Chunin Exam Finals; Part II
The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a kunai. Genma stood in the center of the arena, senbon lazily dangling from his mouth. He looked over at the two combatants. First, there was Gaara, a red-headed boy with a look in his eyes that screamed "I might murder you in your sleep for fun," and then there was Naruto. Well, "Naruto," though what stood before the crowd barely resembled the loud, orange-clad ball of chaos they all knew.
Genma sighed, motioning for both to enter the arena. "Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara of the Sand, step forward."
The crowd, still uncomfortable from hearing the name "Naruto," murmured among themselves. They had expected the loudmouth prankster they were used to seeing around the village. But instead, there was this... strange, robotic girl. Pale white hair, glowing sapphire eyes, and a frilly black dress straight out of a bizarre fashion show. She looked like something from a horror film, like she was about to either dance ballet or stab someone, maybe both.
"Who is she?!" someone from the stands yelled, their voice a mix of confusion and fear. "I thought you said the demon... eh... Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto's head slowly tilted, her glowing eyes scanning the crowd. In her monotone, robotic voice, she declared, "I am the great Naruto Uzumaki. Dattebayo."
The crowd collectively gasped, their jaws hitting the ground in disbelief. Was this real? Was this actually Naruto?
Naruto just shrugged like she couldn't care less about their confusion. Her attention flicked back to her opponent, Gaara, who was muttering under his breath. Something about "blood" and "mother." You know, the usual creepy Gaara things.
Naruto blinked, expressionless. "Hello," she said flatly. "I hope you are wearing your sand armor on your butt too."
Gaara blinked, his twitching eye betraying his annoyance. "Huh?"
"Because I'll kick it. Dattebayo." Naruto added, her voice still void of any actual emotion.
Genma pinched the bridge of his nose. This was already getting ridiculous. "Alright, let's get this over with." He leaped into the air, his senbon glinting as he signaled the start of the match. "Begin!"
Before the word had even left his lips, Gaara's sand shot out like a tidal wave, aiming straight for Naruto. But she dodged, twisting her body with eerie, mechanical precision, like some kind of creepy cat avoiding a hyperactive dog. Her movements were too fluid, too calculated.
Gaara's sand only seemed to get angrier, swirling faster, becoming more aggressive as it tried to corner Naruto. The crowd leaned forward in anticipation. Was she going to be crushed? Would her frilly dress survive?
"Yeah! Go Naruto!"
Sakura, from the stands, cheered loudly, pumping her fist into the air. But when she realized that everyone was staring at her, she turned beet red and immediately shrank back in her seat. Sasuke, on the other hand, just nodded ever so slightly, his way of silently cheering for Naruto… in a brooding, emo fashion, of course.
Naruto, in the middle of her dodging spree, didn't even seem phased. As Gaara's sand continued to chase her, she leaped into the air, her dress flaring out dramatically. In a split second, she made fifty shadow clones, all charging at Gaara from every direction.
But Gaara wasn't having any of that. His sand orb shot up around him, spikes bursting out of it like some demented cactus. One by one, Naruto's clones were popped like over-inflated balloons.
Gaara's lip twitched, annoyed at how persistent this girl was. He lifted his hand, summoning a rain of sand needles, aiming straight for the real Naruto. Yet, somehow, she dodged again, twisting her body in mid-air like an acrobat. Her skirt flared out dangerously high, displaying an orange…stuff, and in the stands, Hinata's eyes went wide. She fainted instantly, while her father, Hiashi, sighed in exasperation, rubbing his temples. "I'm going to need to have a long talk with her..."
Gaara's expression grew darker. His sand attacks were relentless, spears of sand shooting out like deadly missiles. But Naruto dodged with almost inhuman durability, as if her body was built to take hits and keep moving.
"Time to get offensive," Naruto blinked, her voice flat as always. She suddenly leaped into the air, her hands forming golden orbs of chakra.
Gaara's sand immediately rose to form a massive shield, ready to block the incoming attack. But something was off.
The golden orbs in Naruto's hands were growing. They were getting bigger, and bigger, until they were about the size of... watermelons.
The crowd collectively held their breath. Everyone recognized that technique.
"Is that—"
"—the—?"
Naruto's emotionless face remained blank as she spoke in her flat voice. "Rasengan. Dattebayo."
With a swift, almost robotic motion, she slammed the massive Rasengans into Gaara's sand shield. The impact was deafening, shaking the entire stadium. The sand shield cracked, then crumbled, as if it was made of paper. Gaara's eyes widened in horror, realizing the Rasengans were still intact, still deadly.
Naruto wasted no time. She drove one Rasengan straight into Gaara's torso, and with the other… well, she aimed lower. Straight for Gaara's butt.
The crowd gasped in shock. Gaara's so-called "unbreakable" sand armor shattered like glass, leaving him completely exposed. His face contorted in pain and disbelief. This was NOT how he expected this fight to go.
There was an explosion of debris, a cloud of dust rising as Gaara was sent flying backward. When the dust settled, Naruto was standing there, her hands on her hips, striking what she probably thought was a "cool" pose. Genma winced, cringing internally. "Dattebayo," Naruto declared.
Gaara was on the ground, blood trickling from his wounds. He was barely conscious, his body shaking. Genma cleared his throat, still chewing on his senbon. "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!"
For a moment, there was silence. Then the crowd erupted into cheers, the stands shaking with excitement. Even Sakura and Ino, who rarely agreed on anything, were screaming in unison.
"Dattebayo." Naruto nodded like it was the most obvious outcome.
Meanwhile, Gaara stared at his hands, his eyes wide in disbelief. "My blood… my blood…"
Naruto, ever the socially awkward android, blinked at him. "You should really see a medic about that. Dattebayo."
Gaara's face twisted in rage, his killing intent flaring up like a tidal wave. The sheer force of it froze the entire stadium. Even the birds stopped chirping. The temperature seemed to drop as the weight of his bloodlust crashed down on everyone.
Naruto, ever oblivious, tilted her head. "Huh?"
And then, all hell broke loose.
TBC
Author Note: Huh. A relatively short chapter. Trust me, the next one is gonna be bigger than usual. Dattebayo.