Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Rubies & Sapphires ❯ Jounin Exams, Finals ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: Yo! Sorry I didn't update two days in a row. I was having fun ruling the Star Wars Galaxy. Have you felt the sense of satisfaction you get from sending three Super Star Destroyers into a system and being guaranteed a win with no losses, no matter the size of the Rebel Forces? It's very satisfying, to say the least. On that note, people, don't get the idea that because I update once a day for a while means it'll be that way until I stop writing. A few of you have sent PMs asking if I was alright, which I thank you for. One person even said that they don't get time to play video games reading my fics. Trust me, its worse when you're on the other end of the `deal' writing them. However, one person said in these exact words `why the hell haven't you update two days in a row? Hurry up you $&$!' That last bit wasn't censored in the PM by the way. Want me to hurry up? Ok. Naruto becomes a Jounin, goes on a date with Kurenai, he says he loves her, she says she loves him, they marry, Naruto becomes Hokage and has kids who grow up and enter the Chuunin Exams and become Chuunin. There, happy now? Of corse not, so shut up and let me write at my own pace, teme. Sorry if that spoilt the story line for the others, but it was necessary. Once again, the idiotic minority spoil it for the majority.

Anyways, a few people are saying the Jounins from last chapter were too weak. Let me ask you something. If a Kage couldn't resist Sexy no Jutsu, what makes you think some Jounins could? Also, if you saw someone cleave a rock formation in half with a single sword swing, and then indicate he'd do it to you if you didn't cooperate, you're saying you'd laugh at him and attack him? That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If any of you who said that went to war, you'd be dead before your first day of deployment was over. If a `sword' could do that to rock, take a guess what it'd do to flesh? Use common sense people.

A few old faces will make an appearance this chapter, such as Orochimaru and the three Rain Nins from the Chuunin Exams, the ones that were also in the anime filer. Naruto never `met' them before, so he doesn't know them from a bar of soap. However, I'm making the Jounin Exams like the Olympics. All wars stop for the duration of the exam and no violence from anyone except the `athletes' is permitted whatsoever, regardless of relations between the countries. Oh, and sorry if the first round matches and the semi finals seemed rushed, they're really not that important. We all know who's going to be in the finals, so I wanted to concentrate on that fight.

I just thought of something. Remember in one of the most recent manga issues Kakashi said a sub elemental type is something like a Bloodline Limit? If having a sub elemental type automatically made it a bloodline limit, then why can't Tsunade use Mokuton jutsus or even hinted that she had the genes for it? She's the granddaughter of the Shodaime, so if lesser elements can only be used for Bloodline Limits, then that automatically means Tsunade can use Mokuton jutsus. Even when fighting Ororchimaru, she never used a single one. It's not even mentioned. Although it's not canon, the Snow Nins used mainly Hyoton, or Ice Jutsus without a Bloodline Limit. Since Kakashi was able to copy the Jutsus with his Sharingan that would automatically mean Hyoton Jutsus are not Bloodline Limits. I don't think they'd break their own laws so badly just for a movie, canon or not. Therefore, in all my stories from now on, sub elements are no longer only for people with Bloodline Limits until proven otherwise by the manga/anime. I think it's perfectly logical.

BTW, I'm going back over my old stories and editing the spelling errors, as well as writing new chapters.

Comments/Questions/Suggestions:

Silver-Foxie: The first name was intentional. However, his surname refers to his family Kenjutsu style, according to me.

saiyan prince1: Hmm… Well, how about right now? Hehe…

Akira Strider: I highly doubt that Naruto is the only Jinchuriki who can regenerate like that. I can't give you a definite yes/no answer, but I'd say it's about a 95 percent `yes'

For those of you who didn't receive a personal answer, thanks for reviewing!

Legend:

'...Human or Lesser Summon Thinking/Small A/N...'

'...Demon or Summon Boss Thinking...'

“...Human or Lesser Summon Talking...”

“...Demon or Summon Boss Talking...”

“...SHOUTING/TWO OR MORE PEOPLE SAYING THE SAME THING/CASTING THE SAME JUTSU...”

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Rubies & Sapphires:

Chapter Nine:

Jounin Exam Finals:

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Nearly Three Weeks Later:

The teams had trickled in with their pairs of scrolls and were signed off, allowing them to progress to the main event. At the end of the allotted three week period, all those who had passed reported to the Kazekage Tower with their admission slips. There were apparently only 8 teams who had passed the first test. The ANBU at the door checked their admission tickets and told them to wait in a specific room for instructions. After all the teams entered the room and lined up in their respective teams, all of the team's Jounin Senseis, as well as Temari, Kankuro and Gaara walked inside and shut the door behind them. Temari looked at each team and then had a quick word to Kankuro, who addressed the Chuunin.

