Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Chunin ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the moment many of you have been waiting for all day has arrived. The next match: Temari of the Sand vs. Neji Hyuga.

 

---

 

“That boy has the most intense look I've ever seen in my life, Baki.”

 

Baki grinned. “This one is more typical of the Hyuga Clan than that girl you just saw. Her style differs a lot from the rest of the clan but this guy is straight up power and speed. And Temari is all about precision and control. This will be one for the record books.”

 

---

 

Asuma took a glance up at Hiashi in his seat. He had that same somewhat intense but still slightly disinterested look as always. But Asuma could tell he wanted Neji to win so badly that he could practically taste it.

 

“That man's a fool,” he said to Kurenai who had just joined him. “I mean, he does love those three kids, anyone can see that. But he manages to make all of them feel isolated too. He'll show love but then it's all `Neji, you're branch', `Hinata, you're weak', `Hanabi, you're tough but you'll end up branch some day so you aren't worth my time'.”

 

“His version of tough love I guess,” she replied. “Crock of shit if you ask me.”

 

“Those three kids bring something magnificent to the table as fighters and as human beings,” he grumbled. “I'd give anything to have kids like that and I sure as hell wouldn't take them for granted.”

 

“Well if you want kids so badly…”

 

“Shh…”

 

Kurenai laughed. “OK, I'll behave. I imagine Temari probably had it even worse. The Fourth Kazekage had a reputation as being the worst parent who ever lived.”

 

Asuma lit a cigarette and sighed sadly. “You know, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I had a good dad but we were too busy sweating the small stuff all those years to see the real value in each other. Well, let's see if I fare better as a sensei than as a son.”

 

---

 

Neji walked onto the field with his face set like iron. It wasn't all the eyes on him, not even the all-important eyes of his uncle that mattered. It was the two eyes that weren't there that mattered most. Naruto.

 

One thing among many that he'd learned about himself from Naruto was that he too was desperately seeking recognition. This was ironic, him being the best Genin in the village but he'd spent his life overcompensating for the situation he'd been born into. This realization had improved his friendship with Lee dramatically. Now he was going to put that desire aside. He was going to fight like a champion and recognize himself.

 

---

 

They both headed for the center. If Temari had anything in particular on her mind she sure didn't show it. She'd almost always kept a very casual attitude about fighting. She had a great deal of self-confidence and believed in her heart of hearts that the judges would have to be blind not to realize that she was Chunin level already. And Neji was a close distance fighter which gave her the advantage. So she didn't seem particularly interested. She was even chewing gum.

 

“I might be more likely to stop this one,” warned Shikamaru. “You two use some pretty deadly techniques. Are you both ready?” They nodded. “FIGHT!”

 

At once Temari leaped back trying to put distance between herself and Neji. She looked surprised to see that he'd stayed still and let her do so. He merely took up his normal fighting pose and waited for her to make a move.

 

“What's he up to?” she wondered. “He can't possibly hit me from that distance.”

 

She opened up her fan and let loose a damaging, chakra-packed blast of wind. Neji turned his palms perpendicular and…

 

WHOOSH!

 

Asuma had to smile now. Neji had actually cut the wind in half with his elemental chakra. Temari was impressed but not the least bit phased. She leaned back and sent off another gust. Neji did the same thing but this time she kept control of some of it after he made the cut. She sent it back in his direction.

 

“Heavenly Spin!”

 

“Interesting technique,” remarked Temari. “You know, maybe I should try something like that.” She threw herself into a rotation of her own sending damaging chakra in all directions. Neji was impressed at her technique. She had never tried it before but she was doing it perfectly. She even moved her head the same way ice skaters and dancers do to keep from getting dizzy. It had taken him three months to perfect that. He countered with Empty Palm but it was not enough to return the blast to its source. She repeated this attack three more times from slightly different positions but it was no good.

 

“Stalemate,” she muttered. “I'll never get him this way.”

 

Neji didn't give her much time to think. He was good at reading people's faces and he could tell she was trying to size him up and strategize. He tossed some shuriken forcing her to deflect. And while she was occupied with that, he managed to close the distance between them before she noticed. She sent several wind blasts his way in an effort to drive him back. It was a failed effort but it prevented him from getting closer.

