Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter Seventeen
A break had been given to everyone. The Hokage had decided to have someone clean up the blood that had been left from the previous matche, giving the genin a fifteen minute hiatus. Ibiki had been quick to help clean, Hayate joining him while the Third over-saw their work. Anko immediately headed for the vending machine, her stomach growling, and Iruka sat with Karibi, the pair perched off in the distance beneath the upper level of the stadium.
"Some matches these have been," Iruka commented gently while he sat beside his comrade, the woman leaning against the wall; she nodded her head.
"...Yeah." She frowned as she remembered the pure rage in the Neji's eyes; she had seen that look in herself before.
"You alright?"
"Hmm?" Karibi turned and smiled as she nodded her head, suddenly feeling tired. "Just ready for this to end." Iruka nodded at that as he looked back out the Hokage.
"...But at least you don't have to worry so much about Naruto." The brown haired man blinked before he smiled and nodded his head, his companion chuckling at his reaction.
"Guess you're right about that."
"See! Next time you should put a little more faith in Kakashi," Karibi jested with a lighthearted smile as the chunin next to her chuckled before he stood to his feet. He held a hand out to the jonin, the kunoichi taking it before she was helped to her feet, as well.
"I guess so. Seems like you trust him enough. That should have been my first sign," he replied sprightly, causing Karibi to blink unexpectantly at him. Her eyes roamed up towards the silver haired jonin as he stood with Sakura, chatting with her quietly. A smile stretched across her lips before she turned to look at Iruka and shrugged.
"He's definitely not incompetent." Iruka merely smiled.
"Alright, we are now ready to continue with the matches." Iruka and Karibi nodded to each other before they returned to their spots, Iruka walking alongside the Hokage while Karibi hopped up and landed beside Kakashi. He said nothing to her as she appeared, but merely nodded, smiling at her from under his mask. Karibi returned the gesture with her own smile before she leaned against the wall, turning her attention to the panel. It was after a second that she realized that Naruto was missing.
"Where—" She paused, and the she frowned, her amethyst eyes noticing the blond standing off alone. "I think Hinata's condition is hitting him harder than we thought it would." The kunoichi turned to Kakashi as he stared after his student.
"He'll be fine," he assured before Karibi hesitated before nodding.
Only four more people left. The 22-year-old looked at the two remaining Leaf genin and then to the Sand and Sound genin. She narrowed her eyes at Dosu before her glance flickered over to Gaara; both of them had rather interesting profiles.
"Alright!" Those standing beside Guy's team turned, the jonin grinning as he his thumb up to his last student. "This time you'll be picked for sure! I just know it!" Karibi raised a brow as she exchanged a curious look with Kakashi.
"Are you ready, Lee?"
"No!" Lee stuck his nose into the air as he held his hands tightly to his side. "I have been waiting so long—I do not care!" he snapped bitterly as Guy blinked. "I might as well go last!"
"Huh, never would have expected that," Karibi comentated quietly as the masked man beside her nodded before they both looked to the screen.
And as if it had been fate, Lee's name finally appeared.
Karibi chuckled as Choji shrieked out of relief, her eyes then drifting to Lee, who had an excited grin on his face. "It worked like a charm!" The young boy stretched his legs as he nodded to himself. "I knew if I said I wanted to be last, then I would not be last!"
"That is some far-fetched logic," the redhead pointed out as her companion chuckled.
"I wonder where he gets it from." The sarcastic tone was rather obvious in Kakashi's voice.
It was refreshing to see a pair like Guy and Lee. They were so energetic and so true to themselves; Karibi was glad to have people like them in her life. They made the world of shinobi just a little bit brighter—the burden of their work a little easier to carry.
Watching quietly, Karibi stood beside Kakashi, Lee hopping down and landing ever so perfectly on his feet. He and Gaara stared at each other for a long moment before the Leaf genin spoke, though he went ignored by the Sand genin.
"...You weren't wrong about that gourd, Guy." Said jonin looked to Karibi as she narrowed her eyes. "There's something strange about it." She was getting nervous.
She had remembered what Anko had showed her. She remembered the footage of Gaara and his team; they had been the first and the quickest team to pass the second exam in five years. Still, she wanted to keep her faith in Lee, after all, he was a student of Guy's—and Karibi had first-hand experience as to what Guy was capable of.
"Alright, if both parties are ready, you may begin the match."
§
At first, no one had believed in Lee. Gaara's sand, which had been stored inside of his gourd, had been the ultimate defense. It was faster than Lee and stronger than Lee; there was no way for the Guy-look-a-like to get past it. But then, the tables had turned.