“Congratulations on passing the first test. I'm not one for long and boring speeches, so I'll keep this short and to the point. Now that the first test has concluded, the second test can begin. However, not all of the guests have arrived. It should take another week for the last of them get here. Like in the Chuunin Exams, a lot of important people will be watching. Unlike the Chuunin Exams though, all five Kages will be present, as well as the Jounin Oyabun from the other countries with hidden villages. Anyway, the leaders of each team pick a number out of the box Temari is carrying to decide the match ups.”

Temari walked to the Iwa Nin Taichou who was on the furthest left and he picked out a number. Temari moved to the Kumo Team, and they picked a number out. Next was an Oto Team. Naruto picked his team's number next. A Suna team captain picked his team's number, then a Kiri Team. Temari moved to the Ame Team and finally the Taki Team. Temari went back and stood next to Gaara. Kankuro looked slightly bored.

“Alright, read out your numbers, starting with the Iwa Team.”

Iwa: 7

Kumo: 8

Oto: 2

Konoha: 1

Suna: 6

Mizu: 3

Ame: 5

Taki: 4

Kankuro nodded and he announced the match ups.

“Ok, the first round of the tournament bracket will look like this when I write it up:

Konoha VS Oto,

Kiri VS Taki,

Ame VS Suna,

Iwa VS Kumo.

You guys have one week to do what you want. One week from today at 10 am the tournament will be held in the Suna stadium. If you're late, you'll be disqualified. That's all that needs to be explained. Dismissed.”

Kankuro turned to the door along with Temari and Gaara while the Jounin Senseis walked up to their students and together, they walked out of the Kazekage Tower and began training.

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End of the Week:

Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kurenai were walking through the streets to the stadium which dominated the rest of Suna. The village was buzzing with activity and chatting in anticipation of the tournament. When they arrived at the stadium, the ANBU guard nodded at them.

“Team Konoha? Please go through and up the first set of stairs on the left to the participants' entrance.”

They nodded and walked through the gates reserved for important people and contestants. Once they had arrived at the contestants' box, they saw that the other teams and their Jounin Senseis were already there apart from the Kumo team. After a few minutes of tense silence, the Kumo team and their Sensei arrived. In the arena, Kankuro looked at them.

“You lot, get down here.”

The teams left their Senseis and walked down the stairs that led directly into the arena and stood behind Kankuro, acutely aware of the crowd cheering at them. Naruto looked up at the Kage box to see the five Kages, as well as the three Jounin Oyabuns each with one attendant, including to the shock of nearly everyone present, Orochimaru. Naruto wondered why he actually showed up here and then remembered that all Kages/Jounin Oyabuns were required to attend and the only `violence' permitted was from the contestants when they fought each other. Anyone who broke that absolute law faced severe consequences, especially if a Village leader was the one who committed it. Naruto could see everyone up in the Kage box was extremely tense. Naruto could even see Jiraiya's fingers twitching, which he had learnt meant he was on the point of losing control of his patience. Gaara got up slowly and walked to the edge of the box.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for attending the 53rd Annual Jounin Exams in Sunagakure. We hope you enjoy the fine display of talent that will be displayed for you today. I now declare the finals of the Jounin Exams open.”

There was a roar of approval from the crowd as Kankuro turned to the teams.

“Alright, these are the rules. Apart from if I decide to call the match, you can do whatever you want. Don't argue with me or I'll feed you to Karasu.”

The Suna team shivered. Obviously, `feeding' them to Karasu was to be avoided if at all possible. Kankuro looked at the Konoha Nin and then the Oto Nins.

“Team Konoha and Team Oto, you're up. The rest of you, go wait up with your Senseis.”

The other six teams left the Konoha and Oto teams facing each other. The Oto team sized up the Konoha team and smiled. Easy pickings. However, the Konoha Nins were suppressing their chakra and knew that this Oto team, who was letting their chakra flow freely, were nothing to them. The Oto Taichou looked at Naruto.

“So, you're the one Sasuke-Sama fears? You don't look like much.”

Naruto smiled inwardly as he let his chakra flare to half of its full amount for a few seconds and then suppressed it again. The Oto Team's eyes widened at this.

“Sasuke-Sama? Last time I fought him, I handed his ass to him using a simple Genjutsu and an exploding clone. The only reason he's still alive and not rotting in a cell in Konoha is because I was felt empathetic for his early life. I offered him the chance to come back, and then Orochimaru came to rescue his precious Uchiha, leaving me to take on the Snake Sannin one on one. I managed to survive for a while, and even took down Manda. Unfortunately, I received a rather nasty, almost fatal wound from the Kusanagi. It took me three days to recover from a pierced lung from the wound, but I lived.”

The Oto Nins' eyes bulged. He'd defeated Manda and only taken three days to recover from an injury like that from that sword, let alone live to speak of it? Naruto looked at them with an `I'm really bored, entertain me' kind of look.

“Talk's cheap. Show me what you've got.”

Kankuro smirked.

“First match between Konoha and Oto; Hajime.”