 

“Ow.”

 

Temari put her hand on her leg and it came back bloody. For the first time noticed that the shuriken attack had not been completely unsuccessful. She had a gash on her thigh. It wasn't at all serious but she didn't waste one moment to take advantage of the situation. Before Neji realized what she was up to, she smeared the blood from her hand onto her fan and swung it.

 

“Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance!”

 

Kamatari the weasel appeared riding an air current. It flew at Neji at a speed that could literally be considered blinding. For anyone else, that move may well have been deadly. The weasel carried a scythe blade and moved too quickly for the human eye to pick up. A Sharingan would be able to track it but surely not a Byakugan?

 

Neji couldn't see the weasel itself but no matter where it moved it left a chakra trail. With Neji having 360 degrees of vision, it could not conceal its presence and when it tried to attack, it was easily blocked.

 

“Damn!” growled Temari angrily. She'd just wasted a major trump card. She watched in dismay as Kamatari was struck in the leg with Gentle Fist on its second attempt. It got frustrated and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 

The realization was starting to set in that she was more helpless to attack than he was. Try as she might, there just wasn't any possible way to hit him from a distance. But with those eyes and deadly taijutsu of his, getting close and landing a blow seemed impossible.

 

But if he couldn't see…

 

“Dust Wind Technique!”

 

Neji didn't lose his balance but his hands went to his eyes at once. It was now or never. Temari closed her fan, sprinted towards Neji, and prepared to use it as a club.

 

“Gentle Fist!”

 

Temari's blow had missed his head and struck his shoulder. He had deflected it with one arm and nailed her in the gut with the other. She fell to her knees and coughed up blood. She was certain that she'd fractured his collar bone but she was in far worse shape. How on earth had he seen her coming?

 

She looked up and saw a curious thing. Neji had pulled his headband down over his eyes to protect them from the dust. Temari hadn't realized that he could see right through objects including the headband. Had she known more about the Byakugan, she wouldn't have made such a move.

 

“Shikamaru, I give,” she said.

 

“Winner: Neji.”

 

Neji fell to his knees in pain. A busted collar bone is no laughing matter. The medics easily healed Temari on the spot, but Neji would need X-rays before they could even begin. They'd have to work fast. Being the winner, he was due to fight again that day.

 

---

 

“Baki, we insist on a collaboration,” said one of the investors with a smile.

 

“A collaboration?”

 

“We want all four of those kids working on this matter. Can it possibly be arranged? Or is it out of the question?”

 

“I think I can make it happen if both villages agree on a price and split the proceeds evenly,” replied Baki.

 

“Consider yourself hired.”

 

Baki grinned. “Best of both worlds I guess. Should make for an interesting mission. Are you gentlemen going to stick around for the rest of the tournament?”

 

The investors nodded. “Remember, we still haven't seen Gaara fight. If he's better than them maybe we'll pay a little extra to hire him too.”

 

---

 

Neji winced in pain as the medics worked to heal the bone. They'd had to cut his shoulder open with a Chakra scalpel. They weren't as experienced as Shizune so their efforts at an anesthetic jutsu had not been completely successful. Now they were jamming actual calcium into the incision after having set the bone. The calcium bonded easily and the bone knitted. They used Healing Jutsu to regenerate everything they'd cut open and then finally undid the half-assed anesthetic.

 

“How does it feel?” one of the asked.

 

“Sore,” he admitted. He dropped down to do a couple push-ups. “Well, no sharp pain from that. Still sore though. Figure we should ice it?”

 

“I wouldn't,” replied the medic. “You want it to stay loose. You have to fight again, remember?”

 

“Yeah, good idea. Come in, Hinata.”

 

Hinata walked into the examining room. “I didn't realize you knew I was out in the hall,” she said.

 

“I can see through walls,” he replied. “What's up?” Hinata didn't answer right away. “Oh, I get it. Hey, um… medics? Think you could step out for a minute so I can talk to my cousin?”

