Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Koorikage ❯ The Snow Ninjas ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Notes: Okay, here's where the story actually starts. Don't be surprised if the chapters start to vary in length. There might be one at 12,000 words and the next might barely break 4,000. It happens. It all depends on where I decide I want the breaks to be, and also on if I decide to do a lot of cliffhangers (which I most likely will - I love cliffhangers).

And for any of you who aren't familiar with all the Japanese terms and phrases that I throw all over the place, there'll be a glossary at the end of each chapter. Not included will be the common things just about everybody knows like the honorifics, "arigatou," "baka," and stuff like that.

Chapter One - Three Years Later

"Sakura-chan! Ganbatte!" Naruto cheered for his friend and teammate as she made her way out into the center of the arena for her first match in her fourth chuunin tournament. He knew she would make it this time; he just knew it. He himself had made chuunin on his second try, which had been exactly a year after his first. He and Sakura had missed the one in between because they had been searching for a genin to take the exams with them, since Sasuke was gone and they needed three people. Also, Sakura had been pretty depressed for several months after the young Uchiha's departure, and neither Naruto nor Kakashi-sensei felt that she was in any condition to take any sort of exams.

The exams had been in the wind country that year. Things had been patched up quickly between the leaf and the sand after the Orochimaru incident, and it was interesting to see Gaara and his team again, even though they were already chuunin by then.

Kiba had passed that time as well, and Hinata the time after. Shino had passed six months before. It made it difficult for the rest of his friends to take the test when their teams kept getting split up. Chuunin and genin could perform missions with their old teams with no problems, and often did, but a chuunin who had already passed could not take the exam again. So for the past few tries up until the present test (held in Kusagakure), Sakura had taken the exams with Ino and Chouji, the only other two of the so-called "rookie nine" (who still lived in the village) to have not yet passed.

He grinned as he watched his Sakura-chan walk out to stand opposite her opponent. She'd really grown in the past few years, in more ways than one. She'd become much stronger physically. Kakashi-sensei said it was because she didn't have Sasuke as a distraction anymore. Naruto could believe that, but he also thought maybe she was still upset about that jerk leaving and was taking it out in her training. It was something he himself was known to do when he was upset about something.

She was a stronger person mentally as well. They'd all been forced to grow up when Orochimaru and his sound ninjas attacked, and within the people he knew, it was most notable in Sakura and Hinata. Even though they hadn't been directly attacked in three years, the war was technically still on, and growing up in wartime hardened a person.

Physically, she was the most beautiful thing Naruto had ever seen. He'd been around Jiraiya long enough to know what the ideal female body was supposed to look like, and as far as he was concerned Sakura-chan was it. He heard a lot of people say that Yamanaka Ino was the most beautiful girl from his year, but he just didn't see it. Sure, Ino was nice-looking, and had more curves, but Sakura-chan was…Sakura-chan. There really were no words to describe it.

As he waited for the match to start, he couldn't help but feel excited. She hadn't taken the test in a year, and she'd improved a lot since the last time. Kakashi-sensei had been teaching them lots of tricks, and she'd finally been getting the hang of some of them. He couldn't wait for everyone to see how great she was.

As the examiner raised his hand, signaling that he was about to start the match, Naruto looked at his teammate's opponent for the first time. He was from Yukigakure, a village Naruto had never even heard of before. He was the only rookie of three genin from that village to come for the test, and all of them had advanced to the final tournament. He didn't know what to expect from the fight, but judging from the village he hailed from, this kid would probably know a lot of cold-related jutsu. He allowed himself a chuckle. No problem at all for Sakura-chan.

* * *

Sakura stood there, trying her best to analyze her opponent. He was about as tall as she was. His clothing certainly was interesting. He wore an old-fashioned ninja outfit, complete with hood and mask. The only thing was, it was white instead of black. The sash he wore around his waist and his mask were both bright blue. The snowflake on his hitai-ate indicated he would probably know some jutsu involving ice or cold. She had no idea what village he was from, though. She'd never heard of the snow ninjas before.

She could hear Naruto cheering for her from the stands; his voice was that loud. She allowed herself a small smile. Nobody believed in her as much as he did…not even herself. He'd been a great friend and training partner, and she wanted to become a chuunin as much for him as for anything else. If she failed again, she'd feel like she was letting him down somehow, and Kakashi-sensei as well. They'd both helped her so much, and if she were to fail a fourth time, it would be like that was all for nothing. Besides, aside from Ino, he was the only real friend that she had.

The examiner raised his hand. She shook her head clear and focused everything on her opponent, who looked calm and casual. A shiver ran up her spine as she was reminded of the first time she encountered Gaara of the sand.

"Match one: Haruno Sakura versus Sabu Shiro! Begin!"

She instantly hurled shuriken at the one she now knew as Shiro and pushed chakura into her legs to dash backwards. She didn't even care if he dodged them or caught them or whatever; they were just a distraction.