The crowd roared their approval as the Oto Nins were unsure of what to do. Shikamaru looked at them and formed a rat seal as his shadow extended to try and catch them, successfully catching the one closest to them.

“Kagemane no Jutsu… Seiko.”

“Bubun Baika no Jutsu!”

Chouji grew his left arm and brought it downwards in an arc, just missing another of the Oto Nins, but brought it around and slammed it into him in the same move. The Oto Nin was surprised, but managed to get off a Kawarimi no Jutsu to replace himself with the branch of a tree. He smiled until he felt Naruto behind him.

“Are all Oto Nins this bad?”

That was the last thing the Oto Nin heard as he felt a hand connect to the back of his neck and slumped to the ground in the blissful darkness that is unconsciousness. The last Oto Nin was charging Shikamaru with what looked to be some sort of miniature speaker. Naruto reappeared in front of Shikamaru and smiled as he formed a single hand seal and announced his jutsu.

“Magen: YomiSemuku: Juugai no Jutsu.

The Oto Nin froze and started quivering. After 10 seconds, he released the jutsu and the Oto Nin dropped to the ground screaming, completely unconscious before he hit the turf. The last standing Oto Nin looked at Naruto as if he was Shinigami coming to claim his soul.

“Wha… What did you do to him?”

Naruto smiled lazily.

“Genjutsu. I sent him to what he thought was the tenth level of hell for ten hours of torture at the hands of some very sadistic demons. He should be thankful I didn't send him to the twentieth level and face Shinigami himself. Now, your team mates are either vegetables, or are unconscious and you can't do anything. It's over.”

Kankuro smiled and pointed to the three Konoha Nins.

“Shousha: Konoha.”

The crowd went wild and Naruto got a particular sense of satisfaction from seeing Orochimaru's scowl sent in his direction. Shikamaru let the Kagemane go and the Oto Nin wobbled uneasily for a second from regaining control of his body. The medics came onto the field and recovered the two `bodies' of the Oto Nins and checked over the last one before they left the field and Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji left the field and re-entered the contestants box with every other team rather wary of them. Kurenai smiled at them, or more especially Naruto shaking her head in disbelief.

“I know I never taught you that one. Good job.”

Naruto smiled lazily and took his position next to his Sensei/crush. Shikamaru noticed the looks the others were giving them, especially Naruto.

“Mendokusei…”

Naruto turned to Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow.

“Everything's troublesome for you, isn't it Shikamaru?”

Shikamaru saw everyone staring at him and he sighed.

“You're not helping Naruto. Mendokusei…”

Kankuro looked up at the contestants.

“Kiri and Taki, you're up.”

The two water using teams came down and looked at each other. Kankuro made sure both teams were ready and started the match.

“Second Match between Kiri and Taki; Hajime.”

One of the Mizu Nins formed a set of hand seals and announced his jutsu.

“Suiton: Teppodama no Jutsu!'

The Nin shot balls of water out of his mouth with incredible speed, accuracy and power. Two of the Nins were hit in the chest and went with the force of the jutsu and back flipped to land in an upright position while the third one used a regular Shushin to disappear and reappear behind one of the Kiri Nins. The third Kiri Nin smiled and formed a single hand seal.

“Kiri Gakure no Jutsu.”

Before the water could seep into the parched ground, it rose up into the air and thickened into a heavily chakra laden mist. The Taki Nins, who mainly using Suiton Jutsus were not impressed in the least. The better Ninja in the crowd focussed chakra to their eyes to help them see, but it had little effect. It seemed that this battle would not be for `public' viewing. Clashes of kunai, grunts and howls of pain, along with the occasional announcement of a jutsu could be heard. After 10 minutes, the mist receded to reveal that both sides had taken severe damage. However, it seemed that the Taki Nins had taken more damage. Two Taki Nins were unconscious and the last was barely standing. The Kiri Nins had one on his knees, struggling to stay there while the other two were bleeding profusely and just standing. The last Taki Nin looked at his team mates and sighed.

“If this was a real life battle, this is where it would end. We forfeit.”

Kankuro nodded and pointed to the Kiri Nins.

“Shousha, Kiri.”

People clapped and cheered as the Kiri and Taki Nins were carted off to receive medical treatment. Kankuro looked back up at the contestant box.

“Ame and Suna, you're up.”

The Ame and Suna Nins stepped into the field. The Ame Nin smirked through their breathing masks as they waited for the match to start. Kankuro looked at both teams from his one open eye and started the match.

“Third Match between Ame and Suna; Hajime.”

The Suna Taichou formed about 10 hand seals and the copious amount of sand on the stadium floor grew into a giant tidal wave.

“Ryuusa Bakuryuu!”

