Shadow Clone Technique."
The three siblings looked at the sleepy-eyed teen in various degrees of shock. . .
. . . Well, Temari and Kankuro did.
Gaara simply nodded, accepting the explanation without questioning it.
All three had heard of the jutsu, and practically every kingdom had their own version of the technique. They had seen it used many times over, and have learned their kingdom's version of it, but this was the first time any of them had seen it used to such an extreme degree.
"How is that even possible?" Kankuro grouched as he looked back at the battleground. "The technique is taxing as hell on a person's chakra because of how evenly it splits chakra up among the bodies! Most can manage creating two or three at a time, but there must be at least a hundred down there!"
"Naruto's known for having chakra reserves larger than the average ninja's, a lot larger," Haruka teased as she turned to look at Neji, who had stopped in his tracks as soon as the smoke cloud appeared. "It's technically taboo for anyone to use the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique over the recommended number because of how taxing it is, but Naruto - and anyone with Uzumaki blood for that matter - tend to be exempt from that rule."
"Well, that's enlightening, and it makes sense . . ."Shukaku mumbled as they all watched as some of the clones started attacking Neji. One of the major traits of the Uzumaki clan is their large chakra reserves. They live longer, complete harder jutsus better . . . It's a major reason why the clan is as feared as it is respected."
"Naruto doesn't even look remotely tired . . ." Gaara mumbled as the clones started attacking en masse. "He's barely used any chakra to make them."
"And I don't even sense a hint of Kurama's chakra either, which means he's not helping so far," Shukaku chuckled as Neji started plowing his way through the orange crowd. "That brat is using the Shadow Clone technique in a way that would kill most people immediately, and he's not even breaking a sweat. . . In terms of stamina, that's fucking impressive!"
"The amount of chakra he is using may seem large to us, but it's absolutely miniscule to him. I know I have large chakra reserves, but Naruto's seems to be in a league of its own," Gaara thought as he crossed his arms. "If he wins, he'll likely have plenty of chakra left over for the rest of the upcoming matches, including all of the Nine Tails'."
"His sister is in the same boat, flesh bag, so don't forget her so easily. . . For all we know, she may rely on tailed beast chakra even less than her brother does . . ." Shukaku mumbled as the redhead snuck a look at the blonde in question, who was watching the match with quiet interest, occasionally whispering her thoughts to her teammates. "Either way, be prepared for a long, protracted battle if you do end up fighting either of them. In terms of chakra levels, they will have the advantage."
"Duly noted. . ." Gaara asked as Neji finally found the real Naruto. He moved to strike the blonde's chakra points in his arms, but the crown prince was quick to act, substituting himself with one of his own clones before the Hyuga could land his first strike. "My match against Sasuke is right after this."
". . . Which means that once you win your match, you'll go against my brother's host in the next round."
If Gaara was in his mindscape right now, he would have come face-to-face with a tanuki that was grinning from ear-to-ear. "This will be good."
"You really are that eager to face your brother huh?"
"Does it show that much? Like, really?"
Gaara cut the connection after that, preferring to pay attention to the battle rather than answer the tanuki's questions. By this time, Neji had taken out many of Naruto's clones, having expunged little chakra to do so.
However, he didn't get out of it completely unscathed, sporting some nasty scratches and bruises along his arms. Along with the real prince, there were still twenty clones in the field, all watching the Hyuga intently as they waited for his next move.
"His strategy has been sound so far," Nanami mumbled. "With his heritage, Neji is a close combat fighter by default, so keeping his distance as best as he can via his clones is a good move on Naruto's part."
"He's been trying to overwhelm Neji's Byakugan with sheer numbers," Shikamaru added as the clones started surrounding the Hyuga. "For him, it makes sense. With his huge reserves, Naruto can afford to split so much of his chakra amongst his clones."
"But on the other hand, Neji has been doing a decent job in taking the clones out while using as little chakra as needed," Shizuka mumbled, smirking as she did. ". . . Sooner or later, one of them is going to make a big move, and whoever does will likely win this match."
". . . And I think Naruto is about to try one," Haruka spoke up as all the Narutos started rifling through their packs. Some pulled kunai while others took out sharingan, and they all launched them straight toward Neji, who was caught in the middle.
Neji, knowing that he couldn't defend against them all with just his bare hands, smirked before rapidly spinning, creating a large blue dome that deflected all the launched projectiles with ease, and some were launched so hard that it dissipated some of the clones.
"Well, I'll be damned . . . The Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven," said Shizuka as she shook her head. "Should have known that Neji would pull a move like that."
"Um, excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven?" Kankuro couldn't help but ask as he turned to the princess.
"It's supposedly a secret Hyuga technique that allows for the expulsion of chakra from all of one's tenketsu points. Spinning around creates a protective dome of chakra that can repel any incoming attacks, but the strength of it is entirely dependent on how fast the person can spin."
"I didn't expect Neji to pull this off, but considering he's considered a prodigy in his clan, I should have figured he would do it," Shikamaru mumbled, feeling all eyes on him. "The Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven is as Shizuka said. It's supposed to be a secret technique, so secret in fact that only the clan head and their line are supposed to know how to do it."