 

“Sure thing.”

 

“OK Hinata, what's up?”

 

“Neji, you don't still hate me, do you?”

 

“Of course not,” he replied. “I was wrong in the first place to feel like that. The main family was not at fault and you certainly weren't the pampered brat that I thought you were. I suppose we should have sat down and talked about this but I was embarrassed and ashamed.”

 

“So was I,” said Hinata.

 

“I'll bet I know why you're bringing this up now,” said Neji. “You know you're in the Semifinals no matter what because Choji dropped out and you know I might be your opponent.” Hinata nodded weakly. “It won't be like last time. For one thing, you've narrowed the gap between us. Frankly I'm not completely sure I'll win. For another, really, truly, honestly, I don't hate you. As Naruto would say: believe it!”

 

---

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have for you the last match of the First Round. Nobuo of the Hidden Waterfall Village vs. Sakura Haruno of the Leaf.”

 

Kakashi walked down to the first row and sat next to Kurenai and Asuma. “Well, this is it. The only one of my original students that I have left.”

 

“Mind if I join you three?”

 

They looked up and to their shock it was Tsunade herself.

 

“Lady Hokage, shouldn't you be in your box seat?” asked Kurenai?

 

“And wearing the Hokage uniform?” added Asuma.

 

“I was freezing in that thing,” she replied. “You can't wear winter clothes underneath it. Just not enough room. And the view is better down here anyway.”

 

“Yes,” said Kakashi. “I guess you and I came down here for the same reason. You know, I'm starting to understand how Iruka felt. You work with someone for a long time, next thing you know, they're someone else's pupil.”

 

“Aww… are we feeling left out?” asked Tsunade in somewhat mocking yet somewhat sympathetic manner. “If it's any consolation I couldn't have gotten anywhere with her if she hadn't had such a good Jonin instructor.”

 

“If that's supposed to be flattery, you suck at it,” replied Kakashi gloomily.

 

---

 

Sakura and Nobuo walked onto the field. Sakura had an uncomfortable feeling about Nobuo. She couldn't see his face and that bothered her. His entire head was covered in a ninja mask and his eyes were covered by a tinted visor. He carried a sword on his back and several summoning scrolls around his waist. She pulled on her new gloves she'd just bought at Ino's suggestion and fastened her shuriken pouch.

 

Shikamaru directed the two towards the center. “Since I can't see your eyes, if you go down for more than few seconds, I have to assume you're unconscious,” he said to Nobuo. The boy did not reply and Shikamaru didn't wait. “FIGHT!”

 

Nobuo wasted no time drawing his sword and attacking Sakura. She dodged him once, twice, and on the third time she caught the blade between her palms and didn't let go. Try as he might, Nobuo could not pry the sword loose from her grasp. Sakura was just too strong.

 

To Sakura's and everyone else's amazement, he smacked his own blade and broke it. At once, Sakura had to let go and jump back. The blade had a concealed vein of poison gas running through the middle of it. But that wasn't what surprised Sakura the most. What surprised her was that she could have sworn she'd seen his hand turn black before he struck the blade. What no one, not even Nobuo himself, was aware of was that he was the great-grandson of Kakazu. Had it been known, he might have been shunned in his village and possibly not allowed to become a ninja.

 

The poison had not worked. Sakura had not inhaled any and the quantity had been too small to be effective as a weapon. Sakura charged her fist with Chakra and lunged at Nobuo. To her shock, he blocked her easily with one hand. No doubt about it this time, his hand was black and not only that, it had turned harder than a diamond. He reached to his belt and pulled out one of the six scrolls he'd been carrying and opened it. His hand returned to a normal color. He pricked his thumb on a shard of the broken sword and applied the blood to the scroll.

 

All at once, six crocodiles wearing blue vests with the Waterfall symbol on the back appeared. For the first time that day, Shikamaru retreated to a safe distance. The crocodiles growled angrily.

 

One of them looked around. “What the heck? Winter? We're cold-blooded, dammit!”

 

“Master Nobuo, you haven't fed us in a while,” another said. “There are laws against the neglect of animals, you know.”