She began molding the chakura required for her favorite technique. Kakashi-sensei always said that she had a knack for genjutsu, so it made sense for her to try to develop a signature technique in that area. It took a long time and she had to miss the previous exam because she wasn't ready, but she'd finally mastered it and was ready to try it out in combat.

As Kakashi-sensei had explained, the Meimei no Jutsu was fairly complex and used quite a bit of chakura, but when sustained it was nearly unbreakable. She finished the final seal and called out her technique. Instantly she vanished from sight.

No sooner had she done so than she saw her own shuriken from earlier flying at her face. She bent backwards to dodge. So he had caught them. For such a young kid, he was pretty good. A lot better than she had been at that age.

She dashed around to his left side and threw a kunai, this time watching to test his defense. He didn't notice it until it was five feet away, but he still managed to bring his own up in time to counter. Sakura's genjutsu could not affect her weapons once they were a certain distance away from her, which was why she was throwing from this far back. If he got used to them appearing before they hit him, she would take him by complete surprise when she came in closer.

She dashed around to his other side even as he began darting his head around trying to locate her. It wouldn't help. The Meimei no Jutsu not only obscured her from sight, but all traces of her, including footprints and any dust kicked up by her movements. It even suppressed any sounds her body made through moving. Unless she were to vocally announce herself, there was no possible way to locate her.

* * *

Naruto smiled proudly as the snow kid parried another set of shuriken that he hadn't noticed until the last second. Sakura-chan was testing him. This time her weapons didn't appear until they were only four feet from his head. If anything, the kid had a great defense.

He knew why she was doing this, too. The jutsu's only weakness was that if the user was not careful, a skilled opponent could sense his chakura if he got to close. That was why it was not generally used for melee combat for extended periods of time, and if it was, the user was extremely proficient at masking his chakura. Sakura-chan was good, but if this kid was any faster than they'd already seen, he might just be able to sense her if she came in close to hit him.

A few more times around, and suddenly the snow kid cried out in pain. A kunai had impaled his shoulder. Sakura-chan was close enough so that her weapons would be masked all the way in. Now things would get interesting.

* * *

She watched as Shiro pulled the kunai out of his shoulder. This not being an actual mission but only a test, she didn't want to kill him or seriously injure him if she could avoid it. After all, he was just a kid trying to prove himself, just like her. He didn't need to die for that. If she could intimidate him enough, perhaps he'd just give up. Under the present circumstances, there was no way he could beat her. He'd become increasingly nervous as her weapons had been getting closer and closer to him. And if all else failed, she could always just beat him up.

She dashed around behind him and landed a high kick on his head, retreating before he got the chance to sense her. She came around in front of him and landed a punch to his gut, retreating yet again.

"Is hiding all you can do?" he demanded after coughing up a small spit of blood. She smirked a little. If there was one thing she'd learned well from Kakashi-sensei, it was to never feel guilty for any kind of advantage you had, and to exploit it to the fullest. Before, she might have been more hesitant, but on the difficult missions she'd completed with Naruto during these troubled times, she'd grown a little harder and no longer allowed herself to empathize with her opponents. She dashed in and landed another kick to his back.

"So you're just gonna try and chip away at me, is that it?" he shouted. "Don't underestimate me!"

He crossed his hands in front of him, and before she knew what was happening, there were three of him. At first she thought it was Bunshin no Jutsu, but upon closer inspection she noticed that there were now three of everything.

"Genjutsu, huh?" she thought. She could handle that. She brought her hands together and whispered "Kai!"

Shiro whirled around. She realized her mistake. Though still silent and invisible, that tiny vocal utterance had given away her position. This guy was very good at listening, it seemed.

She sent chakura to her feet so she could escape, at the same time seeing him finish off a system of seals she'd never seen before. Just as she was about to escape, he performed the final seal, dori, and held it out in front of him.

"Secret Element: Hiton: Koorikaze no Jutsu!" He took a huge breath, and then leaned toward her and blew it out. All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and she had no time to escape.

The wind blew her back a bit, but it was nowhere near too strong for her. But it was so cold…she was already shivering. She wore a different style of the clothes she had worn when she first became a genin. It looked a lot like her old dress, except the middle was missing in the front and the back, only a strip of fabric on each of her sides preventing it from being a two-piece outfit. As a result, not only her arms and legs were exposed to the extreme cold, but her bare midriff as well. She tried to hug herself with her arms, and even attempted to warm herself with chakura, but it was no use. The wind lasted all of six seconds, but in the end, she'd lost the hold on her Meimei no Jutsu. She was no longer invisible, and thus she was now vulnerable.

Shiro let the last puff of air out of his lungs and then stood up, looking at her with some kind of cross between a smirk and a sneer. Sakura was still shivering and rubbing her arms. She hadn't even been aware that there were specific ice element jutsu. She'd never come across anything like them in her studies.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" the young snow ninja taunted. "Are you gonna keep fighting me, or are you too cold?"

"This kid is good," she thought to herself. "I'll have to go after him another way." She molded her chakura and began forming the seals for her next jutsu. It was difficult because she was shivering, and Shiro had dropped out of his cocky pose and charged her head on. She finished her last seal and called out, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The huge fireball shot straight at her opponent, who showed great dexterity in his ability to jump over it with ease.

* * *

"How's she doing?" came a voice from behind Naruto. He turned around to find Kakashi standing there.

"You're late again!" he yelled at his teacher, even though it was completely expected. "She was doing great at first, but this guy managed to break through her Meimei no Jutsu."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow went up. "Oh?"

"Yeah, it was strange. Some kind of cold wind jutsu or something," Naruto said. "But she'll be all right." He grinned proudly again. "She's using those fire jutsu you taught her. Look." He pointed to the center of the arena, where Sakura was blowing fire at her opponent repeatedly, while he dodged.

"She's not going to hit him like that," Kakashi observed. "But she probably knows that. She must be trying to lure him into something."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "But how much chakura can Sakura-chan use on those fire jutsu?"

"Sakura is extremely efficient in her chakura use," Kakashi said. "Not a bit of it goes to waste. Even though she's relatively low in stamina compared to a lot of other ninja of her age and skill level, she can keep that up for a while."

"Look!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing to the ring. "Something's happening!"

Sakura had stopped blowing fire, and had performed a Bunshin no Jutsu, creating four clones of herself that were now spreading out to surround her opponent.

"She might have him now," Kakashi said. "If she has all of her clones perform the jutsu, even though only one will be real, there will be no way of knowing which one it is until it's too late, and there's nothing nearby to use for a kawamiri. That means there is only one way he can dodge: up."

* * *

Her clones now in position, Sakura prepared for one final attack as her opponent looked around frantically, trying to figure out which one of her was real. She formed the seals again, and let out an enormous fire blast, her clones all mimicking her actions. She smirked mentally. He would have to jump over them, and then she'd have him.

"Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!" She waited for him to jump so she could go after him. But the flames were converging and he wasn't moving. Then, at the last second, he crouched down low and crossed his arms over his head.

"What is he doing?" She wondered in astonishment. "He's going to let it hit him?"

He did indeed let it hit him. The flame grew into a large fireball to indicate that it had hit its intended target. Sakura was at a loss for words.

She would stay that way, for just as the flames dissipated, he stood up quickly and spun to face her.

"He purposely let it hit him so he could tell which direction it came from?" She was so shocked by this that she didn't notice him performing seals again until he'd already finished. He then cupped his hands in front of him.

"Secret element: Hiton: Koorinami no Jutsu!" A wash of cold sped toward Sakura. It looked like a big ball of frozen water, and it was too fast and he was too close for her to dodge. She tried anyway.

It caught her right in the torso just as she was jumping to the left. Instantly she felt cold all over. She landed back on her feet, but she could no longer move. She was frozen stiff.

Shino pulled down his mask. Underneath she could see a very young ninja smiling arrogantly back at her. He was perhaps even younger than she had been as a rookie, though his height certainly belied his age. The scorch marks and burn holes all over his clothing did not seem to bother him in the least, not to mention the still-bleeding hole in his shoulder. He began walking toward her at an almost leisurely pace.

"You're no match for my ice techniques," he declared. "Statistically, only one person every three generations has the ability to learn them. Sensei says I'm a genius for learning so many already." He stepped up to her and pushed on her shoulder a bit with his right index finger. "Heh. Looks like you've never been truly cold before in your entire life. If you'd grown up in my village, your body would already be recovering from the attack." He gave her one last cocky grin before saying, "Looks like I win, then." And then he punched her in the face.

* * *

"What!!!" Naruto shouted as he jumped to his feet. "Kakashi-sensei! What just happened?"

Below them, the examiner was declaring, "Winner: Sabu Shiro!"

"Sakura miscalculated," Kakashi said simply. "She didn't expect her opponent to willingly be hit by such an attack. Truthfully, I didn't expect it either."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Naruto was worried.

"I think she will be. It looks like she was just immobilized from the cold and then punched out. She's been through worse. They just need to warm her up is all."

"Well I'm gonna go make sure she's okay," Naruto declared. He then ran down to the front row of the stands, jumped over the wall into the arena and chased off after Sakura, who was being carried away by the medical team. Kakashi could only chuckle.

* * *

She was cold. So very, very cold. On the bright side, that helped to ease the headache she had. She must have lost the fight, because the last thing she remembered was the fist of a too-tall-for-his-age ninja slamming into her face, and she was lying on something that was altogether too soft to be the arena floor.

"Sakura-chan?" And that would be Naruto's voice. She'd definitely lost if he was allowed to stand right next to her.

"Are you awake?"

Her head throbbed with the noise. "Errg, not so loud…"

"Gomen," she heard him say, softer than before. It was then that she managed to force her eyes open to look at him. He had an expression of concern on her face, and that just made her feel worse. She'd blown her chance at becoming a chuunin again, and he just had to be disappointed in her. Slowly, she tried to sit up, bringing her hand up to clutch her head. The pain was going away, but it was taking its time in doing so. And she was still so cold.

"Is the fist round over?" she asked when she finally made it into a sitting position. She wanted to know how Ino and Chouji had done.

"No, just your fight. They were starting the next one when I came in here with you."

"He came in with me?"

"So I wasn't out for very long?" she asked. Naruto let out what sounded like a small laugh.

"No, not really. I don't think that guy can hit very hard," he said. If it was supposed to make her feel better, it didn't.

"I'm sorry for losing the match."

He looked at her as if she'd grown a second head.

"Hn? What are you apologizing to me for, Sakura-chan?"

"Well, it's just that…" she scratched her head, relieved that he didn't seem the least bit upset, "…you and Kakashi-sensei worked so hard to help me get better, and I still couldn't win. It's like you did all that for nothing."

He regarded her for a few seconds, and then broke into his trademark happy grin.

"Don't say that, Sakura-chan. You did great, really! Everybody says you've gotten a lot stronger. And besides, that guy's techniques were just weird. He got you by surprise is all."

She let out a sigh and looked down at the bed she was sitting on. "Arigatou, Naruto."

* * *

Kakashi looked up from the "match" that had just ended when he sensed his pupils approaching. Sakura had a blanket draped over her shoulders and seemed to be walking fine, despite Naruto's repeated efforts to try and help her.

"I'm fine, Naruto!" he heard her say. "Really!" It was then that his other student looked up and saw him watching.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei! What did we miss?"

He let them get close enough so he could respond without raising his voice. "The sand ninja lost to the grass ninja in the match that was starting when you left," he said to Naruto. "It wasn't very interesting, really. And then the other two grass ninja were set up to fight, but the younger boy pulled out, saying he refused to fight his teammate."

Naruto smiled. "Sounds like a good guy. Too bad he won't get the chance to become a chuunin this time."

"Not necessarily," Kakashi said. "That's how you became one."

Naruto's eyes shot open and his head spun to face Kakashi. Sakura did the same.

"What???" Naruto exclaimed.

"Don't you remember? In the exam when you became a chuunin, you were paired up to fight Sakura in the second round, but you withdrew, saying you wouldn't fight your own teammate?"

Naruto scratched his nose. "Well yeah, but I'd already fought one round. I thought they made me a chuunin because of my excellent fighting abilities."

"That was probably a factor," Kakashi said, "but the main reason was your devotion to your comrades. That's very important in a chuunin."

Naruto appeared shocked. Kakashi sweatdropped. "You didn't know that?" "Although he probably wouldn't have minded if Sasuke had still been on the team and it was him he was scheduled to fight…"

"I never knew that, either," Sakura said bluntly.

"And I thought I was giving Sakura a better chance," Naruto mused.

"In theory you were, but her next opponent stripped that away from her. If things had gone the other way and you had fought him, both of you might have become chuunin. But there's no way to really know that now."

* * *

Naruto looked awful. He slowly turned his head to Sakura. "G-gomen, Sakura-chan."

"No, that's okay," she assured him, laughing nervously. Why did he think he had to apologize for that? She'd thought it was amazing of him to give up that match as opposed to fighting her. She still did. "If that was the reason you became a chuunin, you might not have if you didn't," she told him. "And I think you're more fit to be a chuunin than I am."

For once, Naruto didn't have anything to say.

"The next match is starting," Kakashi said, interrupting the two of them. "Ino is fighting now."

"Oh! Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, quickly spinning to face the arena floor. Sure enough, her friend was standing there, in the same fighting clothes she'd always worn (filled out more now, of course), opposite…another snow ninja.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked. The girl was dressed in a solid black skin-tight bodysuit, save for a small blue triangle from her shoulders to the center of her chest. She wore a blue ribbon around her right thigh, and her hitai-ate with the snowflake was around her waist. Like her teammate, she wore a blue facemask, but hers was solid, not fabric, and it had a few small breathing holes in it. Sakura had to squint to see, but the girl's breath was clearly visible coming out of those holes, as if it were a cold winter day. And most striking of all was the girl's hair, which was silky smooth and reached back to almost her shoulders, the color of a pure glacial lake. Unless she'd developed early, she looked about thirteen or fourteen.

"She looks impressive," Sakura said. "She could probably get a lot of jobs based just on appearance. She really looks professional."

"She exudes the look that many people think of when they think of a ninja, yes," Kakashi agreed.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto interjected. "So she looks good, so what? That doesn't mean she's a great fighter or anything. I bet that Shiro guy Sakura-chan fought was the strongest on their team."

Kakashi didn't say anything. "No. She carries herself like a person who has vast experience and skill."

The examiner signaled that the match was about to begin. Ino lowered herself a little, and the other girl brought her hands and front knee up into a fighting stance that looked vaguely familiar to Sakura but that she couldn't lay a name on. Kakashi's eyebrow rose a little bit.

"Tong Bei Quan, hmm?" he mused.

"Hn? Tong Bei Quan?" Naruto asked. "What's that?"

"It's a style of taijutsu that mimics the white apes that live high in the mountains. I've only ever seen it once before. For her to have learned it so young…"

"Match four!" the examiner called out. "Yamanaka Ino versus Toukanda Teiko!"

Sakura's eyes shot open. "'Toukanda'!??"

"Yes," Kakashi agreed. "Judging from your earlier fight, Sakura, this might not go well for Ino."

* * *

"Begin!"

Ino charged at her opponent the second the match began. It was an unusual tactic for her, but if this girl had any techniques similar to those of her teammate, then close combat was probably her best option. Besides, if it didn't work, she could always think of something else. She threw a punch and it was blocked. She was about to send in a kick when a lightning fast triple fisted counterattack came that she could not deflect. She found herself on the ground, staring back up at the younger girl who still stood in her same fighting stance as if nothing had happened.

"What is this style of taijutsu?" Ino wondered. "It's fast and powerful at the same time. I can't match it." She stood up. "Heh. Looks like long range combat is the better option after all."

Just then, Teiko came charging at her. She managed to block the first few strikes, but the taijutsu she'd learned from her father and from Asuma-sensei was no match for the style this girl was using. She soon felt herself reeling backwards, the victim of a powerful toe kick to the gut. She found her way to her feet once more and wiped a trickle of blood from her lip. Her opponent was still in that same stance.

"I hate to use this in the first round, but it looks like if I don't go all out I might not even get any farther than that," Ino thought. "All right then, that jutsu it is." She made the seals she'd made hundreds of times going all the way back to her academy days, and performed the first part of her technique.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two dozen clones phased into existence and surrounded Teiko in a huge circle. The icy kunoichi did not appear impressed.

"With your true self in plain sight, it won't take long for me to deduce which one you are, you know," Teiko called out. "I'd expect a ninja of your age to know that. Or were you held back several times and only became a genin recently? That must be it if you're trying to fool me with such a basic technique." Throughout that whole speech, she'd been looking around the circle, trying to find the real Ino.

All the Inos laughed and spoke in unison. "You think I'll be that easy to find?" Go ahead and try." The snow ninja's smirk was visible in her eyes as she continued her examination of the circle.

"Maybe I'm over here," one of the Ino clones mocked.

"Or here," said another one from the other side of the circle.

"Shut up!" Teiko snapped, annoyed. "You're trying to confuse me and it's not going to work."

"It's not?"

"But I think I've already confused you."

"Otherwise you would have found me by now."

"You said so yourself, didn't you?"

Teiko continued scanning the circle, but her expression was growing more and more panicked. "This can't be…" she stammered. "It's not possible. You couldn't have just…"

All the clones spoke at once again. "I couldn't have just what?"

"They're all clones?" Teiko finally uttered. "Is this genjutsu?"

"Maybe it is," one of the clones said. "Or maybe I'm…"

"Right behind you!"

She spun around frantically. The voice had been three inches from her ear, but when she'd turned there had been no one. The circle of clones laughed again.

"This isn't funny!" Teiko screamed, now clearly unnerved. "I'll show you!" She held her hands out in front of her, and what looked like icy mist started to coalesce between her palms. It wasn't long before these mists started to take on a solid shape: that of a long pole. As Teiko continued focusing on the mists, the pole got longer and longer until it reached a length of about fifteen feet - a little longer than the radius of Ino's circle. All throughout this process the Ino clones continued taunting her.

"If you're using some sort of genjutsu, I'll find out now for sure!" Teiko yelled. She took hold of the pole like a bat, and spun around in a circle, holding it out straight so it passed through the Ino clones. After almost one time around, a loud "Oof!" was heard, and Ino was sent sprawling, all of her clones disappearing.

The blonde kunoichi got up and dusted herself off, gasping for breath.

"You're out of breath?" her opponent asked, seemingly amused. "I didn't think I got you that good, unless…" realization came to her face. "That wasn't genjutsu after all! You were just moving around the circle very fast, taking the place of each clone as you passed it. In essence, each clone was real, while at the same time all of them were false, as well. It's a brilliant psychological attack that will chip away at the enemy's confidence and will to fight, and in the end you move in to finish them off. It's best used only on amateurs, though. And to move that fast for such a prolonged length of time has got to use up a lot of energy. You must be exhausted." Once again, her eyes gave away her arrogant smile as she finished. Ino just glared at her, practically growling.

