Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith in Humanity ❯ Preliminary Rounds ( Chapter 10 )

Title: Faith Arc - Faith in Humanity (PG-13)

Author: Karrafear

Summary: AU. What if Naruto survived a murder attempt on his life at the age of 6 and had to leave Konoha for his protection. Now 12, Naruto and Jiraiya returns to face the genin test.

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I'm simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

 

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

 

Pairings: eventually NarutoXHinata.

 

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Chapter 10 : Preliminary Exams

 

Naruto stood stiffly next to his two-team mates in the giant conference/battle room. /I wonder what this last exam will be…/ However, to his surprise, instead of immediately starting the next exam, the Hokage launched into a long speech about the origins of the Chuunin Exam as a replacement for war between the Shinobi nations to prove their strengths. Naruto wasn't really interested in the balance of power between nations, because it was these types of desire for power that almost drove the Hidden Air village to the brink of destruction. From the history lessens taught by Kaga-san, Naruto understood why the ruling Counsel of the Hidden Air village had set up the rules to forbid anyone within their ranks to interfere with outside events. After all, if they didn't have any contact with the outside world, why would any of them desire to change? Naruto was the only exception to the Hidden Air village who really wanted to change.

 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Naruto was surprised when he finally noticed another familiar face in the room. Standing on the edge of the room, next to some of the other Leaf Jounin instructors was Jiraiya. /What is that Pervert Sennin doing here?/ Naruto thought with narrowed eyes. Naruto ignored all the verbal arguments and counter arguments about the actual purpose of the Chuunin exam while he focused completely on the impassive face of his unconventional sensei. /Something's up! He has a grim expression on his face, something is definitely bothering him!/

 

Finally with the arguments over and done with, Naruto was again taken back by the announcement that there were simply too many participants and they would have to conduct a preliminary examination now to cut down at least half of the contestants. Arguments arose again, but Naruto knew that it would lead to nothing; the adults had already made up their minds anyway.

 

“So … for those of you who are not feeling well, and those who feel like quitting after these explanations, please come forward now.” Said the sickly looking man, known as Gekkou Hayate, also the referee for the third preliminary exams.

 

Naruto immediately narrowed his eyes in suspicion as Kabuto raised his hand in a slight `give-up' pose. /Good riddance, but I don't trust him… wonder what he has planned./ Suddenly, Naruto shifted his gaze back to Anko and the third Hokage when his sharp hearing picked up his name being whispered between them.

 

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Watching how Sasuke clutch at his neck tightly, struggling against the pain of the curse seal, Anko whispered to the third Hokage standing beside her. “Perhaps we should have the Uchiha removed from the exam to have his wounds treated. He had refused treatment when he first arrived, opting to just rest his body for a few days, but even now, he still struggles with the pain. Hokage-sama, I think...”

Kakashi interrupted at this point: “Hm. I don't think he'd appreciate that. He's an Uchiha after all.” Looking over his three students for the past months, his gaze rests resolutely on the heavy bandages underneath Naruto's new shirt. “I'm more worried about Naruto's injuries. Looks like he used it again when he promised me he wouldn't.”

 

“Heh. Naruto's the most stubborn one out of the bunch of them. He'll hate you if you dare take this opportunity away from him.” Said a voice behind the three. They all looked back at the ironic grin now plastered on Jiraiya's face.

 

“Jiraiya-sama!” Anko exclaimed loudly since she had not noticed his entrance into the room before. With this sudden exclamation, every genin in the room shifted their gaze in shock onto said man; after all, it isn't everyday that one of the legendary three Sennins was in their presence.

 

“I say we let both of them continue for now, and if the curse seal does activate, we'll stop it then. Hell, I'll even help you if need arises.” Jiraiya smirked in response to Anko's gapping fish impression.

 

“BUT it could KILL them both!!” Anko whispered harshly in retaliation, coming out of her stupor. Hearing the anxiety in her own voice, she blushed slightly and then instantly scowled, trying to hide her concern. “It's not like I CARE or anything! It's just that… well...” Stumbling half way through her sentence, Anko tried to will back her arrogant attitude. “This is the last Uchiha heir, and we don't want anything happen to him, now do we?” She glared at Jiraiya hotly. “Not to mention that Naruto is your damn student! Are you really so crass that you don't care how he performs.”

 

Jiriaya simply shrugged off her insult. “That won't stop him. I don't know about the Uchiha boy, but Naruto has more tricks up his sleeve than the number of snakes in yours. He'll be fine.” Looking over at his student for the past six years, Jiraiya also noted the two additions. “And it seems like Kibi and Kirin are with him, so he should be better than fine.”

 

Jiraiya strode confidently forward towards Naruto, his eyes determinedly focused on said boy. Everyone else watched in silence as the tall, white haired man stood directly in front of Naruto, then bent over slightly to whisper into the boy's ear. No one could hear what was being said between the two but curiosity was beginning to build.

 

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“Naruto, The lady is here to see you after your battle…” Jiraiya softly whispered into Naruto's ear.

 

Naruto's eyes bulged slightly in surprise and he gulped in nervousness. His body starting to react to the news like it always did, it started sweating in fear. He whispered back harshly, ignoring the curious looks on his team mates' faces: “WHY?”

 

Jiraiya simply shrugged. “I got a message from Kaga saying that you had some trouble during the second exam and that I was responsible for looking out for you until you meet the Lady. He said she's already here waiting in the Hokage's tower. So after the prelims, you are to go see her directly.”