The Ame Nins' eyes widened as the wave crested and came crashing down onto them and mercilessly pounded the stadium wall. After it had stopped, the Suna Nins checked carefully to see if their opponents were still alive, but could not find them. They looked at Kankuro expectantly just as a kunai flew along the ground and pierced the area just above the ankle of one of the Suna Nins. The Suna Nin cried out in pain as the others took their stance to see mass copies of the Ame Nins appear. The Suna Nins threw a kunai at one of them to test it, only to see the clone waver and dispel into a black ink like substance. The Suna Nins were too busy seeing what was in front of them to notice that the real Ame Nins were extending a hand from the ground behind them and only realised when they felt the kunai embedded in the backs of their legs. They dropped to the ground and grunted at the pain. The clones dispelled as the Ame Trio put a kunai to the necks of each of the Suna Nins and smiled.

“That was one powerful move. However, it gave us the opportunity to hide ourselves underground and use a mass Kasumi Jusha no Jutsu and distract you from where we would really attack. There is nothing you can do now.”

Kankuro sighed and pointed to the Ame Nins.

“Shousha; Ame.”

People cheered, but the majority of them were just politely clapping. They weren't too impressed that their own team was beaten so easily and they certainly weren't going to cheer for the victors. The Ame Nins smirked and pulled the kunai away before walking back up to the contestant box where their Jounin Sensei gave a nod in their direction. Kankuro looked up at the last two teams.

“Iwa and Kumo, get down here.”

Both teams went down and faced off. The Kumo Team were very at ease, which put the Iwa team on edge. Kankuro saw they were both ready and started the match.

“Fourth Match between Iwa and Kumo; Hajime.”

Itachi closed his eyes and much to the shock of everyone present, storm clouds materialised out of no where and began rumbling angrily. The fact that storm clouds were a rare commodity in the Wind Country in the first place was strange enough, but normally you could see those coming days away. The fact that these had appeared instantly made everyone feel on edge. Itachi looked at one of the Iwa Nins and glared.

“Hitotsu.”

Everyone's eyes widened and then snapped shut as a bolt of lightning came down from the swirling clouds and directly struck the Iwa Nin Itachi had glared at. The boom of the thunder was deafening, and when it was over, everyone saw that the sand in a 10 metre radius around the Iwa Nin had been completely cauterised, making instant glass. The Iwa Nin slumped to the ground much to the horror of his team mates. Itachi turned to the next one.

“Futatsu.”

Another lightning bolt struck true and created a mirror image of the first Nin, who was still gob smacked at the `lucky' shot that had hit their team mate. The final one knew now that this had nothing to do with luck. He shook violently as he looked at Itachi in fear.

“What are you?”

Itachi had clearly had to deal with this a lot.

“I'm not a god, I'm not a demon. I'm just a guy who has an inhuman affinity for lightning. Now-“

The Iwa Nins eye's widened as Itachi glared at him and gave a knee jerk response.

“I forfeit!”

Kankuro nodded and sighed. That lightning had been damn loud. He'd only just been able to hear the Iwa Nin.

“Shousha; Kumo.”

People were still trying to recover from the display of absolute mastery over lightning to even hear Kankuro. People were aware of Kankuro looking back up at the contestant box.

“Konoha and Ame, you're up.”

Both teams stepped into the arena and looked at each other, trying to make the other buckle before starting. Neither side backed down so Kankuro started the match.

“First Semi Final between Konoha and Ame; Hajime.”

All three of the Konoha Nins had noticed that the Ame Nins were not actually in front of them. They had substituted themselves with Mizu Bunshins at some point. These Mizu Bunshins seemed to be able to perform simple jutsus separately, or together, perform a moderately difficult jutsu which was a commendable feat. All three of them made the same hand seals.

“Ame no Jutsu…”

Rain Technique? True enough, the thunder clouds overhead had not entirely dissipated yet and they unloaded the rain on the arena. The clones seemed to use up the chakra holding them together to perform the jutsu and fell to the ground in a heap of water. However, from the short amount of rain, over 100 Mizu Bunshins formed. Shikamaru sighed.

“This is really troublesome…”

Naruto smiled and held his palm out.

“Raiton: Rensa Raikou.”

A single bolt of lightning shot out of Naruto's hand and sprang at the nearest clone. It hit, electrocuted him, and passed onto the next one. This process repeated for all the clones in the space of less than half a second. Naruto let the jutsu go and smiled as the Bunshins exploded, the water still holding the last of the electrical charge from the jutsu. Naruto could feel chakra coming out from underground and attempting another Mizu Bunshin group. He let them and smiled at them.

“War of attrition, huh?”

The Ame Nins smirked and threw fake kunai at Naruto's team who were more intent on watching where the real ones came from. Naruto jumped to the back of the arena with Shikamaru and Chouji. Naruto smiled as he bit his thumb and formed the hand seals.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

They disappeared in a cloud of smoke and when it cleared, there was a rather large toad with a katana strapped to his back. He looked up at Naruto.

“Haven't seen you in a while, Naruto.”

Naruto smiled lazily.

“2 and a half years. Let's start from where we left off.”