 

For the first time he spoke and his voice was very gruff. “Reptiles don't need to eat as often as mammals.” They growled in response. “You want a meal, do you? Well there's one right in front of you. That girl.”

 

Sakura was royally freaked out. “Had to be crocodiles,” she muttered. “Not even alligators but actual crocodiles. Meanest reptiles out there.”

 

The crocodiles glanced at her. “This girl is not enough of a meal for us. Too boney Hardly any meat on her.”

 

Sakura was irate. “Hey I am so meaty… Wait, what am I saying? Shut up Sakura! Just shut up!”

 

They looked over at Shikamaru. “Now if we could eat him too that might be enough to fill us up.”

 

At this, Shikamaru backed up even further.

 

“Forget about that for now,” replied Nobuo. “Get her!” The largest of them lunged only to get its skull fractured by Sakura. It was dead. “Hmmm… she's tougher than she looks. Perhaps I'll give you boys an advantage.” He opened the second of his scrolls. At once, a massive quantity of water emerged. Within seconds, the field was submerged underneath ten feet of water. Shikamaru had to climb up one of the walls. Sakura tried to rise to the surface and walk on the water but to her horror found that she could not. He'd charged it with some odd polarity of his own that prevented it. Of course he had no trouble standing on it himself.

 

“Thank goodness Asuma Sensei had us swim so much,” she thought to herself. At once she activated the Chakra Scalpel and submerged. Crocodiles are fast swimmers. They can roll quickly and the muscles used to shut their jaws are very powerful. However, they have their vulnerabilities as well. The muscles used to open their jaws are weak. Their bellies are not particularly well armored either. Sakura used these weaknesses to her advantage. The first one to attack her found its jaw held shut between her legs. While she was restraining him, two more attacked with jaws wide open. Before they had a chance to snap them shut she'd reached in and struck the back of their throats with Chakra Scalpel, killing them. Then she broke the neck of the one she was holding. That left two more.

 

“Oh well, more meat for us,” said one with a grin. They swam straight towards her but she easily dodged them. One, she sliced in the abdomen with Chakra Scalpel. Then she grabbed the other's tail with both hands. The surprised reptile found itself flung out of the water and into the stands. The crowd freaked out. Before the crocodile had a chance to do anything, it was surrounded and killed by ANBU in order to protect the spectators. This could not be construed as interference on their part.

 

Without a moment's hesitation, Nobuo opened another scroll and pointed it at the water. Sakura had picked that exact moment to jump out of the water and latch onto a wall. She'd seen the scroll and figured more crocodiles were coming. Wrong. A huge bolt of lightning emerged from the scroll and electrified the water. Nobuo chuckled to himself until he looked up and noticed that Sakura had escaped death. He tossed the scroll away in disappointment. The water began to disappear and in a matter of moments it was gone completely. The ground wasn't even muddy, just dry and cracked.

 

Sakura circulated as much Chakra through her body as she could to stay warm. The water had disappeared from her clothes as well but she was still cold. She guessed correctly that his scrolls were good only once. He went to open a fourth scroll and a massive blast of fire came forth. Sakura dodged it but once it hit the wall, the flames took the shape of horses. They charged after Sakura. In a blur of speed she appeared right in front of Nobuo.

 

“Won't work,” he said. “You won't get my own attack to hit me.”

 

“OK, then I'll just use my alternate plan,” she replied. And with that she hit him in the gut too fast for him to respond with his black hands. At once the horses disappeared. His justsu had been disrupted. Hitting someone didn't only work with genjutsu. Some ninjutsu could be stopped in the same manner. This one hadn't used a hand sign. It relied on a scroll and the concentration of the user.

 

Sakura pulled a kunai and moved in for the kill. She slashed his chest and his head. Nobuo managed to leap back to avoid a fatal blow. As he did, his mask came off. Sakura couldn't help but think he was the freakiest looking kid she'd ever seen. At his young age his hair was already gray. He had the same ugly eyes as Kakuzu and he looked like he hadn't seen a dentist in about ten years.

 

“I liked you better with your face covered,” mocked Sakura.