 

“Damn! Shit!” Naruto swore under his breath. He really didn't want to see his Aunt, especially after slacking off on all his practices and studies. He knew she would already know about them, her being an oracle after all. But still, he hadn't wanted to face her so soon. And knowing her, she'd have tons of torturous practice sessions all planned out for him after the prelims.

 

“Naruto.” Jiraiya brought him out of his musings.

 

“What?” Naruto retorted hotly. Jiraiya smirked.

 

“Don't die. You're still too young.” Jiraiya continued to smirk and quickly turned away ignoring the glare Naruto sent his way. The big man smothered a chuckle under his breath and thought to himself. /Damn. Things are gonna get exciting with Ruri here./

 

Finally, with that interesting event over with, Naruto was immediately swamped by his curious teammates and newly found friends.

 

“Psst!” Sakura whispered. “What was all that about?” However, Naruto only shook his head and refused to answer. After a while, Sakura gave up on pressuring him. It was then that Hayate initiated the preliminary third exam and the first pairing was none other than Uchiha Sasuke versus Akado Yoroi.

 

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At the referee's signal, Yoroi threw three shurikens at Sasuke, whom fended them off with his own kunai. Now, with the added disadvantage of not being able to mould Chakra at all, Sasuke was left without the use of any of his jutsus, including the simple manipulation of Chakra enhanced kunais. He was completely dependant on his Taijutsu skills.

 

Dodging his opponent's fist, Sasuke dropped down low and swept Yoroi off his feet, resulting in his adversary landing heavily on his back. Sasuke immediately pressed his advantage by trying to stab the other with a kunai but his opponent used both hands and grabbed on Sasuke's wrist to stop the attack from connecting. Suddenly feeling weakness in his right arm, Sasuke was startled and instinctively took out another kunai using his other hand and slashed the arm that was holding his right arm immobile and weak. Once released, he quickly leapt backwards to a safer distance trying to figure out what had just happened.

 

Yoroi staggered back in pain and instantly let go of Sasuke's right arm. Looking over at the cut, he winched at seeing the deep slash bleeding profusely across his own arm. The older genin glared hatefully at Sasuke. “You'll pay for that, brat!” He sneered and lunged at Sasuke.

 

Blocking and dodging most of his opponent's blows, Sasuke was beginning to wonder why his adversary had not employed any long range attacks or any jutsus for that matter. However, his moment of inattention and confusion would cost him dearly. Seeing an opening, Yoroi immediately pushed forward and grabbed onto Sasuke's forehead and slammed the smaller boy onto the hard surface of concrete underneath them using a basic leg hook. Surprised at the move and out of breath from the impact, Sasuke could only lie still as he felt his Chakra and energy quickly leave his body from Yoroi's hands.

 

That's when he realised why Yoroi did not employ any long range attacks, because his techniques were more suited to short range hand to hand combat, able to drain his opponent's chakra! In slight panic, Sasuke struggled with all his strength and managed to kick his opponent away finally.

 

“Damn... you… my chakra?” Sasuke grunted in pain as he tried to catch his breath.

 

“Heh, heh. Seems like you finally noticed. I take it you've never seen this Jutsu before huh?” Yoroi stood arrogantly over the slightly worn looking Uchiha.

 

“Sasuke-kun! Don't give in!” Sakura yelled from above. Naruto, too, standing stiffly next to Sakura, also gave his silent support to his teammate. He did not want to see his teammate in such a predicament and mentally berated himself for not helping him earlier. /DAMN IT! I knew something was wrong with him but I was so tired yesterday to find out what it was or if I could help. Now, what ever he's suffering from is forcing him not to use any Chakra at all. This is no longer just a drawback, it's a damn burden in its own right!/ He ranted at himself mentally as he shifted nervously, holding tightly onto the rail almost to the point of bending it.

 

Climbing slowly on to his feet, Sasuke looked up at his cheering teammate. However, instead of looking depressed, his expression looked more hopeful as he gazed avidly at Rock Lee, now standing directly besides Naruto and Sakura. /That's it!/

 

Within seconds of his realisation, Sasuke mimicked Lee's previous moves. Increasing his speed as he ran towards his enemy, Sasuke managed to launch the man upwards into the air with a savage kick to his opponent's jaw from underneath him. Following up with a `Leaf Shadow Dance', he smirked at the man above him and proclaimed: “From now on, it's all original”.

 

All of a sudden, Sasuke felt a surging pain on his neck, and the burning sensation of the curse seal quickly spread through out his body. Sasuke froze in mid-pain as he vaguely heard Naruto and Sakura yelling out his name in concern. /DAMN IT! I will NOT lose HERE! I can't... Can't let them worry about me forever! I just… I just want to prove to them… Naruto… Sakura… that I can take care of myself! That I don't need them to always help me! I want to prove to myself… THAT I HAVE GROWN STRONG ON MY OWN!!/ With that last thought, Sasuke forcibly pushed the pain back, driving the seal back to recede into its original state with his `willpower' alone.

 

Finally, back in control of his body, Sasuke executed a series of kicks, punches, and body slams to complete his Lion combo. Yoroi was left unconscious on the floor, as Hayate, the referee, announced Sasuke the winner of the match and his progression to the final examination.

 

With the end of the match, all eyes were focused on Sasuke at this moment, each one of them having their own thoughts on the matter, but no matter what, it inevitably led to the same idea - `this boy is strong.'

 

Eventually, the medic ninjas came out to collect Yoroi, and Naruto was surprised that Haku was one of them and waved at him slightly in welcome. The medic Nins tried to move Sasuke too, but Kakashi was quick to say that the boy was going to follow him. When Sasuke tried to protest, Kakashi refused and they both left the room together.