"What does she mean `best used only on amateurs'? She was freaking out plenty!" She watched as her opponent assumed the now all-too-familiar fighting stance again, having set the ice pole aside. It had already started melting. "And what was with that pole? How did she make that?"

"Are you going to attack me again? Or do you give up?" Teiko taunted.

"Hmph. Like I'd surrender to someone like you." "Bunshin no Jutsu!" The twenty-four clones appeared again, encircling her enemy as before.

"Not this again!" Teiko mocked. "Do you even have the energy to sustain it this time?" She picked up her fast-melting ice pole, which seemed to revitalize itself in her hands. She swung it around the circle as before. This time though, she hit nothing.

"You really think I'd try the same thing twice?" Ino yelled as she descended from the sky towards her unwitting foe, kunai drawn and pointed downward. The ice ninja instantly dropped the pole and flipped backwards, causing Ino to stab the ground. Without pausing for a second, Ino stood up and hurled four shuriken at the retreating girl, who landed from her final flip and held out her hand in front of her. The same strange mist from before appeared, and a disc grew out of nowhere on her hand to block the shuriken like a shield. She laughed triumphantly.

"How did…" Ino stammered.

"It's my blood limit ability," the girl explained confidently. "My family can control the water vapor in the air around us and freeze it into ice in any shape we choose. It's quite useful." She brought her hand holding the shield back behind her, and then hurled it like a discus at Ino, who had to jump high in the air to avoid it.

"Control…water vapor?" she asked in shock upon landing.

"Yes, and we can make it into anything we want. I'll show you." Teiko held out her hands and the mist appeared again. Into each hand a jagged-looking dagger made of ice formed as Ino looked on in awe.

"Now it's time for me to win this match," Teiko announced. She charged at Ino, who only had time to draw a kunai for defense before she was locked in melee combat once again.

"You're no match for my Tong Bei style when I'm unarmed!" Teiko taunted as she pressed her attack. "With these daggers, I could kill you easily."

Ino was sweating. The girl was right. She was barely managing to block as it was, and she already had numerous cuts along her arms, and one rather deep one on the top of her left ear.

"But," Teiko continued, "I've been instructed not to. So this will have to do."

Ino only had time to raise her eyebrows before her opponent's heel came up to smash her in the jaw, and she saw no more.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto knew Ino would want to watch Chouji's fight, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. She had a lot of cuts that needed to be treated, and they didn't know how long she'd be unconscious, either. They were hoping that the next fight between the two sand nins would be a long enough deterrent, but they were grossly disappointed. The sand ninja who lost looked like he hadn't even been trying, as if he knew he was going to lose right from the start. It made sense that he would, considering he and his opponent were on the same team. But it didn't represent him will in front of the people who would be doling out promotions.

And so Chouji's fight arrived fairly quickly. Naruto and Sakura (now free of her blanket) moved down to the front row to watch so that they might better describe the fight to Ino later. Chouji marched out proudly, a lot more confident than he had been in the past several years. Never one to fully believe in himself anyway, the mission of chasing after Sasuke and the sound nins three years ago had taken a physical toll on him that had been difficult to recover from. He'd participated in the chuunin exams with Sakura and Ino ever since Hinata had passed, but never done very well. He'd done it to be a third person so as to allow them to take the test, but always withdrew upon reaching the final tournament. This would be his first time actually competing in it.

"Ganbatte, Chouji-kun!" Sakura cheered.

"Don't worry, it'll be easy!" Naruto yelled.

"He's fighting that other snow ninja, isn't he?" Sakura asked her teammate, somewhat worried.

"Yeah, I think so. But there's no way this last guy can be as strong as the other two. They're super strong for a genin team already."

"But that would mean this one is too, right?"

Naruto stopped to think about that, and the examiner called that the fight was about to start.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the final match of the first round: Akimichi Chouji versus Yukimora Aomaru!" The other ninja was wearing white baggy pants and a white shirt not unlike Hyuuga Neji's. His black wristbands went halfway up to his elbows, and his brown hair went just past his shoulders, his hitai-ate on his forehead. But his most prominent feature was his eyes. Even from the distance they were at, Naruto and Sakura could see that they were the most piercing shade of blue imaginable. It was almost painful to look at them.

"And I thought you had strong blue eyes, Naruto," Sakura said.

"Yeah. This guy's are almost creepy."

"Begin!" the examiner shouted.

The ninja called Aomaru pulled out a pair of kunai and hurled them at Chouji, who blocked them with one of his own.

"Don't try to beat me with simple stuff like that," Chouji said. Aomaru smirked heavily.

"Just testing your defenses. I wanted to see how fast a fat ninja like you could react."

"What did you call me?" Chouji demanded.

"What did it sound like I called you? I called you fat."

"Why you!" Chouji shouted, pointing angrily at his opponent. "I'm not fat at all! I'll show you!" He performed a few seals, and then raised his hand up in preparation to punch the ground. "Doton: Ishi no Genkotsu no Jutsu!" He rammed his fist into the ground, and the disturbance caused headed straight for Aomaru in a straight line, until a large chunk of rock in the shape of a fist jutted out just beneath him, ready to land a hit right in his face. But he was too quick, and he waited until the last second before dodging backward just enough so that the attack would miss him.

"You've got to be kidding. Using a slow attack like that? You'll never catch anyone! I'll show you how a true ninja performs." He went through a sequence of seals so fast that neither Naruto nor Sakura could tell what they were. Then he crossed his arms in an "X" in front of him in the same fashion that Shiro had earlier when performing his genjutsu.

"Yukimora Ninpou: Hito Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. "H-hito…Bunshin no Jutsu?"

Sakura was just as shocked. "How does that work?"

They would soon find out, as a second Aomaru seemed to step out of the first's right side until they were standing next to each other.

"Do you like it?" they both asked simultaneously. It was more eerie than Ino's psychological attack, as it was hard to tell if it really was one voice or two, even though one could clearly see the mouths of both of them moving.

"N-nani?" Chouji stammered.

"My blood limit ability is extremely high cell reproduction rates. Over several generations, my family has developed many ninjutsu to utilize this ability. The one you are seeing right now is my favorite. A modification of the Bunshin no Jutsu, I create an actual living, genetic clone of myself. We're linked mentally for perfectly coordinated attacks. Watch and learn, fatty."

The two clones each adopted different fighting stances. Then, quick as a flash, they disappeared. One dashed to the side, the other straight at Chouji, only to appear seconds later directly in front of him, poised to strike. When Chouji reached up to defend, that Aomaru disappeared to his left, and the other one came in from behind, striking Chouji with a kick to the center of his back. It then disappeared again, right as the first one reappeared on the other side to land a punch. The pattern continued for several more hits, before each clone came to a rest, one twenty feet in front of Chouji, the other twenty feet behind him. After standing still for only a second or two, they dashed in unison again. The young Konoha ninja tried his best to raise a defense, but it was no use. The Aomaru from behind executed a perfect sweep to his feet just as the one from in front landed a flawless shin kick to his chest. The result was that Chouji spun in the air a few times before landing on his back. Aomaru continued his momentum on both counts, the two clones rotating into each other and finishing the motion as one person. He came to a stop in a non-fighting position the moment Chouji hit the ground. The entire arena was completely silent.

"Sa-Sakura-chan…what just happened?" Naruto asked after several seconds of standing openmouthed in astonishment.

"Aomaru's control of both of his separate bodies is incredible," she said, only half answering his question. She wasn't looking at him, but rather still had her gaze fixed on the two combatants in the center of the arena. She said nothing more for a few more moments before finally turning to look at her teammate. "It's even more coordinated than what you can do with your shadow clones, Naruto."

He could only nod in reply.

Seconds later, their attention was drawn back to the fight by a collective gasp from most of the spectators. Chouji was getting back up.

"Haven't had enough?" Aomaru taunted. Chouji got all the way to his feet before answering.

"I could probably beat you if I had to, but the steps I'd have to take would set me back another three years." Naruto listened closely, understanding his meaning exactly. "But there's no need to put everything on the line for an exam. I give up."

The release of tension was obvious. Noise rose up again, even as the examiner declared Aomaru the winner.

* * *

"You okay, Chouji?" Naruto had jumped down and started running toward him the moment the fight was declared over. Sakura had followed him after calling after him exasperatedly a few times, and had yet to reach them.

"Yeah, I'm okay," the stout ninja said. "Looks like I fail again, though." He scratched the back of his head.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Naruto told him. "Those guys were really strong. Even Ino and Sakura-chan lost."

"Thanks a lot, Naruto," quipped Sakura, who had arrived in time to hear his comment. He waved his hands in front of him in defense.

"Ah, I just meant that if you guys all lost, then those three aren't normal genin," he stated quickly. Sakura seemed to accept this.

"We should get out of here," she said. "They're going to want to start the second round. I'm going to go see how Ino's doing. Do you two want to come or are you going to stay and watch?"

"I think I'll go see Ino," Chouji said. "Let her know I lost, too. It'll make her feel better." Sakura couldn't help but giggle, and the two of them started off.

"Hey, wait for me!" Naruto called after them, jogging to catch up.

"You aren't going to watch the fights, Naruto?" Sakura asked him.

"Nah. I know who'll win anyway. I'll come back to watch the finals, since those snow ninjas are the only ones I really want to see."

* * *

"Ino? Are you awake?"