 

“Your whole body is about to be covered,” he replied. He pulled out yet another scroll and pointed it at the ground. A green pulse of energy emerged and struck the ground. At once, two figures emerged from the earth. They looked like men but the proportions weren't quite the same. “Meet the dirt ogres. They'll bury your boney ass alive.”

 

“OK, no more jokes about me being boney,” growled Sakura.

 

“Oh, but you get to joke about me being ugly?” replied Nobuo. “Gentlemen, crush this hypocrite for me, will you?”

 

They didn't need to be told twice. The two advanced on Sakura without hesitation. They were slow, but powerful. And when Sakura charged her fist and tried to hit one she was in for a shock. Her fist got stuck inside of it and she couldn't pull it free.

 

“Hey, let go of me, you big walking turd!” she hollered angrily.

 

“They only respond to me,” said Nobuo. “Finish her!”

 

The other ogre cocked back its arm to hit her. Sakura quickly discharged a massive amount of chakra that she'd been using to keep warm right through her caught fist. The ogre holding her turned to dust. Sakura jumped back to avoid the punch. She could see that Nobuo was already reaching for his last scroll and figured she'd better finish the other one fast. She reached into her pouch and pulled out an experiment she'd been working on. It was a kunai with a tag that would freeze an object. She tossed it at the other ogre and it struck it in the mid-section. The ogre froze in place. She punched it and reduced it to bits and pieces. The tag exploded letting loose Freon gas, forcing her to pack off. It still wasn't quite perfected yet.

 

Nobuo opened his last scroll. Sakura was too far away to hit him. She plowed her fist into the ground hoping to knock him over. She was concerned about the contents of that scroll. He'd been using various chakra element types and guessed correctly that this last one was wind. That concerned her. Unfortunately, all her punch had done was to create a massive crater and a massive cloud of dust. When the dust dissipated, he was still standing. He opened the scroll.

 

To everyone's amazement, when opened the scroll he pointed it upwards. An indescribable amount of wind shot straight up into the atmosphere. The day had been somewhat warm for winter but overcast. But now the clouds were blown away completely and the sun shined down on the stadium.

 

“Now you die,” said Nobuo. He made a bunch of rapid hand signs and the appearance of his hands changed once again. They became completely reflective. “This is my primary jutsu. I've only been toying with you up until now. Solar Death!”

 

At once, a concentrated beam of sunlight shone from one of his hands and seemed to burn Sakura alive. But something wasn't right. Too much flame. A human body isn't that flammable. It was a log. A substitution! She'd done it when she punched the ground and kicked up dust. The real Sakura came flying out of the ground below and hit him in several places with her Chakra Scalpel. He went down like a ton of bricks.

 

“Winner: Sakura!” announced Shikamaru.

 

Without hesitation, Sakura reversed the polarity of her palms and began healing the damage she'd just done.

 

“What do you think you're doing?” asked Nobuo. Sakura did not reply but kept at it. “Do you know how foolish you are? What if I was feeling vengeful? I could kill you right now.”

 

“So could I,” replied Sakura. “Now shut up and hold still or you really will die.”

 

She was joined momentarily by Shizune and several other medics. The crowd applauded Sakura's act of sportsmanship.

 

---

 

Tsuande grinned.

 

“Kakashi, no sucking up this time because I take credit for all of what just happened out there.”

 

“The credit goes to her,” he replied. “In only a few short months, she's gone from feeling useless to putting up a spectacular performance like that. Picking up on that much technique in such a short time is almost unheard of for any shinobi.”

 

“Can't disagree there,” said Tsunade. “Something in her eyes when she asked to be my apprentice told me she was this serious. Eyes never lie, Kakashi.”

 

---

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, you have just witnessed a spectacular first round of fighting. We ask that everyone please leave the stadium for the next three hours so that our groundskeepers and cleaning crews can do their jobs. You will find concession stands and portable toilets outside. When three hours time are up, we will begin the Quarterfinals. Please get your hands stamped for re-entry. Thank you!”

 

End Chapter 12

 

© 2009 Joseph Kerner

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto