2,157Chapter 35
Akiha felt a bit of sweat pouring down her face as she stood across from the other team. While still confident in their victory, as they did have all the odds stacked in their favor, she was a little worried now that she knew they were dealing with a jinchurikki. She'd never faced one before. She knew Utakata-sensei was a jinchurikki, but she'd never seen one in combat, and from what she'd been told, they were monsters on the battlefield.
Still, the Shukaku used sand, so this battle should be in their favor.
Akiha slid into a unorthodox fighting stance. While her feet were wide and her hands were raised in a guard, center of gravity lowered, she kept swaying from side to side, which caused her ponytail with the knife attached to the end to sway. Kiriha and Mozu were in a more traditional stance as they stood side by side.
"How do you want to do this?" asked Kiriha.
Akiha thought about it for a few seconds before quickly deciding what she wanted to do. "Our first priority is neutralizing the jinchurikki."
"Then we should use a combination jutsu?"
"I think so. If nothing else, we need to neutralize that sand. Let's use our sixth combination jutsu."
"Got it," Kiriha said. Mozu said nothing, but that was okay. He nodded to let them both know that he had heard them and was up for the task.
"Are both teams ready?" asked the proctor. Akiha couldn't say she knew this one, but Kirigakure did have a lot of jonin. She and her team nodded, as did the team from Suna, all except Gaara. "Then… fight!"
From the moment the proctor leapt back—no, even before then, Akiha, Kiriha, and Mozu had begun forming hand seals. They needed to do thirteen in total to complete their jutsu. What's more, they needed to be in perfect synch with each other. If they weren't, the jutsu they were hoping to use wouldn't work.
It was definitely a good thing they started once the battle had begun. A massive amount of sand, enough to build a giant wall, had sprung free from Gaara's gourd and was now traveling toward them at a speed that put most genin to shame. Akiha supposed that meant she should also be glad they weren't traditional genin.
"Combination jutsu: Water Rampart!"
After they finished forming their hand seals, the three of them released their technique, which took shape when the water before them swelled at an incredible rate. It grew much like a tidal wave that was going to sweep over a small village. Rising well over their heads and extending for several dozen meters in either direction before curving around to create a circle around them, the massive wall that was erected should have easily been able to block the sand.
Except it wasn't.
The sand climbed far higher than their wall could reach. It soared above their heads faster than any of them thought possible, and then when it reached a zenith, the sand came down as though to try and crush them.
"Now!" Akiha shouted at her two companions as she formed several hand seals. They also formed hand seals alongside her. Fortunately, there were only two needed this time.
"Combination Jutsu: Water Entrapment!"
All of the water that had rise up around them to form a wall suddenly curled at the top, moving inward as it stretched and elongated. It wasn't long before the water enclosed around them. It formed a dome. Outside of the dome, she could hear the sound of something splattering against their newly erected barrier, the sand no doubt. She looked up to see that the sand was indeed trying to penetrate her water dome.
Trying being the keyword. It pounded against the dome to little effect.
"Let's finish this jutsu." Putting her words into actions, Akiha began making more hand seals. Kiriha and Mozu did the same thing, making hand seals in synch with her.
"Combination Jutsu: Giant Water Dragon!"
The dome finally disappeared around them as all the water flew in toward a specific point like streamers on the wind. Now that the dome wasn't blocking her view, Akiha could see clearly the mass of sand that had tried to attack them. It was soaking wet now. That was good. It meant the sand would move much slower than normal.
After the water had gathered into one place, it finally began taking shape, shifting and morphing. A thick muzzle formed from one end, while the other part became elongated. Two thin arms jutted from either side of what now appeared to be a massive creature. They didn't look like much. The arms were small and stubby. However, the long, cylindrical body was easily five times thicker than the average human. This water dragon, which had been styled after the Water Dragon Jutsu, was much more massive than anything that could have been created by a single ninja.
Standing meters away were the three Suna genin. It didn't look like they were moving at all. No, in fact, if anything, Akiha thought that it looked like the three of them were arguing about something. Such a sight would have normally made her frown, but right then, it presented the perfect opportunity.
Akiha didn't hesitate to direct their combination jutsu to attack the three genin on the opposite side of the arena. Gaara was the first to notice. He tried to attack the jutsu with his sand, but sand stood no chance against water. Already soaking wet from having absorbed a lot of the water from their previous jutsu, it moved far too slowly to catch up.
"No good! Scatter!" the blonde girl shouted.
They really were unable to do anything else, and Gaara, the jinchurikki of the group, couldn't even do that much. Or perhaps it was a conscious decision. More sand was already pouring in front around him. It came from the islands located throughout the arena. All of that sand gathered in front of him and changed shape. No longer was it just a ball. It had taken the shape of a giant tanuki.
The water dragon slammed into the sand tanuki with the clear intent of completely overpowering it. An explosion of energy, sand, water, and wind shook the arena. Akiha covered her face with her hands as her hair billowed behind her like it was caught in a typhoon. Through the gap between her fingers, she stared at the tanuki and water dragon clashing.
She frowned.
That tanuki was created from sand, which had a clear disadvantage against water. When water mixed with sand it turned into mud, which was slow and couldn't be used as effectively in jutsu. Yet here, now, the tanuki that should have already become a puddle was standing strong against their combination jutsu.
Before she had time to ponder this further, a strange contraption with three eyes, four arms, and covered in a tattered cloak attacked her.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Naruto was intrigued by the sand tanuki that could stand toe-to-toe with a water dragon of such massive size. It wasn't like the tanuki wasn't taking damage. He could see where parts of the sand had turned to mud, but almost as quickly as the sand became wet, it dried off.
"That's some high-level wind manipulation." Akane was hugging him from behind, her arms around his waist and her chin resting on his shoulder. She, too, was observing the battlefield. "I don't think it's quite as good as yours, but it's still very impressive that a human can manipulate wind chakra to such a degree." She paused. "Even if that human is a jinchurikki."
Naruto nodded noncommittally as, down below, the water dragon began to lose steam. He found that odd at first. While jutsus like that tended to run out of chakra quickly, this one was a combination attack, so it should have had plenty of chakra to spare. However, he soon discovered the reason.
While everyone was focused on the battle between the giant tanuki and the water dragon, Temari and Kankuro had separated from Gaara and attacked the Kiri ninja from behind. Kankuro was using two puppets of some sort to attack Mozu and Akiha, while Temari had become embroiled in a battle with Kiriha.
No wonder the water dragon is losing strength. It doesn't have anyone who can feed it more chakra.
Jutsu normally went until either their chakra ran out, they struck their intended target, or someone canceled them out. Jutsu could be extended by feeding them chakra. That was probably their original plan. However, it looked like that plan was no longer in the cards now.
"I'm not sure I understand," Haku confessed. "What do you mean by wind manipulation?"
"Look at the tanuki." Akane removed one of her hands from around Naruto's waist and pointed at the giant sand statue. "If you look closely, you should be able to see the small distortions around it."
Being a wind user, one who had mastered manipulating wind without relying on jutsu, Naruto could see the distortions in the air that swirled around the tanuki. They were like tiny eddies formed from wind.
Haku squinted his eyes as though doing so would help. He frowned. Then, as if suddenly seeing what Akane was talking about, his eyes widened.
Akane grinned. "Do you see? Gaara didn't just create a tanuki. He's surrounded it with a thin layer of wind. I suppose you could call it wind armor, if you wanted. This layer of wind protects the tanuki from getting wet… well, mostly. That water dragon is no joke. It's seriously powerful, so the wind armor has been breached in some areas, but then Gaara can just direct more chakra there and dry the sand."
"I'm pretty sure Gaara had no idea he should do this at the beginning of the fight," Naruto added. "Otherwise his first attack wouldn't have been so pathetic. He probably came up with this on the fly after realizing that his normal methods of attack won't work. I'm kinda surprised. I thought the guy was just insane, but it looks like he has a strong grasp on tactics and chakra manipulation."
While they spoke, several others inched near them, no doubt wishing to gather whatever information they could about one of the opponents they may face in a future round. Even Sasuke was trying to read Naruto's mouth movements with his Sharingan.
Ho? This should be good.
A sudden thought occurred to him, and unbidden, a smile appeared on his face. He turned only his head to the others. It took everything he had not to grin.
"You know what else you can use wind manipulation for?" asked Naruto.
Haku blinked. "No. What?"
"Wind jobs."
"Wind… jobs?"
Catching on far more quickly than Haku, who just parroted the phrase, Akane grinned as she tightened her hold around Naruto.
"I like the way you think," she said. "It's true that it might be a great way to add more stimulation during sex. For example, if you were to use wind manipulation to play with my clit or nipples, it would add an extra dimension of pleasure."
"I've done something similar before," Naruto admitted. "However, that was when I used the first stage of the rasengan. You'll remember that one."
Akane shivered as though feeling the phantom pleasure all over again. "I do remember that one. I nearly came three times from just you fingering me. I must confess to being impressed. I'd have never thought to use a jutsu of that nature during sexual intercourse."
"And that is why I am this world's most unpredictable ninja."
As the two took their conversation in the complete opposite direction that everyone no doubt expected of them, the people around them all turned several shades of red. Even Samui, who was mostly impassive, began blushing hard. Of course, her reaction was absolutely nothing compared to Sakura and Karui's reaction. Those two had turned so red it was a wonder they didn't catch fire. Naruto might have even mistaken them for a fire jutsu if he didn't know any better.
"You two…" Haku muttered, his face only a little red. It seemed he was getting desensitized to their antics. "Must every conversation always end with sex?"
"Yes," Naruto and Akane said at the exact same time.
Haku facepalmed. "I shouldn't have even asked."
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
While the situation down below had turned against the Kirigakure ninja, Sarutobi found himself not quite as invested in the current melee taking place. He stroked his chin and puffed on his pipe. His thoughts were on the jutsu that those three had used during the start of the battle.
"Those are some highly talented ninja under your command, Lord Mizukage," Sarutobi said.
Mei's smile was like a ray of bright sunshine. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."
"Mmm." Nodding, Sarutobi communicated his thoughts out loud, though this was mostly for his own benefit instead of his two compatriots. "Those three ninja, at the very beginning, simultaneously used the same hand seals at the exact same time to synchronize their chakra. This is what allowed them to use such powerful combination jutsu. In all my years as a ninja, the only person I know who could create water jutsu that powerful was the Second Hokage."
"You honor my ninja with your praise." Still smiling, Mei looked down at the arena. "Those three grew up together, so they are very close to each other. Akiha has always been their leader, dragging Kiriha and Mozu along with her wherever she went. That closeness is what allows them to synchronize their chakra so perfectly. By combining their chakra to form a single jutsu, they can create techniques that are many times stronger than the sum of their individual parts."
"Indeed." Pulling in a deep breath, Sarutobi soon exhaled the smoke gathering in his lungs. "What I think was most impressive was how they could use the previous jutsu as a foundation for their next jutsu. The rampart turned into a dome that protected them from Gaara's sand, and then the dome transformed into a water dragon. They did this without having to stop their previous jutsu, but instead used that jutsu to create their next one."
Holding out his hand, Sarutobi pulled the smoke that he had exhaled to him with his chakra, until it was hovering over his palm. Consciously aware of the fact that both the Kazekage and Mizukage were looking at him, he began manipulating the smoke to transform. It first became a rampart, then a dome, and then a dragon.
"If I had to hazard a guess, I would say they were doing this to conserve their chakra. We all know that it takes more chakra to stop a technique, and then start a new technique, then it does to just flow through techniques without pause. This can be done by manipulating the chakra already being used within the previous technique."
"But it's not as if just anyone can do that," the Kazekage began, doing the same thing with his iron sand that Sarutobi was doing with his smoke. However, instead of a dragon, he created a tanuki. "It takes far too much concentration to create one jutsu, and then manipulate the chakra within that jutsu to fuel another jutsu. This is also why this sort of technique is being used with three people instead one. When they want to use another technique, one of them continues fueling the previous jutsu, while another shapes it, and then the last one launches it."
"You are both correct," Mei admitted. "That is why this is a technique that can only be used by people who are intimately connected in some way, and why only people who have the same elemental affinity can use it." She stopped talking long enough to beam at them. "I suppose you could say that it's a method of casting jutsu that can only be used by people who are close enough to be considered family."
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Even though she was surprised, Akiha had no intention of letting this puppet get the best of her. She didn't bother dodging like some might. When the puppet came at her, she knelt low to the ground and swung her head around. She channeled water chakra through her hair. The knife at the end of her long ponytail became coated in a layer of water chakra that extended her reach.
Her knife spun around her in a circle. Water trailed behind it, creating an added layer of defense. The puppet wasn't keen on getting cut up, or rather, the puppet master seemed to understand her intent and made the puppet jump over her. However, with a yank of her head, Akiha sent her knife up toward the puppet. It was an abrupt change from horizontal swinging to a vertical slash.
Several hidden knives shot from its wrists, which it used to knock her knife aside. Then the puppet opened it's mouth and shot numerous needles at her. Akiha stomped her feet against the water and a wave suddenly swelled and curled over her. The needles hit the water and didn't reach her.
Punching the wave and adding chakra into it, Akiha sent the now crescent-shaped blade of water at the puppet, but by that point it was no longer in the air. She turned her head. The creation was coming at her from the left.
The best way to deal with a puppet was to find and disable the puppeteer. That was especially true for this puppet. She could see how the joints were formed to be detachable, which meant that even if she broke this thing apart, it could still attack her. Mozu was also fighting one of those puppets. Given that Temari was battling against Kiriha, it meant the one controlling them both was Kankuro. That also meant he was splitting his attention between two fights.
If she could just find out where he was hiding, then-
Before her thoughts could get too far, several things happened near simultaneously. The water dragon broke apart. Without the three of them feeding it chakra, this was bound to happen sooner or later. It looked like it just happened sooner rather than later. And with nothing keeping it there, the tanuki also exploded into sand, which swept over the arena like a tidal wave.
The puppet that had been fighting her was suddenly consumed in sand. The last she saw of it, the wooden creation had sand crawling into its joints. Then it was gone, and the wave of sand was coming straight for her.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
The sand swept over the arena as though trying to blanket everything. There was so much that it almost created another layer. The sand didn't touch the water at all. Gaara had learned his lesson. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
The three Kirigakure shinobi were quick to respond, leaping away from the sand, which had formed tendrils that chased after them. They were like monkeys. They hopped around all over the place in an effort to evade his sand, but that just proved their will to live. Of course it did. No one wanted to die. However, it was this desire to live that would make killing them all the more pleasing.
Gaara stood on an island. Since all of his sand was currently being used to attack the enemy ninja, he didn't have any to stand on. Fine. That was fine. He didn't need to stand on the sand. So long as he could meet his goal, so long as he could feel the crunching of bones and drenching of blood in his sand, that was all that mattered.
"Damn it, Gaara! What do you think you're doing?!"
An annoying voice reached his ears. Gaara turned his head to find Kankuro standing behind him. Of course, he stood about a meter away. He never got too close, that Kankuro. It was because he was afraid. He was afraid of Gaara just like everybody else.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" asked Gaara. "I'm killing the enemy. I'm going to feed their blood to mother."
"You can't do that, Gaara! Have you forgotten that we can't kill during this tournament. If you do that, we're going to be disqualified!"
"I don't care about that. The only thing I care about is feeding Mother more blood."
Kankuro gritted his teeth. "That's all you ever care about. Mother this. Mother that. What about Temari and I? Do we mean nothing to you?"
"That is correct," Gaara said, no longer paying attention to the stupid boy who didn't seem to understand his place. "You and Temari mean nothing to me. We might share the same blood, but we are not family. I'll kill you both if you get in my way."
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
With almost every avenue closed off to her, there was only one thing that Akiha could do, and that was to go down. She stopped channeling chakra into her feet. Dropping into the cool water below, she went through a few hand seals to activate her underwater jutsu. A bubble soon formed around her mouth. So long as she pumped chakra into the bubble, she'd be able to breath underwater. Of course, this required her to maintain her hand seal.
Kicking her feet, Akiha moved toward where she had last seen Mozu battling against the puppet. It did take a bit of time because she had to reorient herself, but she eventually found Mozu. He was relatively uninjured. Some blood leaked from a cut on his head, but when she tilted her head questioningly, he nodded to let her know that he was okay.
The next person they needed to find was Kiriha. She had been fighting against Temari, who was that wind user. They didn't know where she was, and so they set off in a seemingly random direction.
It took more time than she would have liked, but they did find Kiriha. She was at the bottom of the waterbed. Temari was with her. The blond girl was unconscious, but a bubble around her head kept her from drowning. Kiriha looked at them both and nodded to let them know that she was okay.
Settling down in a circle, the three began communicating using eye contact and body language, all to create a plan that would let them deal with this situation.
It was time to begin their counterattack.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
"Gaara is a lot more unstable than I thought," Naruto said. "He and I met once during the second test, and he immediately struck me as crazy, but I wouldn't have guessed that he'd be crazy enough to not care about whether or not he hurt his own teammates."
Having just witnessed Gaara attack both Kankuro's puppets and Temari, the entire stadium was mercilessly silent. It was unknown whether he'd done it on purpose. Naruto was under the impression that Gaara just didn't care if his teammates lived or died. However, the maliciousness of his attack, the way he attacked the other ninja even though his own teammates were in the line of fire, was enough to make even the most hardened person shudder.
"Is this thanks to Shukaku?" asked Haku. "Could the bijuu inside of him be the reason he's willing to commit such atrocious acts?"
"Of course not." Akane gave him a look that made Haku take a step back. "Shukaku might be an idiot, but he's not the kind of guy who'd influence someone like this. He's still one of the bijuu." She looked back at the battlefield, at the tendrils of sand that swept over the arena like a wave. What was it doing? Searching? "If I had to wager a guess, I would say that Gaara's life hasn't been the easiest. He's probably had to deal with the hatred of an entire village alone, which likely caused him to become mentally unstable."
Jinchurikki in general were not treated well by their village. Everyone hated them because they assumed that the bijuu would eventually break free and rampage across their village, or they assumed that the jinchurikki was the bijuu that had gained control over a human body. Either way, it meant dealing with a lot of hatred and being ostracised.
It was clear to Naruto that Gaara had been dealing with all that on his own, unlike Naruto, who had the support of the Hokage, the Ichirakus, and of course, Akane herself. Though that did beg a question…
"Why hasn't Shukaku helped at all?" asked Naruto. "Is he not the type who'd help his jinchurikki like you?"
"That's hard to say." Akane tilted her head. "He's definitely not like me, but I think he'd rather want to work with his jinchurikki than fight against him. It's easier, and Shukaku has always been the kind of guy who likes taking the easier route."
He sounded like a lazy guy, this Shukaku, but if he preferred following the path of least resistance, then his current actions made no sense.
"Then maybe something is wrong with Shukaku," Naruto theorized.
"Maybe." Akane shrugged. "I guess we'll find out what's going on if we ever have to fight him."
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Gaara and Kankuro stood on one of the small islands as the arena was blanketed in sand. While Kankuro merely tried to stay out of the way, Gaara wore a frown of concentration. His sand was covering everything in sight, and yet, despite this, he couldn't feel any hint of the people who should have been crushed by his sand.
This had never happened before. Whenever he used his sand to crush others, he could always feel the bodies as they were being crushed, but here there was no such feeling. It was like they weren't there. However, that was impossible. There was no way to avoid being crushed by his sand.
So why was no one being crushed yet?
As if in answer to his question, the water to his left exploded and a water dragon about ten times the size of a normal one appeared. It glared at Gaara with its bright yellow eyes before opening its maw and charging toward both him and Kankuro.
Of course, Kankuro moved away from the giant water dragon, but Gaara had no such intention. As the water dragon raced toward him, Gaara create a massive tendrils from sand, condensed it until it was sharper than a sword, and slashed the water dragon in half.
To the shock of the audience, the water dragon was split neatly in two. The two halves veered off and crashed back into the water. At that exact moment, the three Kiri genin leapt out from the water. Two of them were already finished with their hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Cannon!"
The two spat water from their mouths, which combined to form one large water canon. Sadly, while it didn't meet the same fate as the water dragon, it never reached Gaara, who erected a sand barrier that protected him from the blast at the cost of getting the sand wet. That was okay. This sand was from the arena and not his gourde, which was where all his special sand filled with the blood of his enemies was contained.
Sloughing off as it turned into mud, the wall that he had erected didn't last long, though it didn't really need to since it had already served its purpose. Now it was time to finish this.
Gaara held out his hands, manipulating the sand this way instead of letting it just act. The sand moved faster. It poured from his gourde quickly and went after the three shinobi who'd tried to attack him.
They did their best to avoid being captured. They sent water jutsu at him, leapt through the air, and even dove into the water.
It was all for naught.
The first one captured was the guy. Gaara wrapped one of the tendrils around his opponent's leg before he could dive back underwater and lifted him into the air. Now that his prey was captured, he acted quickly to wrap him up like a cocoon.
"Mozu!" One of the girls shouted. Gaara went after her next. She didn't try diving into the water and instead attempted to save her friend. What a futile and stupid move.
Because she was so desperate to save her partner, she completely ignored her surroundings and missed the sand coming up behind her until it was too late. A tendril grabbed her arm. She yanked her hand back out of instinct, but Gaara kept his hold on her tight, and then he made the sand extend. It crawled up her arm, her shoulder, her neck and down her torso. It wasn't long before she was covered just like her partner.
There was only one left.
Gaara turned his attention toward her. Their eyes met for a single second.
"I… we surrender," she said, raising her hand.
"What?" Gaara was actually shocked by this declaration of defeat.
However, the proctor acknowledge the surrender by raising his hand and saying, "Akiha has surrendered and her companions are unable to continue fighting. Victory goes to Team Suna!"
The audience broke into uproarious applause. However, Gaara heard none of it. He stared at the proctor, who had decided that he was the winner despite the fact that he hadn't killed a single person. No. He wouldn't stand for this. No, no, no. This wouldn't do at all.
"Blood…" Gaara mumbled as his lips involuntarily twitched into grin. He raised his hand toward the two cocooned individuals. "I NEED BLOOD!"
Three things happened simultaneously. The first was that Gaara clenched his fists, making the cocoons suddenly restrict. The second was Akiha yelling as she raced toward her cocooned teammates, having realized what was happening. The third was the cocoons exploding, not with blood and gore, but exploding outward, freeing Kiriha and Mozu from their imprisonment.
As these three things happened, the entire stadium went still. Gaara gained an expression that was part shock and part rage. His eyes were bulging and his face had gone red. He looked like a child that was about to throw a tantrum after his parents took away his favorite toy for misbehaving.