"That feels heavily elitist, don't you think?" Kankuro mused as he shook his head.
"It really is, but who are we to judge?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over at him. "As nobles and royalty ourselves, we're technically elitist by default."
"Um . . . Yeah, he got us there," Haruka conceded as Nanami quietly nodded her head.
"And yet, last time I checked, Neji isn't the heir to the Hyuga clan." Temari mumbled as she narrowed her eyes.
"He isn't," Shizuka calmly agreed as Neji stopped spinning. "By his clan's own rules, Neji's not supposed to be taught the Revolving Heaven. . . However, that doesn't mean he couldn't learn about the technique by himself."
"So, the long-haired brat went around his elders' edicts to learn a higher-grade technique on his own? Smart kid . . ." Shukaku mumbled as Neji leaped into action, laying waste to the remaining clones. "Makes you wonder what else he has in store for the blonde brat."
"Not much I think," Gaara mumbled as Naruto suddenly smirked, putting everyone on guard. "Hyuga seems to be a bit one note in terms of his fighting style."
"You can say the same for most Hyuga in general. . . And should you really be calling someone one note in their fighting style?"
"Again, whose fault is that?!" Gaara argued in return. "I can feel the irritation flow from your very being every time I even attempt to practice a new technique that doesn't involve sand in any way."
"Hey! Just because I get irritated doesn't mean I'm going to stop you from practicing it. . . There's not much I can do to stop you anyway."
"Good to know that you can own up to your shortcomings every once in a while."
"HEY!"
Gaara chose that moment to exit the conversation, just in time to catch the end of the battle.
Naruto launched a couple of kunai toward Neji, who dodged both before they could strike his head.
Big mistake.
He realized seconds too late that Naruto hadn't thrown regular kunai at him as he initially expected, but the special three-pronged kunai his father was famous for. Before Neji could curse at his sudden change of fortune, the prince disappeared from his view, only to reappear behind him with a glowing orb of swirling blue chakra in the palm of his hand. Neji managed to turn around to prevent the attack from impacting his spine, but that only opened him up his gut for a direct attack. The attack sent the pale teen into the ground, the impact causing a large cloud of smoke and debris to erupt from the arena floor.
When it finally dissipated, Naruto was standing tall, looking no worse for wear aside from the slightly scorched hand he was looking at. As for Neji, he was laid out on the ground in the middle of a small crater, with his jacket now sporting a large gaping hole in its center, highlighting the scorch marks that now marred his stomach, along with other scrapes and bruises that littered his form.
Genma, who had been watching off to the side, came over to appraise the damage and render a verdict. Once he saw that Neji was not waking up any time soon, he raised his hand before pointing it Naruto's way.
"Neji Hyuga is unconscious and can no longer continue the battle. Winner by total knockout: Naruto Namikaze!" He exclaimed, much to the crowd's absolute delight. The audience had fallen silent as the final portion of the battle played out, but now that it was over, they were free to cheer to their hearts' content, and the pro-Fire faction of the crowd were more than happy to do so.
"Damn, so he now knows both the Hiraishin and the Rasengan?" Shikamaru mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Naruto, you really are becoming too troublesome for your own good."
"Granted, he was only taught the basics, but the foundation is definitely there," Shizuka admitted as she brought a hand to her chin. "My brother still has much to improve on though."
"Damn, he's his father's mini me alright," Kankuro mumbled as a sweat drop appeared on the side of his head. "He only knows the basics, and yet he can already do this much damage . . . I am so freaking glad I am not facing him next."
"You wouldn't be a match for him anyway. Your puppets would be shredded if a Rasengan ever got close to them," Temari absently mumbled. "If that's his power output now, just imagine how powerful he'll be once he's older and more experienced."
". . . And whoever wins this next match gets to have the privilege of facing him next," Gaara added as Genma started to look up at the participants' waiting area. "Which happens to be my match . . . This should be interesting."
"I wish you the best of luck little brother," Temari conceded as Naruto started to leave the arena floor, just as a team of medics ran over to aid Neji. ". . . Though I do have the feeling that you won't need it."
"Well thank you for the support, I guess," Gaara sarcastically mumbled before turning to their brother. "And what about you?"
"As if you need any well wishes from me," Kankuro playfully mused as the crowd finally started to settle down. "You're good at kicking ass. . . This battle will be the perfect opportunity to show the people of the Fire Kingdom why you're so good at it in the first place."
"Gaara Sabakuno, Sasuke Uchiha! Please make your way down for battle!"
Genma's yell was enough to stop the redhead from making any sort of witty retort to his brother's words, but internally, he appreciated it all the same.
Nodding slightly, he snuck a glance over at Sasuke, who now stood perched on the railing ready to leap down. Sensing that he was being watched, the Uchiha looked up to find Gaara staring directly at him. Having seen what he could do during the preliminaries, Sasuke acknowledged him with a nod before dropping down, knowing that he was going to be in quite the fight of his life.
"Oh, I know you said that this fight was going to be interesting, but I'll do you one better. This is going to be downright fun!"
"We'll see about that Shukaku."
A/N: Leave a comment if you like!