The toad nodded and his cheeks swelled with oil while Naruto performed three hand seals. The toad spat the stream of oil out and Naruto announced his jutsu.

“Katon: Gamayu Endan!”

The stream of fire hit the oil and lit the stadium up in a ball of fire that made everyone wince and try to shield themselves from the insane amount of heat it generated. The toad stopped the oil and Naruto stoped the fire. The arena now sported a rather scorched look, as did the far wall. Naruto had been thankful he'd chosen the side with the contestant box closest to him, otherwise he might have fried the others. Shikamaru's eyes opened as he made the rat seal.

“Kage Nui no Jutsu!”

Shikamaru's shadow extended and divided into three parts which formed spear heads as they raced through the air and impaled a particular spot on the ground. Chouji smiled as he jumped off the toad and formed a hand seal.

“Chou Baika no Jutsu!”

Chouji grew and was soon standing over the stadium. He punched the ground, shattering it and ripping it asunder to reveal the Ame Nins with the shadowy tendrils hovering a few feet from each of their faces. Naruto smiled lazily at them.

“A war of attrition against a team that mainly specialises in sheer stamina and power is not a good idea. No matter how many times you recreated the Bunshins, you would have ended up using all of your chakra well before we did. The same jutsu won't work twice on us. Use them carefully or they'll be used against you.”

Kankuro nodded and pointed to the three Konoha Nins.

“Shousha: Konoha.”

The crowd went wild as Naruto thanked the toad and dismissed it. Shikamaru released the Kage Nui no Jutsu and Chouji returned to normal size. They left the arena and went back up to the box to wait for the finals. It seems that the Kiri Team had their wounds healed and given some solider and blood pills to replenish their blood and chakra supplies. Kankuro looked up at them.

“Kiri and Kumo, get down here.”

Both teams walked down the stairs and faced each other. Kankuro looked at each team and nodded.

“Second Semi Finals between Kiri and Kumo; Hajime.”

Both of Itachi's team mates disappeared as soon as the word was given and so did their Kiri counterparts, leaving the two captains there, goading the other to do something. There were clashes of steel through out the arena and still the captains stood there. Itachi smiled and drew his katana slowly while the Kiri Nin withdrew his kodachi. Itachi held his katana up in the air and chakra began surging up into the sword. However, the chakra looked, sounded and even felt like lightning, if the hairs on the back of the Kiri Taichou's neck had anything to say about it. The Kiri Nin charged forward and Itachi brought the katana down in a sweeping motion, letting some of the lightning chakra surge out of the sword and race across the ground leaving a trail in its' wake. The Kiri Nin smiled as he dodged with ease only too see the lightning turn around and head back at him. His eyes bulged. That shouldn't be possible! Itachi took this opportunity of the slight distraction and launched another one at the Kiri Nin, who again dodged. This one came back around and trailed after him as well. Itachi released two more and then flickered away to the other side of the field just before the Kiri Nin reached him. The Kiri Taichou now had his hands full dodging all four homing chakra attacks while Itachi looked at him in a rather amused manner. Kiri had the wost luck matching up with his team. They couldn't use any of their Suiton Jutsus, or the Kumo would just strike them with lightning and end up getting themselves fried. Itachi smiled as one of the Kiri Nins howled in pain and Itachi could feel one of his team mates using an unnamed Raiton Jutsu to fry his opponent who had obviously left an opening in his defence. Itachi smirked as he felt the other Kiri Nin behind him with a kunai in his hand aiming to plunge it into the back of Itachi's neck. The one who had just finished frying his opponent and flickered in between his captain and the Kiri Nin and smiled before giving him an electrically charged poke, which made the Kiri Nins' muscles contract involuntarily. Itachi turned around and gave the Kiri Nin an electrically charged palm to the chest, causing his heart to convulse just badly enough to render him unconscious, but kill him if he didn't receive medical treatment within 30 minutes. Itachi closed his eyes and lowered his head, forming a small smile.

“Arigato, Satoshi.”

“No problems, Itachi.”

Itachi looked to see that his chakra attacks were losing their power and he charged in their with his katana in a ready position and disappeared before reappearing behind the Kiri Nin who had just landed with the katana dangerously close to his neck. The Kirin Nin froze as Itachi let the waves of electrical chakra fly off in random directions and hit the walls, doing nothing but scorching them. Satoshi had already gone to help his team mate take care of the last one and Kinsuke chopped the back of his neck, making the Kirin Nin fall to the ground and start flailing around like he had no control over his body. Kinsuke smirked.

“No control, right? That jutsu confused your nervous system. You won't be moving normally for several hours.”

Kankuro sighed. He'd suspected it'd be Konoha and Kumo in the finals.

“Shousha; Kumo.”

The crowd cheered as Itachi looked up at Naruto.

“It's time, Naruto.”

Itachi looked at Kankuro.

“No rules except listen to when you call the match right?”

Kankuro nodded slowly and Itachi turned to his team mates.

“Kinsuke, Satoshi. Both of you go back up to the box. Anyone else who is in this fight will be caught in the crossfire and die, whether they're an ally or not.”

Naruto nodded in agreement. He turned to Shikamaru and Chouji.

“Same goes for you two. This is going to be big…”

Shikamaru sighed.

“Mendokusei…”

Chouji smiled and patted Naruto on the back.

“Good luck, Naruto.”

Naruto smiled lazily at Chouji.

“Thanks, Chouji.”

Naruto looked at Kurenai in a very serious manner.

“I'm not going all out, but I'm going close to it. I will win.”

Kurenai nodded slowly. She could tell Naruto had not meant the battle, he'd meant their bet. Kurenai would have given him a kiss if it weren't for all the others around. Instead, she just hugged him.

“Try not to destroy Suna by accident, ok?”

The other Jounin's eyes widened at this and Naruto smiled lazily.

“No one's going to die. Promise.”

Kurenai nodded and released him and Naruto walked down to the stadium. Kankuro sighed. As soon as he announced this match, he was going back up to the Kage box. He'd heard of what both of these guys were capable of, and he frankly didn't want to be anywhere near them when they clashed.

“Finals between Konoha and Kumo; Hajime.”

The crowd roared as Naruto smiled and jumped back while Kankuro reappeared up at the Kage box.

“If we go anywhere near all out, this city and possibly the country won't be anything but rubble. We need limiters.”

The crowd went silent as they tried to comprehend this. Itachi sighed.

“You're right. 5 Gates?”

Naruto nodded.

“And three tails.”

Itachi nodded. Everyone had understood the 5 gates limiter, but what was the three tails limiter? Up in the Kage box, Gaara smiled.

“Three tails… That's three times as much power as I can use at my best.”

The Kages and Jounin Oyabuns looked at Gaara in shock. Everyone turned back to the arena as Naruto and Itachi began channelling their normal chakra. Stones lifted off the ground and the air began crackling with raw energy. To everyone else, it felt like the gravity of the air around them had increased two fold. Both Itachi and Naruto looked completely composed before they charged at each other, starting their jutsus.

“Raiton: Rairyu no Tatsumaki!”

“Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!”

The dragon made of lightning and the dragon made of fire leapt forward and collided with each other, making a massive explosion of fire laced with lightning while they both drew their katanas and collided, sending sparks out. Both of them struggled against each other before separating. Naruto sheathed his katana as did Itachi and they began making hand seals.

“Doton: Yomi Numa!”

“Fuuton: Daitoppa!”

The ground underneath them turned into a thick red sludge while Itachi blew a massive gust of wind at Naruto who formed a half ram seal.

“Ninpou: Hari Jizou!”

Naruto's hair exploded out and surrounded him in a case of spikes just as the wind hit him. The wind didn't even ruffle his chakra laden hair and when the jutsu died down, Naruto released the jutsu to see Itachi about to release a bolt of thunder at him. Naruto pulled out a scroll and formed a few seals before slamming it into the ground.

“Ninpou Kuchiyose: Hiraishin Kunai no Fubiki!”

Itachi's eyes widened as the scroll exploded and the three pronged kunai flew in every direction, littering the arena with them. During his time with Jiraiya, Naruto had learnt to go to the kunai at will, as long as they had been `thrown' sometime recently. He had also learnt that he could throw multiple ones and go between them at will. Naruto just dodged the lightning bolt and reappeared somewhere else in the arena in a stream of yellow light.

“That wouldn't happen to be the Hiraishin, would it?”

Naruto nodded.

“Yeah, it was. Itachi, let's stop with these academy jutsus and start getting serious.”

Everyone's jaws hit the ground at the same time. Those Jutsus were academy jutsus? They seriously had to get their training where these guys went. Itachi laughed well naturedly.

“I was about to suggest that as well. Next five minutes pure Kenjutsu.”

Both of them readied their katanas and charged each other. Their katanas met in a shower of sparks before they separated and came back, dancing around the arena in a breathtaking display of skill. Sparks soon turned to chakra infused light from the mixture of lightning and fire demonic chakra from the pure power put into each attack. After about 4 and a half minutes, they both forced abhorrent amounts of demonic chakra into their blades. Naruto and Itachi announced their Kenjutus.

“Tohitotsu no Mai: Tenbatsu no Mai!”

“Raiton Hijutsu: Raijin no Rihi!”

Naruto's sword flashed white and yellow as he charged forward while Itachi pointed his katana at Naruto. A lightning bolt the likes of which no one had ever seen up close roared down from the sky and slammed into the ground where Naruto was. Everyone covered their ears and eyes from the pain overload to the sensory perception only to open them again to see Naruto unleashing a savage combo on Itachi. Red chakra poured from the sword with every swing. Itachi only just managed to block them when Naruto jumped into the air and brought his sword down in what appeared to be an ultimate beheading slice. Itachi dodged the last blow and the ground under Naruto's sword caved in from the force, creating a 20 metre deep crater. Naruto jumped out of it just as Itachi brought his katana in a large sweeping strike, making the crater deeper. Naruto charged forward and aimed a low sweep at Itachi's legs, making him jump into the air to avoid it. Naruto smiled mentally as he pumped demonic chakra into his blade.

“Tofutatsu no Mai: Hiraishin no Mai!”

Naruto span the katana around and then pointed it at Itachi, before the sword was surrounded in smoke and eleven identical swords appeared, surrounding Itachi. Naruto had the seal usually reserved for the Hiraishin kunai carved onto the hilt of his katana, so it was mirrored on the clones. Naruto warped to the first one, grabbed it and flashed to the one opposite him, making a slice across Itachi's leg. Once he had the next sword, Naruto flashed to the right and grabbed the next one, making another sweep across Itachi's arm. Naruto continued to grab the swords and cut Itachi in numerous places before grabbing the final sword above him and aiming straight for the ground, making a deep gash in Itachi's midsection as he let go of the sword and landed, catching the real sword while the others fell around him and poofed out of existence. Itachi fell to the ground in an unceremonious heap and groaned as blood flowed freely from him. Kankuro came back down to the field and was about to check on Itachi when Naruto looked at him in a very annoyed manner.

“This is far from over.”

Kankuro looked at Naruto in shock and felt Itachi's demonic chakra surge out of him, closing the wounds so fast the eye could see them and replenishing his lost blood. Itachi smiled as he stood. Itachi's demonic blue chakra finished healing him and he looked up at Naruto.

“Damn that hurt. You weren't even cutting deeply, were you?”

Naruto smiled lazily.

“Nope.”

Itachi sighed as both of them put their katanas away.

“Gates.”

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, as did Itachi. They were surrounded by demonic chakra infused wind. Both of them shuddered under the massive stress this was putting on their bodies as they opened the second gate. Their skin changed to an ochre red colour that all things of nature take on when they were subjected to extreme stress as a way of attempting to deal with itand they prepared to open the next gate.

“THIRD GATE, LIFE GATE… KAI!”

Their waves of demonic chakra were being so forcefully ejected from their bodies that everyone was having to shield their eyes from it. Their veins close to their skin strained against the skin from the massively increased rate of blood flow through out their systems. Both of them crouched down from the effort it was taking to open the next gate.

“FOURTH GATE, THE WOUND GATE… KAI!”

Both boys let out an inhumane howl as they charged each other, moving so fast they left a distinct whistling in the air and a massive trail of dust behind them. The met in the middle and aimed a savage combo at each other. They traded blows before disappearing and reappearing in the air, exchanging another lot of blows before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else and repeating the process. People in thr crowdhad long ago given up trying to watch the boys movment and instead settled forlooking at the massive number of impact craters made when they landed.Finally, the massive energy boost from the gates started wearing off as both boys' muscles ripped from the stress placed on them. They went for one `final' attack. Itachi aimed a punch at Naruto who just dodged and punched Itachi towards the ground, before using the medical tape on his arm to catch him and pull him back for the final blow. Naruto slammed his fist and foot into Itachi and sent both of them plummeting to the ground.

“URA RENGE!”

The dust and debris from the impact flew out of the stadium like someone had set off a bomb. Everyone took cover and when they thought it had settled down,warily looked back from whatever cover they could find to see Itachi laying at an extremely unhealthy angle while Naruto was laying motionless on the ground. Naruto was only just conscious as he thought it was ironic that the only reason he'd gotten the `last' move was because of relying on another's power instead of his own. Kankuro was about to go down again and announce the match when Gaara stopped him.

“They still have one more stage to fight with. The tails.”

“But Gaara, Itachi's neck is broken and Naruto's muscles are ripped to shreds!”

Gaara looked at Kankuro evenly.

“Watch.”

Kankuro nodded and sure enough, chakra began leaking out of both of them. However, this chakra was not normal. Their ripped muscles and broken bones healed almost instantly as they stood. Their features had changed. Naruto's eyes had turned blood red while Itachi's normally emerald eyes had turned electric blue. Both of their pupils had become slits while their hair had become unruly, their canines lengthened and their nails grew. The storm clouds overhead struck Itachi with multiple bolts of lightning while Naruto's chakra bubbled out of his stomach. Both of them screamed in pain as their respective auras overtook them. They lowered themselves onto all fours and snarled at each other. Their chakra armours grew a second tail and then finally a third as they literally flew at each other and exchanged blows that put the ones they used when they opened the gates to shame. However, unlike with the gates, the moves this time were completely different. When they attacked with the gates open, their moved had been very human. However, there was no telling their fighting styles now from a savage beasts'. Their chakra armours seemed to have a mind of their own, subtly changing their course from around the owners' hands to take a swipe at the other if they had missed. Every now and then, they would jump back and trade nameless bursts of chakra usually calledjutsus. Naruto would bring his hand down in a sweep and his chakra arm would extend and chase after Itachi, who would just look at Naruto and lightning would strike him. Naruto just threw this off like it was nothing and they both continued fighting. Needless to say, by now the arena was lucky to still be standing. Both of them looked at the other. Their chakra armours were exceeding the demonic regeneration rate. They had to finish this now.