The blonde kunoichi slowly opened her eyes at the sound of a familiar feminine voice calling her name. When she did, she saw the faces of Sakura, Naruto, Chouji, and…

"Shikamaru?" she asked, still woozy. It hurt her jaw to talk, and her arms stung like crazy. "I didn't know you were here."

"We just got back," he said coolly. "That damn mission took longer than we thought it would." Ino looked up and saw Asuma in the room as well, leaning against a wall. "Sorry I couldn't watch your fight. I heard you lost." His mouth turned slightly upward at the end into a typical Shikamaru grin.

"Yeah, I did." Normally, she would have yelled at him, or smacked him, or both, but she didn't really feel up to it. He seemed to notice.

"Hey, you all right?" he asked, sounding a little more concerned than usual.

"I'll be fine. I just want to know where that girl learned her taijutsu," she said.

"You should've seen it, Shikamaru," Naruto said in his usual excited tone. "They each fought a snow ninja. These guys were amazing. And one of them was a rookie!" Unnoticed to everyone but Ino, Sakura's eyebrow was twitching.

"You don't say?" the languid ninja replied in a disinterested tone. "Snow ninjas, huh?"

"Yeah. We have to go back out and watch the finals. It'll be great!"

Shikamaru regarded the blonde boy for a minute. "Whatever."

* * *

"The second round should be over by now," Naruto said after a good while in Ino's infirmary room. "Are you guys gonna come?" They seemed a little hesitant.

"Might as well," Chouji said after a time. He stood up. "You gonna be all right, Ino?"

"I told you, I'll be fine." She sounded annoyed, but it was obvious even to Naruto that she was enjoying the attention.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto asked, turning to the boy in question. He turned his gaze away from Naruto to look at Ino.

"Oh, just go!" the injured girl said. "Sakura doesn't care about the finals, so I won't be wasting away or anything."

"Fine, whatever," Shikamaru said. The three boys left the room to head for the arena.

"Honestly," Ino muttered as they were leaving. Sakura giggled a little.

* * *

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called as they neared the jounin in the stands. "Have the finals started yet?"

"The tournament is over," he informed them. All of them - even Shikamaru - were surprised.

"Over?" he clarified. Kakashi nodded. "How?"

"The three snow ninjas each defeated their opponents easily," the jounin explained. "And then Shiro and Teiko said there would be no point in fighting any further, since Aomaru would beat them and they needn't give away any more of their techniques when they knew what the outcome was going to be. They conceded the tournament to him."

If the three boys were shocked before, they were surprised out of their skins now. No one in the entire arena had expected anything like that to happen.

"Figures I'd match up against the strongest one," Chouji grumbled.

Shikamaru stared across the arena, where the snow ninjas were meeting up and preparing to leave.

"They beat Ino, Chouji and Sakura, and then advance to the final round like it was nothing, and then they say that they don't even need to fight to know which one of them would win. Who are these guys?"

"Shikamaru!" He turned his head around to see Chouji calling him. He and Naruto were already a ways away. "There's nothing to watch, so we're going back to Ino's room now! Come on!"

He stole another glance at the snow ninjas just before they disappeared, and then turned back to his friend.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming."

* * * * * * *

Okay, chapter one is done. Big thanks to Ski, my prereader. Also, best of luck to SJR, who would have been my other prereader but is having personal troubles right now.

Did you guys like the new characters? Don't worry, they aren't going to be the freaky, god-like author-created-characters that you see everywhere, and none of them is even close to an SI. I just had to establish how strong they were, and by association the ninja village they come from.

I apologize for the excessive use of Japanese. It's the way I'm used to the characters talking. =P

As promised, I've provided a translation guide below. Some of the terms came from kanji combinations, so I'm not really sure how they would really be pronounced. In these cases, I just guessed. If anyone knows where I was wrong on one, let me know and I'll fix it. Also, if there was a term in the story that you don't know and I forgot to translate, let me know about that too. My email is illjwamh@dbzoa.net.

Ganbatte - Roughly "Do your best."

Kusagakure - The village hidden in the grass.

Yukigakure - The village hidden in the snow.

Meimei no Jutsu - Invisibility Technique

Hiton: Koorikaze no Jutsu - Ice Element: Ice Wind Technique

Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu - Fire Element: Large Fireball Technique

Hiton: Koorinami no Jutsu - Ice Element: Ice Wave Technique

Tong Bei Quan - Chinese fighting style. "White Ape Fist." (Quan is pronounced "Chuan")

Toukan - Frost / Bitter cold (the "da" in Teiko's surname was added to make it a name.)

Kunoichi - Female Ninja

Doton: Ishi no Genkotsu no Jutsu - Earth Element: Stone Fist Technique

Yukimora Ninpou: Hito Bunshin no Jutsu - Yukimora ninja style: Human Clone Technique