"Take them off, Lee!" Karibi raised a brow as she looked over to Guy, who was grinning at his student.
"But, Guy-sensei! You said that it was only to be a last resort! When the lives of very important people were at stake!"
"This is an exception!" The 22-year-old eyed her friend before she looked back to Lee, who had a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. Her brows furrowed inward as she and everyone else watched Lee pull off his orange leg warmers.
"Weights?" Karibi said as she looked to Guy. The man with the bowl cut winked at her before he nodded his head.
"That's right!"
"But..." The redhead hadn't been convinced that the small weights would change anything—not until they had hit the ground with a loud and heavy thud.
The ground beneath everyone shook as the weight settled on the floor, having broken the concrete. Everyone gawked, Guy grinning as Karibi stared at Lee with astonishment. "Th—That couldn't have been fun walking like that constantly..."
"Alright, Lee! Now go!"
"Yes, sir!" Lee moved with eloquence and speed—speed that no one had seen coming. With ease, he was able to move through Gaara's sand, the genin himself unable to even keep up visually with his opponent's attacks. No one could have guessed that the kid with the bowl cut could have held such speed and strength, but that was what they all got for underestimating a student of Guy's.
"I saw that Lee had no aptitude for ninjutsu and genjutsu, so we skipped that," Guy explained enthusiastically as Karibi and Kakashi glanced over to their friend.
"That was a risky idea, Guy," the redheaded kunoichi pointed out while her friend grinned slyly.
"By focusing our time and energy into taijutsu we were able to make up for his lack of strength," the proud jonin said. "Now, he doesn't need those other things to win because he's transformed himself into the world's greatest taijutsu specialist." No one could disagree there.
Everyone continued to watch, and their eyes widened when Lee finally managed to land a kick to Gaara's head, sliding back after dealing the blow. The Sand genin grunted, though he felt less pain and more astonishment, if anything.
"Yes, Lee!" Guy exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let the power of youth explode!"
"Right!"
Although the match had been going relatively well for Lee, Karibi couldn't help but feel anxious. She knew after seeing the footage and after reading his file that something wasn't entirely right about Gaara. He was dangerous. Confidently, Karibi could say he was probably one of the most dangerous genin in the chunin exams. And just that thought alone made her feel uneasy, because that meant that it was only just starting for Lee.
And her suspicions had been confirmed when his Flying Lotus failed.
Nothing but a hard shell of sand had been left behind. In normal instances, most ninja wouldn't have made it out of that attack. But somehow, Gaara had found a way. And that was when Lee's demise began.
Gaara had rose from the ground like a body from a grave. He strength had increased ten fold, and there was an ominous air around the young boy—a murderous air around him. Karibi watched silently as Lee did his best to evade the Sand genin's attacks, though the pain he was suffering through after the Lotus made it near impossible for him to concentrate. The redheaded jonin would have called the match or had Hayate call the match, but the rules were the rules; if Lee was still able to, then he had to fight until the end.
"Karibi-san." Looking down, the redhead blinked as Sakura's voice caught her attention. "Isn't there any way you can help Lee like you did with Hinata? Can't you stop this before he gets seriously hurt?" Karibi frowned at the request as she glanced to Kakashi and then to Guy before looking back to Sakura; she was stalled at a cross road.
"I wouldn't count him out just yet." Guy's suspicious tone caught his friend's attention as she turned to him with a raised brow.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look for yourself." Karibi quickly looked out to Lee and her eyes widened when she found the young boy suddenly dodging Gaara's attacks again.
"Where the hell did he get the kind of strength again?" the younger jonin asked with wide eyes as Kakashi narrowed his eye at the boy.
There was something familiar about the way Lee's body was moving.
"The Leaf Village lotus blooms twice." Karibi froze as Kakashi's eye widened.
"Guy, you didn't..." Said jonin smiled guiltily as he nodded.
"Yes, I did, Kakashi."
"Guy! What the hell were you thinking?!" Karibi exclaimed, the bewilderment oozing from every pore of her body. Her closest friend gave Guy an incredulous stare, trying to contain his frustration; his friend was far too over zealous for his own good.
"So, that genin—that boy is able to open the eight inner gates and use the Hidden Lotus?" Kakashi asked with a narrow-eyed stare before Karibi growled.
"Out of all of the stupid things you've done, this by far takes the cake!" she barked as the shinobi in green gazed down supportively at his student.
"How many of the inner gates is he able to open now?" Kakashi questioned intensely as Guy shut his eyes, Neji and Sakura glancing from one jonin to the next; they didn't quite understand what was going on, but they knew the volume of the situation was high.
"...Five gates."