“We have to finish this or we'll die. One last move to decide everything.”

Itachi nodded in agreement and concentrated as his body began to crackle with electricity which concentrated into his palm. Naruto held out his right hand and a giant ball of Kyuubi chakra appeared on it and took the form of his most powerful close range jutsu.

“Odama Rasengan.”

“Dai Raikiri”

Naruto smiled ferally. Having the demon whose powers over lightning were second only to Raidon-Sama, the god of lightning, he naturally would have heard of Kakashi's Raikiri and quickly figured it out for himself, especially with the help of the Rokubi's inhumane chakra control and lightning affinity. They flew at each other and smashed the jutsus together, making their aura's fly out from the meeting points of the jutsus. The chakras quickly entwined and formed a hideous purple colour which thickened before wrapping them in a ball of chakra that rippled constantly like the surface of a pond when small stones were dropped in at random points. The ball expanded almost to the size of the arena before the rippling stopped and the surface became perfectly smooth. The centre of the ball flashed white before an intricate pattern of white lines worked their way out from the centre and the whole ball turned white. The ball dissipated slowly and the two combatants fell to the floor. Both of them managed to raise their heads just enough to stare at the other. Naruto smiled weakly.

“I haven't had a good fight… Like that in over 2 years…”

Itachi smirked.

“I've never had a fight like that… You look pretty banged up there…”

Naruto smirked as well.

“Speak for yourself…”

Itachi sighed.

“Uzumaki Naruto… You'll go far…”

“So will you, Unryu Itachi…”

Itachi smiled weakly.

“Uzumaki Naruto… Good match…”

Naruto nodded in agreement and they both slumped to the ground, unconscious. Gaara nodded and Kankuro flickered down to the field and confirmed they were both unconscious. Kankuro looked at the state of the stadium.

`This is going to take one hell of a lot to fix up…'

Kankuro turned to the crowd.

“Both teams are unable to continue, meaning that the Jounin Exam Finals have ended in a draw.”

No one said a word. They were still thinking that both boys were going to come back from death like before and start fighting again, however, they didn't. As soon as the match was declared, both Kurenai and the Kumo Jounin Sensei appeared next to their students and picked them up. Kankuro looked at them.

“The medics will take care of them.”

Kurenai shook her head.

“They'll recover on their own by tomorrow.”

Kurenai turned to the Kumo Jounin.

“It's been a while since I've seen Naruto so happy in a fight.”

He nodded.

“Itachi hasn't taken any fights seriously until this one. Naruto is something else…”

Kurenai smiled.

“So is Itachi. It's amazing anyone can still be sane with a past like theirs.”

The Kumo captain nodded in agreement as they flickered back up to their teams with their team captains. Kurenai was doing her best to hold in her tears of joy. Naruto had promised her he'd come back alive and as a Jounin. He'd completed the first part of the promise, and the result of the second part was only a matter of hours away.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&a mp;&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&a mp;&&

A/N: Wootage! I loved the final fight scene! I put a small tribute to Final Fantasy Seven in here, because even to this day, I still love the game and play it every now and again. Also, I got my 100,000th word this chapter, making me the only authoron Fan Fiction or Media Miner to have aone hundred thousand word NaruxKure fic!Huzzah!

Translations:

Ame: Rain.

Taki: Falls.

Magen: YomiSemuku: Juugai no Jutsu: Demonic Illusion: Underworld Tourture: Level Twenty Teachnique.

Ryuusa Bakuryuu: Desert Avalanche

Hitotsu: First.

Futatsu: Second.

Raiton: Rensa Raikou: Chain Lightning.

Kage Nui no Jutsu: Shadow Sewing Technique.

Tohitotsu no Mai: Tenbatsu no Mai: Dance of the Eleventh: Dance of Heavenly Judgment.

Raiton Hijutsu: Raijin no Rihi: Lightning Type Secret Teqchnique: Wrath of Raijin.

Tofutatsu no Mai: Hiraishin no Mai: Dance of the Twelfth: Dance of the Hiraishin.

Dai Rakiri: Great Lightning Edge.

Oh, and btw, this is the final chapter for this part of the story. Next one will probably be called something like'Rubies & Sapphires Book 2' until I can think of a better name for it. Oh, and this is the last chapter for this book. The story continues in the next part; Book 2: Onyx & Citrine which is now up. Check my profile for it. If you have questions on this part, ask them in a review for the next book, or in a review for the last one if Book 2 is completed when you ask the question.

Ja na,

Specula.