 

Watching them leave and sensing that Sasuke was not out of danger yet, Naruto sent Jiraiya a silent message through his eyes. `Please follow him and watch him!' he pleaded silently. Sensing the request Jiraiya nodded in acquisition and left the room with a small puff.

 

A few minutes later, everyone was ready to start the next match, which turned out to be Zaku Abumi versus Aburame Shino. The two fighters both stepped onto the stage proudly, though one looking more injured and ragged than the other.

 

Initially with both his arms in slings, Zaku stunned everyone in the entire stage when he moved one of his arms freely from the sling. He ran with it outstretched towards Shino, slamming it towards his opponent's head while Shino blocked the attack. Releasing a powerful `Zankuuha' (Air slicing blast), he shocked the rest of the audience and injuring Shino in the process.

 

However, after a short struggle, Shino eventually stood up and stared blankly at his adversary as if nothing had happened to him. Upon his face and on his wounds, slowly appeared these small black bugs; it looked as if they were tending to Shino's wounds, helping it heal. Zaku looked on in disgust at the apparent nonchalance of Shino with his enigmatic insects. Then a lot of soft chirping sounds could be heard through out the room and Zaku turned around just to discover that hundreds of these bugs were surrounding him from behind.

 

Shino introduced them as `destruction bugs' and warned Zaku that if he intended to fight the bugs, Shino would attack and if he intended to fight Shino personally, then the bugs would attack. He then demanded that Zaku surrender if he didn't want to die.

 

Zaku refused. He lifted his other hand from its bandaged position, showing Shino that he too hand a trump card up his sleeve. Now with both hands available, Zaku grabbed a few shurikens and kunais from his waist pouch and threw them in all directions around the room. While Shino and the bugs dodged the onslaught of kunais and shurikens, he took this chance to jump towards one side of the room, running straight towards the walls and jumping again to attach himself directly onto the wall's surface. Zaku then turned around and smiled cruelly at Shino and his bugs (as they had already dodged all the kunais and shurikens).

 

Holding both his arms up in a ready action, Zaku tried to call forth two powerful Zankuuha attacks at the same time, able to completely obliterate whatever was present on the room's floor. However, to his and the viewing audiences' shock, instead of his attack coming forth, a sudden `BOOM' sounded through out the room followed by his scream of agony as both of his arms were abruptly severed apart from his body. Suffering from the pain, Zaku lost his concentration on sticking to the walls, and he fell forward into unconsciousness even before he felt the physical impact of his body hitting the hard floor.

 

It seemed that Shino had blocked Zaku's air holes (within Zaku's arms) with the bodies of his bugs previously, so the air pressure had no where to go except blowing a hole for itself, which lead to Zaku's destroyed arms. Shino was pronounced the winner of the match and progressed to the third exam.

 

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Kakashi had just completed the special seal onto Sasuke's curse seal when he felt the familiar power signature of the legendary snake villain. “Orochimaru!” He called out in anger. “Come out!”

 

From the surrounding darkness, emerged said man. He held an evil smirk on his face as he watched Kakashi from afar. “Good to see you again, Kakashi-kun. But let's not waste time on pleasantries; I'm here for the boy.” The smirk never left his face.

 

Kakashi readied himself into a fighting stance and began summoning forth the Chidori. “As if I'll let you get your hands on Sasuke and corrupt him as you like. Your ambitions will end today! Even if I must sacrifice my life, I will protect Sasuke from you!”

 

Orochimaru's evil laughter filled the room. “You crack me up, Kakashi-kun. Do you really think you can stop me?” He asked with an evil smile on his face.

 

“He may not be able to. But I sure can.” A voice from behind Orochimaru sneered angrily at him.

 

Orochimaru stopped in mid trek, but decided not to turn around. “Well, it's been a long time, Jiraiya. How have you been?” He asked pleasantly with an undertone of malice.

 

“Cut the crap, Orochimaru!” Jiraiya bellowed. “Are we gonna fight sometime today or not?” He demanded and threw a kunai at the hateful man.

 

“Heh heh. No. Not today, I'm afraid. I still have much to do.” Orochimaru said as he puffed out of existence, just barely avoiding the kunai thrown by Jiraiya.

 

After the snake man's disappearance, Jiraiya cursed under his breath. Seeing Orochimaru again had brought back all his malice towards his former teammate, completely clouding his judgement by anger. After breathing in some calm breaths, Jiraiya told Kakashi to take Sasuke to the Anbu and keep him safe. He'll be returning to the preliminary exams to watch the rest of it. Kakashi thanked him for his help and left on his way with the still comatose Sasuke in his arms.

 

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After the creepy presentation of Shino's powers, the next match belonged to Tsurugi Misumi versus Kankuro. Just as the battle started, Kankuro quickly released the large bandaged object from being strapped to his back and blocked the frontal assault from Misumi with his right wrist.

 

However, to his surprise, the arm that he had blocked suddenly bent at an unnatural angle, Misumi quickly grabbed onto his other wrist and crushed it, forcing Kankuro to drop whatever he had within the bandaged object. Kankuro shouted in alarm and pain at having his wrist broken so easily. Misumi then continued to twist and wrap himself around Kankuro's body, crushing certain body parts, until he had completely wrapped himself around his opponent.

 

“I don't know what kind of tool you use, but I won't allow you to use it. Surrender now or else I'll keep on tightening my grip until I break all of your bones.” Misumi suggested, but Kankuro, still struggling with the pain of his broken wrist, just replied with a breathy: “Heh… you can try.” And then `SNAP' Kankuro's head lay hanging from his neck.

 

Almost everyone in the room was rendered speechless at the quick but efficient killing of the Sand Nin with no remorse showing on the Leaf Nin's face. They had all thought that Kankuro was dead, it had happened so quickly and so seamlessly that they had no time to wonder about the true abilities of both participants. However, they were all wrong.

 

Without warning, Kankuro's supposedly broken neck suddenly twisted in a complete and artificial 180-degree turn. The head attached to Kankuro's supposed body revealed itself to the world as only a puppet, and the real Kankuro unwrapped himself from his hiding place within the bandaged object. His control over his Karasu (puppet) was flawless and efficient, immediately rendering Misumi his slave within the arms of his puppet. Ultimately, Misumi surrendered, as he could not find a way to escape Karasu's clutches and the match went to Kankuro of the Sand.

 

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By the end of Kankuro's match, Kakashi had returned from wherever he had stationed Sasuke. Both Sakura and Naruto had welcomed him back and had asked about Sasuke's condition, of which, Kakashi only shrugged in response. Naruto also noticed that the pervert Sennin, Jiraiya, had also returned, still standing by the third Hokage. He was just wondering how he could catch his errant (though no longer official) Sensei's attention when he heard a small gasp from beside him. Glancing at Sakura's shocked expression; he looked towards the name's board. It displayed the names: Haruno Sakura versus Yamanaka Ino.

 

Sakura had frozen for a few seconds after reading the names on the board but then she turned slowly and started walking towards the stairs stiffly. That is, until Naruto called out to her. “Sakura.” She turned her head to look back at him. “Don't think of it as fighting your friend in a competition, think of it as proving to yourself you are stronger than her, and can protect her if the need arise. Prove to yourself that you have grown strong. You are her rival after all.” She nodded to him slowly and continued on her way, her blank expression slowly changed to a determined one.

 

Both girls stood proudly on the stage facing each other. Ino spoke first. “Sakura, I never expected I'd be fighting you of all people in the prelims.” Ino looked at Sakura's determined face and thought to herself. /I had wanted to though. After seeing your fight against the sound ninjas, I had thought about it none stop. What would happen if we fought now? Would you react the same way as always and cower behind me, or would you stand tall and actually defeat me? I think I already know the answer, but I need to make sure. I need to make sure that you truly deserve to beat me. Show me, Sakura! Show me how much you have grown!/

 

Ino tensed slightly as Sakura released her forehead protector from the top of her head and held it in front of her. “Ino. I'm no longer the little girl you once knew. I don't need you to protect me any more. In fact, it might go the other way, Ino. You might need me to protect you.” She stated calmly as if it were a fact.

 

Ino glared back angrily. “Sakura! Don't get ahead of yourself! Don't forget that you use to be `Cry-baby Sakura', who couldn't even stand up for yourself! Don't forget all the times that you needed ME to stand up for you! Don't...”

 

Sakura interrupted Ino in mid-speech: “I won't forget, that is why I've become stronger. I won't run away from my weakness, but I refuse to let that weakness fester. I have worked damn hard to get here, Ino, and I still want to become stronger. Right now, right here, that is all I care about. To show you how strong I really am.” Internally, Sakura had to find all the reasons in the world to force her to fight her friend. /I also made a promise to myself… I won't be left behind by the boys, I can't be the only one not to pass. Sasuke has already passed to the final exam, and knowing Naruto, he'll find a way there too. I won't let anyone or anything stand in my way of following them, even if that person is you, Ino./ Sakura thought to herself resolutely.

 

Slowly, Sakura tied her forehead protector around her forehead in the traditional way of the ninja. After watching her for several moments, Ino did the same. “Fine. Let's do this. Let me see how strong you've become, Big-forehead Sakura-chan!” And with that, they were off.

 

Sakura ran quickly towards Ino and threw three kunais towards her. Ino stood stationary in her position, grabbing onto her own kunai and blocked each one of Sakura's kunais. To her surprise, the kunais were chakra enhanced and simply rebounded in mid air and return to striking her. Distracted by the strange kunais, Ino completely missed Sakura's reaction as she slipped into Ino's side and gave her a powerful punch that launched Ino several metres away, sliding on the concrete floorboards. With Ino knocked away; Sakura recalled her kunais back towards her.

 

“If you think you can defeat me with that level of skill, Ino, then YOU'RE WRONG! I told you, I'm not the girl I use to be. So do NOT underestimate me.” Sakura said firmly as she readied herself again.

 

On the above balconies, Lee had started chanting encouragements while the rest of the people there stared with silent contemplation.

 

Ino stood slowly and gave Sakura a very angry and determined look. Wiping away the small trickle of blood from her mouth, Ino also readied herself in a battle stance. As if waiting for a silent signal, the two girls immediately launched towards each other again. This time, the sound of metal against metal as two kunais struck against each other could be heard through out the room. Sakura retreated her kunai and lowered herself quickly, trying to trip Ino off her feet. Ino did a back flip and jumped away, deciding to follow up with a kick to Sakura's head, but was blocked by the pink haired girl instead. A series of very fast (though not as fast as Lee) punches, kicks, somersaults, uppercuts, and back flips followed the two seemingly equally skilled girls.

 

Frustrated at the deceptive equal strength, Ino shouted back in irritation. “Is this all you've got, SAKURA? What happened to all that strength I saw in the forest of Death? What happened to all those fancy jutsus you've used before?! What happened to them all, huh?! Are you holding back on my account?! Well DON'T! Just give me your best shot, Sakura! I dare ya!” Ino screamed as both she and Sakura hammered each other with powerful punches to their faces that threw them both back several metres.

 

Struggling onto a sitting position, Ino glared at Sakura's panting figure. “Why are you holding back!?” She screamed at the girl. “Are you pitying me? I don't want your pity or sympathy! Don't forget that I am STILL your rival and I WON'T lose to you!” With a determined mind, Ino raised herself onto unsteady legs, grabbing onto another kunai she pointed it at Sakura for a time but did not throw it at the girl's direction.

 

Their eyes met for a long silent moment until Ino finally moved. She slowly drew back the kunai and sliced off her own long hair, dumping the large amounts onto the ground. Ignoring the startled shouts originating from Shikamaru and Choji's location on the balconies, Ino glared resolutely at Sakura (who is also on her feet now). “I am a proud ninja, Sakura. I won't let you or anyone stand in the way of that. I refuse to be cheated in such a way!” She then performed a two handed seal and directed it at Sakura.

 

While Ino had been busy with cutting off her own hair, Sakura had quickly and silently performed a quick seal, unseen by Ino. Sakura smirked in response. “Are you that desperate to lose, Ino?” She tilted her head just so to indicate her arrogant manner. “The Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind body switch) is a very slow jutsu. Do you really think you can catch me with it?”

 

Ino narrowed her eyes and gave a thin smile instead. “We won't know until we try.”

 

Sakura shrugged and simply stood there, waiting for Ino. Ino took her time but soon activated her family's secret techniques. “Shintenshin no Jutsu!” she shouted and straight away, her body slumped forward onto the ground. Sakura simply stood exactly where she was as if nothing had happened.

 

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Above them, on the balconies, Lee looked anxiously at his sensei. “Gai sensei. Will Sakura-san be okay? Why didn't she run?”

 

Gai narrowed his eyes and smiled in response. “Lee. Look closely at Sakura.” He answered. And Lee did so but still didn't understand why his sensei didn't just answer his questions.

 

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On the battle arena, Sakura started chuckling. “Ino... a person should always keep their trump card until the last moment before they use it. I thought you knew that.” (1)

 

A light laugh came from the slumped form of Ino. “Of course I did.” She raised her head and looked directly at Sakura with a wide smirk on her face. “Now you can't escape!” She then revealed that she had used her long strands of hair to create a type of lasso around Sakura's feet. Channelling chakra through the strings, Ino was able to render Sakura immobile. “I guess this is the end for you Sakura-chan. Too bad you made the bad decision of not beating me up when you had the chance.”

 

With her foot directly pressing on the chakra enhanced hair strands, Ino re-did her previous seal but just before she was able to complete her jutsu, a soft voice spoke to her from behind. “Gomen ne. Ino-chan. I just didn't want to hurt you too much.” Suddenly, the Sakura standing in front of her, trapped by her hair, disappeared into a cloud of smoke. /BUNSHIN???/ was Ino's last thought as the real Sakura performed her own jutsu behind Ino.

 

“Kyosei Suimin no Jutsu!” (Forced Sleep no Jutsu), as Sakura lightly tap Ino on her shoulder. Ino's body instantly slumped forward in forced sleep, but before she could collapse completely onto the floor, Sakura had caught her and held her close. Hayate, watching the unconscious form of Ino, declared Sakura to be the victor of this match.

 

When the medic Nins tried to take a look at Ino, Sakura just shook her head and told them that Ino will be awake within half an hour, she didn't use that much Chakra in the attack anyway. With the explanations done, Sakura and Haku both carried Ino's sleeping form onto the balconies again where Asuma, Shikamaru and Chouji fussed about the unconscious girl.

 

Kakashi smiled at Sakura from behind his mask. “Well done. Sakura. I'm proud of you.” Lee was beside her giving tons of encouragement and praise as well. Sakura only gave a small smile in reply but her eyes never left Ino. That is, until she felt a hand on her shoulder in support, she looked over at Naruto and he smiled back at her. With a nod as his only encouragement, he took his hand away and returned to watch the next fight, this one between Tenten and Temari.

 

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Tenten and Temari stood opposite one another on the battle arena waiting for each other to start the assault. Suspicious of her opponent's nonchalant expression, Tenten was the first to react, jumping backwards some distance away to avoid any sneak attacks.

 

She stayed her distance away for a time before finally jumping high into the air; Tenten reached behind into her pouch and produced several shurikens to be thrown towards Temari. Temari only smirked in response. Within a split second, Temari had rendered all of Tenten's shurikens useless, lying on the floor.

 

Tenten stared in disbelief. /There's no way I missed! What did she do to dodge or block my attack?/ The slightly panicked girl though to herself. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Tenten calmed herself down and reached behind into her pouch again, this time, she produced a scroll instead.

 

On the balcony above, Shikamaru simply looked at both fighters with a wary eye and sighed. “How unsightly... Sand wins again.” Naruto took a short glance at him but didn't comment.

 

Back on the arena floor, Tenten, not to be undone by her adversary's confident attitude simply tried again. She ran around Temari for a time until she found an opportune instant to begin her attack. Jumping high into the air again, she spun the now opened scroll diagonally, across, up and over, twisting and turning in mid air until the scroll gracefully twirled around her spinning form. Then came the summoned weapons. Tenten truly was a weapon's specialist as she rained down a multitude of weapons directly at her challenger.

 

However, to Tenten's surprise, Temari merely smiled again and released the large fan from her back, opening it slightly to reveal one large purple circle. With one swipe of the fan, all of Tenten's weapons were thrown off target.

 

“Heh. Heh. This is the first star. If you see all three stars, you'll lose.” Temari taunted.

 

Tenten gritted her teeth in anger, landing lightly on her feet. /Fine! If long distance attacks won't work, then I guess I'll just have to use near range combat and surprise her! After all, I don't think that Sand girl is good at near range combat either./ Gripping two kunais in both hands tightly, Tenten charged her opponent.

 

Temari closed her fan and prepared herself for the onslaught of weapons but Tenten surprised her slightly by jumping over her instead. Landing directly behind the Sand Nin, Tenten thrust the kunai within her right hand forward only to be blocked by Temari's fan as she twisted around just in time to prevent the attack. Raising her left foot to kick the fan away, Tenten thrust forward with her left kunai this time. Using the momentum from the kick, Temari turned in a complete circle and rotated her fan around to block Tenten's other kunai then shifted slightly to jab the other end of the fan into Tenten's unprotected ribs.

 

Forced backwards from the unexpected blow to her ribs, Tenten took a step back in pain and Temari took the opportunity and swung her still closed fan in an arc which slammed heavily against Tenten's torso. Tenten gasped in pain as she was sent flying sidewards away from Temari and her fan. Sliding on the ground until she came to a stop, Tenten struggled back onto her feet, grabbing onto her throbbing side, while trying to clear her head of the pain as well as the furious cheering by both Lee and Gai.

 

Breathing heavily from her fight, Tenten decided that it was probably safer for her if she stayed with long range attacks. /Damn it! Looks like I can't hold anything back!/ After a few moments of debating, Tenten ignored her pain and smiled. She reached back confidently into her pouch once again and withdrew two scrolls this time. Placing them on the ground besides her, she started to perform seals and ignored the Sand Nin's taunts. Finishing her final seal, Tenten looked determinately at her adversary and shorted: “Soushouryu!” (Rising Twin Dragons)

 

A loud boom echoed through out the battle arena as thick smoke covered everything within sight. A second later, two long, thin and graceful white dragons emerged from the smoke cloud and flew directly upwards. Finally stopping in mid air, the dragons seem to twist and twirl around themselves, creating a perfect ribbon of movement. At last, Tenten revealed herself, jumping from the smoke and stopping in between the two long scrolls that now took over the forms of the heavenly dragons.

 

Once again, Tenten twisted and turned in mid air, summoning forth hundreds of weapons and directed them all at Temari. Temari simply raised her fan, opened it until the second star was revealed and twisted herself in a full circle, creating winds so strong that it blew away all of Tenten's weapons as well as Tenten herself.

 

Avoiding all of her own weapons, Tenten landed hard onto the floor but still on her feet. “I'M NOT FINSHED YET!” She yelled as she launched herself into the air again. Tenten raised both her hands and small, slightly invisible strings can be seen attached to each of her fingers leading to all of the weapons. Flapping her arms together like wings, Tenten was able to lift up all of her weapons and launch them again at Temari.

 

This time however, Temari was not in the mood to play around, she opened her fan all the way and with one mighty sweep, Tenten and her weapons were flung away once again by the large wind force. Surprised by the hurricane like winds, Tenten did not manage to land softly onto the floor this time. Sliding on her back for several metres from her landing spot, she struggled into a sitting position, gasping for breath. Not finished with her performance, Temari then spun her fan in her hand for a moment until she seemingly disappeared. Tenten's eyes widened at the illusion.

 

A voice from above brought Tenten's mouth shut as she looked up to find a flying Temari, sitting firmly on her fan as she glided across the room. Landing in front of the stunned Leaf Genin, Temari prepared her fan for her final attack. “Ninpou: Kamaitachi!” (Ninjutsu: Whirlwind attack) (2) She yelled as she swung her fan back and forth.

 

All of a sudden, some kind of horizontal twister appeared, originating from Temari's fan. The powerful wind force swept Tenten off her feet and pushed her upward into the twisting air of a small tornado. Within the miniature tornado, Tenten grunted in pain as she suffered hundreds of small cuts to her body from the invisible blades made from the sharp winds. Finally, the attack slowed and Tenten was left falling fast onto the ground, where she landed directly onto Temari's fan in a brutally painful fashion.

 

Naruto closed his eyes as the only sign of his disappointment and pity at the poor girl's lost, but he also realised long ago that the Sand Nin had always been out of the Leaf nin's league. When he opened his eyes again, it was only to see Gai's challenge to the remaining Sand Nin that Lee was strong. Sighing at the unfolding drama, he looked at the electronic board instead, hoping that he would NOT be next. He really REALLY didn't want to see his Aunt anytime soon.

 

As the names scrolled on and finally slowing down to a stop, Naruto gave a sigh of relief that it wasn't his name being displayed. However, the fight was incredibly short for his liking. Naruto's eyebrow twitched. /That Sound girl is pathetic… no wonder Sakura said she could handle her easily, it was the other Sound Nins that plagued Sakura during my time of unconsciousness./

 

His eyebrow twitched again as he realised his name was being displayed on the Electronic board this time, his opponent was none other than Inuzuka Kiba. He sighed and started walking towards the stairs, both Kibi and Kirin trailing behind him like faithful pets and he vaguely heard Sakura giving him a cheer of support.

 

-------------------

 

Both boys stood upon the arena facing each other, one with a smirk on his face hiding his inner nervousness, the other completely expressionless. Above them, on the balconies stood a group of spectators whom all have their own beliefs and ideas about the participants.

 

Hinata fidgeted constantly as she debated whom she should root for. /I'm Kiba-kun's teammate so I should encourage him… but... at the same time… I don't want Naruto-kun to lose... Oh what should I do? If I do cheer for Naruto-kun, then Kiba-kun might get mad... oh.../

 

Neji narrowed his eyes in contemplation. /Naruto would win. At least, that's what I think. He's complacent and calm, while the other one seems to be a bit nervous and yet excited by the prospects of this fight. Hn. Show me what you got, Uzumaki Naruto./

 

Lee turned to Sakura for a moment. “Sakura-san. Is... um… that is… Is Naruto-kun's back healed yet? From what I remembered of his back, man… I'm surprised he can even stand straight! I hope he's okay.”

 

Sakura gave him a tight smile but did not switch her gaze from her teammate. “He should be fine. His back is almost completely healed but he won't be able to do any sudden movements unless he wants to sprain a muscle or something.” Though her outside façade was calm, her inner struggles remain. Inner Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs: /GO!!! NARUTO!!! GO!!! SHOW THE WORLD WHAT YOU'VE GOT!!! KICK HIS ASS!!!/ Normal Sakura however contemplated how calm Naruto looked. /I hope he's gonna be alright../

 

Kakashi stood proudly behind his pink haired student. /I wonder what you'll show me this time, Naruto. You've always been the most surprising of all three of you. I wonder… will you show me your true strength here?/

 

The third Hokage watched on with a blank expression on his face, hiding his inner interest. /I have heard from Kakashi that Naruto was pretty good, as to be expected from Jiraiya's training. However, I've never really seen the boy fight. This will truly be an interesting battle./

 

Ino (who was finally awake after Tenten and Temari's fight) looked over at the two participants with confusion in her eyes. “Hey, Shikamaru! Who do you think is gonna win? I mean, I know that Naruto had some special training before but would it be enough for him to beat Kiba. Kiba has always been kinda strong, you know.”

 

Shikamaru shrugged in response. “Who knows?” But a vague glint of interest was shining in his eyes. /Let's see what a student of the Legendary San Nin can do./

 

Kuranai stood hesitantly behind the railing as she watched her student from above. /I don't know whether or not Kiba can handle this one. Uzumaki Naruto... I've heard rumours about the Nine-tails carrier, but they're just that, rumours. I can't predict the outcome of this fight, but at least, I know I've trained Kiba well enough to handle himself in most situations. I just hope he'd be able to pull himself out of this one on his own./

 

Asuma blew a small puff of smoke from his lips in a nonchalant fashion, however, his eyes never left the combatants now present on the stage. /Hm… Uzumaki Naruto huh? I wonder what the kid would show us in this fight../

 

----------------------

 

“Heh heh! Let's see what you've got, oh great Uzumaki Naruto...” Kiba taunted. “I'll give you one strike to prove your worth for this fight! I'll tell you now, I'm not holding back at all, you hear?!” He shouted back, sarcasm literally dripping from his words. But mentally, he gripped his resolve resolutely. /If what that Kabuto guy said was true, then Naruto have been that Jiraiya's student for a long time now. Damn! If he's strong then I won't have a bloody chance in hell!/

 

Without waiting for a reply, Kiba dropped down onto one of his knees and performed a quick seal. “Gijyuu Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu” (Beast Mimicry Ninja Technique: Four Legs) (3). Chakra surged all over Kiba's body as he crouched down on all fours, readied himself and then charged at Naruto, leaving his faithful dog, Akamaru, behind. Almost faster than the eye could see, Naruto was forcefully elbowed by Kiba and thrown backwards until he slammed into the concrete walls behind him and landed heavily on the ground below. Kibi and Kirin growled hatefully at Kiba but quickly moved towards their downed master, whining softly trying to get him back up to his feet.

 

Kiba blinked in surprise. /Was that it? Is that all the guy had?/ Then his stunned face turned into a smirk of triumph. “Heh. That was easier than I thought! Yo! Referee! Looks like I won this match huh?” he turned his back to his opponent as he made his way towards the stairs, knowing that each and every pair of eyes in the room was directed at him, instead of his useless adversary. That is, until a soft but calm voice stilled his movements.

 

“Never turn your back towards your enemy. You may not live to regret that action.”

 

Kiba spun around instantly and had to cover his shock as he watched Naruto slowly stood up on unsteady legs, head bowed slightly with blood running down his forehead and mouth. But the boy's voice was calm, almost as if he expected the attack and took it willingly. Kiba growled; he hated people who were so arrogant about their abilities, ignoring the fact that he too, also fell into such a category.

 

“Is that all you can say? Ha! You're the one barely standing and bleeding all over the floor! Don't try to act so superior as if you're the king of the mountain when you're NOTHING but an ant yourself!” He yelled at the blond boy angrily. Without looking back, he shouted for his companion. “Let's go! Akamaru!”

 

Throwing two smoke bombs at Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru rushed into the fray of purple smoke, completely obscuring all the audience's view of the fight. Shouts of surprise and pain, kicks and punches could be heard from the origin of the smoke but no one could see exactly what was going on in there at all.

 

Finally, Kiba jumped out of the smoke and landed lightly on his feet. He smiled and called out to his dog. “Oi Akamaru! Let's finish this!” But to his surprise, his dog didn't come out immediately when he called. The smoke slowly cleared away to reveal what was hidden behind it and Kiba growled low in his voice at the sight he met. Akamaru was held down firmly by Naruto's own two foxes - one had its teeth firmly on Akamaru's neck forcing the small white dog to stay down, whimpering at the pain, and the other had its claws dug firmly onto Akamaru's back, rendering it immobile. Naruto sat some ways away, seemingly more bruised than he had been previously but still showing an expressionless face.

 

Finally, Naruto spoke again. “Never underestimate your enemies. You should know better than to forget how many opponents you actually have within any given fight.”

 

Kiba snarled at him again. “Damn it! Shut the FXXK UP!” He silently flipped a black soldier pill from his fingers towards Akamaru. His loyal dog manoeuvred around the foxes' grip just enough to catch and swallow the soldier pill. Instantly, Akamaru's fur turned bright red in colour and started spiking out a bit more. With the boosted strength and energy, Akamaru kicked away from the foxes, snarled back at them and returned quickly to his master's side. Kibi and Kirin, too, ran back returned to their master's side, doing their best to protect him.

 

Taking a soldier pill himself, Kiba quickly called forth Akamaru to jump on his back. Once ready, he quickly performed another seal. “Gijyuu Ninpou: Jyuujin Bunshin!” (Beast Mimicry Ninja Technique: Half-Beast Clone). When the seal was completed, Akamaru disappeared into a cloud of smoke and when the smoke once again cleared, all it revealed behind it was an exact replica of Kiba himself, standing on top of the original Kiba.

 

“Now it's two against one. Let's see what you can do now!” Both Kibas shouted at the same time.

 

Naruto merely blinked at the sight before him, but then shifted his gaze away from the two boys in front of him towards his own errant sensei on the other side of the room. Jiraiya gave him a tight nod, giving him permission to use this special move. Naruto smiled in relief at his reply.

 

/Damn! I was almost dog-food before. If it weren't for Kibi and Kirin blocking most of the punches and kicks, I would have been down ages ago. Thank the gods they're with me now!/ Struggling onto his knees, he patted the ground gently and Kibi and Kirin immediately stood still before him. /I have to use this technique. Even though it's a bit unfair for Kiba, but right now, right here, I'm at a disadvantage… And I'll admit it... I'm also desperate./

 

Truthfully, even with the added healing and Chakra from Kyuubi, Naruto still wasn't at his fullest potential. That's the problem with using any of the Tenkun no bukis, they draw out so much Chakra and their damage to the user are sometimes so great and severe that even the great Kyuubi finds it difficult to help out sometimes. Especially the Kakuhouou no Hane, since it consumes the user's flesh more than any of the other Tenkun no bukis. And since it was his flesh that was hurting, he was unable to react as quickly as he would have had and therefore ended up with a lot more bruises and cuts than he was use to. If it were any other wound or injury caused by any of the normal ninja weapons, than it would be easy to heal using Kyuubi's Chakra, but the Tenkun no buki's damage is very different. These so called weapons have a mind of their own - living entities trapped within solid weapons and if given the chance, they would devourer their user whole without remorse and even the Kyuubi couldn't heal his soul.

 

“Kiba-kun” Naruto addressed his opponent directly while secretly performing seals, hoping to draw out the fight a bit longer so to give himself some time to complete this technique. “Let me show you a technique that only three other people in the entire world have ever seen me do. This is something I have never shown anyone outside of those chosen three. You should feel privileged of being the first to face this technique in actual combat.” Naruto said calmly while Kiba watched on with slight curiosity, wondering whether Naruto was bluffing or not.

 

Once he had finished his seal, Naruto wiped his right hand across his face, swiping away some of the blood and placed said hand on top of Kibi's head and spoke in a soft voice. “Fuuin Kai: Kyuubi Bubun!” (Seal Release: Partial Nine-Tails!) (4) Suddenly, a huge surge of Chakra was realised from Naruto's palm and surrounded the small form of Kibi, rotating and twisting around the fox like a miniature tornado. The Chakra swirled around so dangerously fast and Naruto quickly removed his hand before the Chakra burnt it.

 

After an instant of shock (having just released a large amount of Chakra - even though it wasn't exactly his Chakra), Naruto shouted more loudly into the room. “Reveal thy true form! Kibi Kitsune!” And immediately, the small form of the fox changed dramatically. It grew larger in size (more than one metre in length - tails not counted); its fur turned a slight reddish tint and from its back stretched five fluffy, large tails instead of just one. Each tail had its tips glowing a fiery red colour, as well as Kibi's short yet spiked up ears. Finally, when the transformation was completed, Kibi growled dangerously at the two stunned boys in front of them.

 

“Master, let me fight them. Please rest and reserve your strength.” A low, angry voice echoed through out the room as all the audiences' (including Kiba) eyes widen in shock. After all, it isn't everyday you meet a talking fox.

 

“Take it easy on him, Kibi. I don't wish to have any casualties in this fight.” Naruto said softly behind his determined pet fox. And Kibi, in turn, nodded in acknowledgement. Naruto turned back to the two Kibas'. “Kiba-kun. Let me introduce you to Kibi Kitsune. He is very similar to one of those summoned animals from the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, but slightly different. Do not underestimate him!”

 

(To be continued.)

 

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(1) Yeah... I know that Shino's suppose to be the one that says this, but this is an AU, so just deal!

 

(2) There are several definitions/translations for this attack. Inane started off calling it the “Whirlwind attack”, then changed to something like “Cyclone attack”, and in the anime (well, the one I have), it's called “Blade of Wind attack” or something like that. So please be aware that all of these different names mean the SAME TECHNIQUE!!

 

(3) Uh... I got this translation from the anime, so I'm not sure whether it's right or not.

 

(4) Original technique. More information from the Jutus/OC list from before.