"Five gates?" Karibi repeated as she looked back to Lee; she wasn't sure whether she was impressed or frightened for him. The 22-year-old remained silent as Kakashi explained the eight gates to Sakura, his Sharingan out as he watched the 13-year-old closely.
A suffocating surge of chakra began filling the room, surrounding Lee. Karibi nearly gasped as she felt a force of air course through her, so strong it nearly knocked her to her knees. She remained steady on her feet, though, as she stared at Lee, the third inner gate released. She gripped tightly to the railing of the upper level, stealing a glance at Guy as he watched with a small smile across his lips. It seemed he was calm for the time being, but that didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it only made the jonin feel more nervous.
It was terrifying to watch the Hidden Lotus. It wasn't hard for the jonin to see just how strained Lee's body was. And what was even worse was when the dust cleared and Gaara had been protected by his gourd; Lee's last attempt to win had failed. A large hand made of sand was sauntering towards the nearly immobile genin. He did his best to crawl away, but it seemed that there was just nothing left in him.
It was painful to watch. Lee's screams of agony echoed through the arena as sand crushed his arm. Hayate watched the scene intently, waiting for a chance to finally call the end of the match, but Lee was stubborn and Gaara was relentless; the young Leaf genin wouldn't give up. The proctor glanced up at Karibi as she met his gaze, frowning slightly before she looked back down to Guy's student and stared hard at him.
"Please, Karibi-san, you have to do something!" Sakura begged as she watched in horror. Karibi grimaced deeply as she glanced to Guy, seeing the desperate look on her friend's face; how many times had she seen that look before on herself and others?
"...I'm calling it." Relief swam through Sakura's veins, the young girl letting out a held breath while Karibi looked to her friend. "Guy." Said jonin looked to Karibi as she nodded, Gaara's sand inching closer and closer towards Lee; he was meaning to end this permanently.
Without another word, Guy was already in front of his student, deflecting the Sand genin's attack. Karibi's racing heart calmed as her shoulders sagged; she should have intervened before the damage had been dealt.
Watching, everyone remained silent as Gaara began to make his way back to the staircase leading to the other side of the upper level. He grumbled to himself as Guy stared after him, but his attention was torn away when gasps filled the air and a slightly spurt of chakra caught his attention from behind. His eyes widened when he saw Lee standing fragilely, blood oozing down his arm and leg.
"That idiot's still going..." Karibi whispered as her eyes softened. "Even when he's unconscious—he's still fighting..."
And it was truly magnificent and terrifying all at once.
§
The last match had been Dosu and Choji. It was a random pair, but it was the last pair and by the end, everyone was ready to go; the entire thing had been physically and emotionally draining.
Karibi stood with Naruto back at her side, the blond leaning against her slightly as he held on to the railing. After Lee was carried out, it seemed the 12-year-old had been caught at a loss. Thankfully, Kakashi had been there to calm not only him down, but Guy as well. Somehow, everything had turned out so messy this year. But, whatever thoughts Karibi had, she kept them to herself. There was no need to stir the pot now, and she was about ready to fall over just from watching them all; this year's batch of genin had been impressive, to say the least.
The fight with Choji and Dosu had been short, but the Leaf genin had done his best.
Unfortunately, the tubbier genin couldn't escape the Sound genin's sound waves; and that had been his downfall.
The winners of the matches—other than Sasuke—had lined up before the Hokage and the proctors, Karibi at the Third's side. As the Third explained the last exam, the redhead beside him stared off, losing herself in her thoughts. There were many things going back and forth, and although she wanted to pay attention, she couldn't seem to rid herself of this uneasiness she was feeling. Too many things were happening that weren't adding up, and there was this fear in the back of her head she couldn't get rid of.
"You are all dismissed!"
Karibi blinked as she looked up, the genin dispersing and those remaining rejoining their groups. The 22-year-old smiled as Naruto met up with Sakura, the pink haired girl smiling widely as she congratulated her teammate. So wrapped up in watching the moment, the jonin nearly missed when the Hokage called for her to follow after him.
"I want you to make a copy for Hayate of this final list of the tournament for the third exam," Hiruzen said as Karibi nodded. A ghost of a smirk danced across her lips as she glanced at two names on the list; she was going to make sure that Naruto got his grudge match with Neji. "I also want you to keep a close eye on Sasuke." Karibi nodded as a serious gleam shined in her eyes.
"I'll make sure he's safe, sir."
"Good. Until we can confirm Orochimaru's presence, let's just try and remain calm. He'll want us to act rashly and make a mistake."
"Right." Karibi stopped as the corridor split into three ways. She bowed to the Hokage as he nodded back before he turned and began to make his way down to the right.
"Take care, Karibi. I'll be expecting you in my office in the next three days so we can discuss the arrival of the Kazekage."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The redhead watched for only a second longer before she let out a sigh.
This was going to be a long month.
§
"No."
"But why not?" Naruto walked briskly beside his guardian as the woman sighed, two copies of the tournament list in her hand. She glanced down at the pouting blond for a moment as she turned down the hall of the tower.
"Naruto, it's not that I don't want to train you. But you and I have been down this road too many times before. And we both know that I am just awful at teaching." Naruto couldn't disagree. "There's a reason why the Hokage kept me as just a basic jonin rather than a jonin-teacher."
"But, Ribi-chan! I'm going to need help if I'm going to win in the tournament!" Naruto whined as Karibi rolled her eyes. "You're the obvious answer when I think about who I want to train me!" The redhead masked her proud smirk.
"I'm actually flattered, short-stuff, but I'm not doing it," the woman decided evenly. "Knowing us, we'd end up worse off at the end than when we started the training." Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms, pouting like a little child.
And then Karibi remembered he was exactly that.
"Why don't you ask Kakashi. And if that fails, and you're really desperate, I might train you." Naruto's blue eyes suddenly began to shimmer with hope as he grinned.
"You mean it?!"
"We'll see, short-stuff."
"Fine! But you better be serious if Kakashi-sensei bails on me!"
"Yeah, yeah, kid. Now get lost. I've got some work to do." Karibi pat the blond on the head before she disappeared into a conference room, smirking at Naruto before the door shut. She stared for a moment longer at the shut door, and her brows furrowed inward. An unsettling bubbling began to stir inside of her as she recalled the way Naruto's chakra flowed within his body; she should have noticed it earlier.
Something was off about him.
"Tired?" Stiffening, the jonin looked over her shoulder, slightly surprised she hadn't noticed the presence in the room. She blinked when she realized she was staring at a familiar face.
"We've met."
"That's right." Pulling the senbon from his mouth, the man sitting at the table stood to his feet before he held his hand out to Karibi. "Genma Shiramui."
"Ah, that's right." Karibi smiled as she shook his hand, glancing at the empty desk belonging to the proctor. "Is Hayate around? I was supposed to give him something."
"I can get it to him," Genma offered as he smirked slightly, placing the needle back between his lips. "In cases where Hayate's...indisposed, I'm his replacement."
"Is that right?" Karibi raised a brow at the older jonin. "The Hokage never—" Coughing filled the air as the door swung open. The pair looked and watched as the proctor for the third exam walked in, mouth covered. He blinked as he noticed Karibi and Genma standing before each other.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Karibi."
"Ah, it's no problem," the redhead stated as she waved his apology off and held out the tournament list to him.
"Just so I know for future reference, Genma is your go-to man if I can't find you, yes?" Hayate nodded as Karibi looked to the brown haired ninja, the man smirking at her; he enjoyed being right. "Good to know."
"Could have saved you the trouble if you just believed me."
"Can't always believe everything people tell you," Karibi retorted back flippantly over her shoulder as she headed to the door.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off for a much needed lunch."
"Want company?" Pausing, Karibi looked back at Genma, the 29-year-old giving her a bored stare. She hesitated for a moment before shrugging.
"Why not. Hayate, you want some lunch?"
"Thanks, but I've got some files to organize for the third exam I want to get out of the way."
"Good luck," Genma said as he threw a wave over his shoulder before he and Karibi walked out the door and disappeared.
It's a Christmas miracle!
Merry Christmas Eve to everyone that is here! I hope you have all been doing well and that time has treated you well!
So...it's been around a year since I last updated (give or take a few months). Do I have a particularly amazing excuse? No. Do I have an excuse matching the caliber of excuses that Kakashi may use when running late to something? Absolutely! However, I'm not going to waste anyone's time with it LOL I will just give a sincere apology for ghosting you all and hope that anyone reading this forgives me! I'm not really sure what happened. Times got crazy and flew by so quickly, and before I knew it, a year had passed. It was heartless neglect, on my end. I went through this story and I found myself inspired to write again. There have been a few trials this year that have been dragging me down, and I honestly found solace in writing this story again! I'm really sorry, again, for disappearing. I won't make promises that it won't happen again, but I do genuinely promise that this story will not become one of those stories that just stops randomly in the middle of the plot! I have a plan and I am going to see it through to the end!
In my absence, I appreciate all readers who have been patient with me! You guys are the best! I also appreciate all the new readers that have popped up! I sincerely hope you guys enjoy the direction that I take this story! Things are about to get to the knitty gritty with the last part of the chuunin exam coming up! In original series had so much happen and so much action—my story is going to be probably be just as crazy. It'll be interesting with Karibi present! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this little guy! I have put a lot of effort into this story and heart, and although I did just vanish, I still appreciate everyone!
Merry Christmas! And happy New Year!
Reviews:
lizyeh2000: Hi there! Thank you for reading! Just in case you did not see above, I'm terribly, terribly sorry for the lack of updates within this last year! I'm going to try and make sure that doesn't happen again! As for when I will update again...I can't say! More than likely, it will be closer to the new year or after that! And yes, Neji is not the greatest...I feel like his character goes through such a huge change through the series! So we'll see how things go for him as chapters go on! Especially because Karibi is Naruto's guardian and I don't think that she can help but take offenders against Naruto personally. Again, thanks so much for reading and being patient! And thank you for reviewing! Merry Christmas!
bored411: Hey! Glad to hear that you like this last chapter! This part of the series with the exam and then Orochimaru's attack was so crazy! It'll be interesting to write all of that and get it all posted. It'll be even more interesting to see how Karibi fits into everything. Given her history and her relationship with Naruto and even the Hokage, things will definitely be chaotic, to say the least! Thank you so much for sticking with this story for as long as you have! I apologize for the long wait! I'll try and make sure that doesn't happen again LOL Merry, Merry Christmas!
WindyCitySlayer1: Glad you thought so! Now that the end of the second part of the exam is here, things are going to get more involved for Karibi! With the training and the third exam and Orochimaru looming around the corner, who knows what's in store ;D Thank you for reading! Sorry again for the delay in updating! And I hope you have an amazing holiday!
Moonacre BunBun: Hi there! Yes, there are definitely some sad moments in this story...especially in the beginning range of it! There's so much that happens and a lot of it is just filled with sorrow. But I think by the end it all equals out! Thank you so much for reading! Thank you so, so much for the review! I hope you have a great Christmas!
kringdom: Hi there! So, yes, I did know there is a Hayase in the series, but when I planned out this story, the name really just stuck with me! I figured, there are a ton of people in the world that share similar names! Why would it be any different in Naruto-universe? LOL But yes, I did know! And not to confuse you or any other readers! They are not the same Hayase! If you have any other questions or things that are confusing, please, don't hesitate to let me know! Thank you so much for reading and thank you so much for the review! Happy Christmas!
santoserimar: Hello! First, I would like to say thank you for giving this story a chance and for reading! Second, thank you for your kind words! As a writer, there is still SO much for me to learn, but I am really relieved and happy to hear that you like the way this story is written so far! Again, thank you for reading! And thank you so much for the review! Happy holidays!
LilyVampire: Hey you! I'm so, so sorry for the lateness in my update and reply to your review. As you might have read above, there is no great excuse LOL But I am grateful to have you as a reader! I definitely agree with what you have said and I am also glad you think she has made good changes so far! Regarding Naruto, I think the further we get into the series and the more involved things get with Naruto and the circumstances of the jinchuuriki and even the Sasuke situation, there may be bigger changes from Karibi's presence. I think she starts impacting his skills more later on! I won't say much else, but hopefully that will ease your mind! Thank you so much for sticking around with this story! Merry Christmas! And have a great new year!
Guest: LOL You are very right about that one! I will leave it up to your imagination to figure out what it was! Thank you so very much for reading and reviewing! I super, super appreciate it!
kira shadow wolf: Hello, hello! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I am ever grateful for your support! And I am also really flattered by your kind words! I'm more happy that you even like reading this story! I know everyone has a preference of what kind of stories they like—especially with OCs, so it really brings me joy to know that you think so highly of my story! I will continue to work hard and I hope that it will show in future chapters that I post! Merry Christmas to you!
SamMayDay89: LOL Hi there! Your review had me giggling! Just the way you worded the first part was amazing! Thank you so much for reading, first off. And secondly, thank you for taking the time out of your day to leave a review! I'm so glad to hear that you are enjoying this story and that you like reading it! I promise to continue to work hard on this and hopefully it will show in my chapters that I post! And thanks again for your support! Happy holidays!
tanithlipsky: Hello! Thank you for reading, and thank you for leaving a review! It makes me really happy to know you like this story thus far! I can't say for sure when I will update next, but hopefully you enjoy this chapter and the future chapters to come! Thanks again for your time! Merry X-mas!
Taffdog19943: Hi! I'm so glad that you have stumbled upon my story and given it a chance! Thank you for reading this! And thank you for taking the time out of your day to leave a review about it! I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter posted, but hopefully you enjoy it! Thanks again, and I wish you a merry Christmas!