Three people were standing between him and the two Kiri genin that he had been so close to killing. Two of them were Naruto and Akane. They stood protectively before Kiriha and Mozu, and though their stances were casual, it was clear even to Gaara that they were ready for a fight. However, it was the woman in front of them that garnered the most attention.
After all, the last person standing in the arena was none other than Mei Terumi, the Mizukage herself.
"I believe the match has already been decided." Mei narrowed her eyes dangerously at Gaara. "So, tell me, why were you about to kill my genin when it was explicitly stated that killing your opponent was illegal?"
"There was no real reason," Gaara said, partially recovering from his shock and rage. "I merely wanted to kill them."
"That's not a very good reason." Mei smiled so widely that her eyes were forced closed. "If that's the only reason you have, then perhaps I should kill you, because right now, that's kinda what I'd like to do right now."
Gaara frowned. "If you get in my way, I'll kill you too."
"Oh… I'd like to see you try to kill me."
Thick with tension, the atmosphere in the arena suddenly became stifling as Gaara and Mei glared at each other. Naruto and Akane remained behind her. They didn't interfere, but neither were they willing to move.
Just as it seemed like the situation might escalate again, someone else spoke up.
"What are you doing, Gaara?!" The kazekage shouted from where he stood in the kage's booth. "The battle is already over! Go back to the competitor's booth right this instant!"
While it at first seemed like Gaara would disobey the Kazekage's orders, he eventually relaxed and turned around, beginning his walk out of the arena. When Naruto saw this, he turned around and offered his hands to Mozu while Akane reached out for Kiriha.
"Are you two all right?" he asked.
"Yeah…" Kiriha said as Akane pulled her to her feet. "We're okay… I think."
"You three did very well," Mei congratulated them. "You might have lost, but it's not easy to fight against a jinchurikki."
"Um, thanks." Akiha rubbed the back of her head, seemingly half-pleased and half-embarrassed, but her expression quickly changed to a more serious one. "Before I forget, Temari Sabaku is in the underground cavern. We managed to save her when Gaara's sand tried to kill us."
Mei digested this with a nod. "In that case, I'll have the medics go under there and get her. Thank you for letting me know."
Akiha nodded as she, Kiriha, and Mozu were led off the arena floor. Despite the fact that Gaara had been pretty brutal during his assault of them, the arena wasn't very messed up, likely because it was mostly a water based battlefield. That meant no one had to bother fixing anything up… unless they felt like creating more islands, which were used up by Gaara. Since it was their turn to battle anyway, Naruto and Akane stayed down in the arena and waited for Haku to arrive.
"Thank you for helping me with that situation," Mei said.
Naruto shrugged. "I'm sure you could have handled it on your own."
"True, but I still appreciate the assistance." Mei wore a bright smile as she looked at him. "In either event, thanks once again."
With her task there done, Mei wandered off the arena, exiting through a doorway on the opposite side that the genin had disappeared through.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
"That was pretty intense, wasn't it?" Asuma said after Mei had left the arena. Smoke rose from his lit cigarette. It was the fourth one he'd had since the tournament started. "I never expected things to get so out of hand. We're fortunate that the Mizukage and Kazekage were able to quell the situation."
"Don't forget about my brats," Anko chimed in. "Naruto and Akane responded to the problem even more quickly than the Mizukage did. It was only thanks to them that those two Kiri genin weren't turned into paste."
"That is true…" Asuma took in a deep breath, held it, and then exhaled. "I'm pretty surprised those two were able to react to the situation so quickly. It was impressive."
"Naruto and Akane are probably the strongest contestants in this tournament." Even though he was still reading, still periodically flipping pages and giggling, Kakashi was obviously paying attention to everything that was happening. Even his only visible eye, which was normally so lazy, had sharpened.
"Come on, Kakashi," Asuma began in a voice that seemed both perplexed and exasperated. "Do you really think those two are the strongest contenders here? They're strong, I'll give you that, but the strongest? And should you really be saying that when your own students are also competing in this?"
"Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai have become admirable ninja." Kakashi flipped another page in his book. "But I never once expected them to win this tournament. They'll do well, I'm sure, but they won't win the whole thing."
Kurenai looked over at Anko. "Are your genin really that strong?"
"Kurenai," Anko grinned at her, "my genin are so strong I'm not even sure it's fair to call them genin."
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Sarutobi remained seated as Mei Terumi entered the kage's booth and sat down. She didn't look tired, or even mildly ruffled, but the aura she exuded expressed a good deal of displeasure. No doubt Rasa could feel the intimidating vibe coming off her. It was directed at him, after all.
"I'm glad to see that you were able to resolve the issue with as little violence as possible," Sarutobi said.
"As am I." Mei agreed, though she did look at Rasa out of the corner of her eye. "That said, this match has demonstrated a rather clear issue to me. That jinchurikki boy of yours, Gaara, has some really deep-seated mental issues. I don't know what you were thinking when you decided to bring him along, but having someone so mentally unstable does not reflect well on your village. In the future, I would suggest not relying on someone like that to showcase the talent of your ninja."
It was a harsh scolding, but one that Sarutobi agreed with.
Ninja were supposed be cool-headed and able to make decisions with a calm mind. Gaara clearly could not think calmly. It was obvious to everyone present that the youngest son of Rasa was not stable in the least. Just by judging what had happened during this battle, it was easy to understand that the boy was clearly not fit for active duty.
"I'll take your advice under serious consideration," the Kazekage said. However, that was all he said.
Mei and Sarutobi both frowned when they realized they wouldn't be getting anything more from him, but that the next battle was about to start. Being particularly interested in seeing how Team Anko did, the two turned back to the arena.
The battle between Team Anko and Team Hanai was about to get under way.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Naruto, Akane, and Haku stood across from Team Hanai, a team consisting of two boys and one girl. Naruto placed them in their mid-twenties. The female was the most memorable of the three, with bright yellow hair, blue eyes, and womanly curves hidden underneath her red and white hakama and haori. She seemed more like a model than a ninja. The two boys weren't plane or anything, but their faces were hidden by breathing masks and their bodies covered in black cloaks. There were probably weapons hidden underneath those cloaks.
They were the last Kirigakure team in the tournament, which meant that if they lost here, it would all be over. Of course, Naruto had no intention of losing. Since that was the case, he, Akane, and Haku had already come up with a plan to deal with them. Of course, some concessions had to be made, but Naruto wasn't too worried about that. So long as he did what Mei asked of him, there shouldn't be any problems.
"Are both teams ready?" asked the proctor.
"We are," the girl from Team Hanai, Hikari Hanai, said.
"You know we're ready," Naruto added.
The proctor nodded and raised his hand. "Then… fight!"
Naruto blasted off even before the proctor had time to retreat, racing past the man and beginning a frontal taijutsu assault on Hikari. From the widening of the girl's eyes, she had not expected such a swift attack, or maybe she hadn't expected him to be so fast. It didn't matter either way. He was on her within seconds.
To Hikari's credit, she fended off his first several punches. Each punch rang out like a thunderclap in the quiet stadium as the girl was forced to retreat. Her teeth were grit as she tried backpedaling to gain some distance, but that meant nothing when faced with someone as fast as Naruto.
Her two teammates took a step forward as though to help her, but they were both stopped.
The one to Naruto's left suffered from having his cheek caved in like it was nothing. He was sent flying. As he all but disappeared within a sonic boom, Akane, the offender who had decked the boy hard enough to make him shoot off like a lightning jutsu, stood before them to take his place. However, she wasn't there long. A shock wave spread out from where she was—had been—as she blasted off toward her foe.
Haku had attacked the other one. Unlike Akane, who was going for a straight up assault, Haku had created his demonic ice mirror and was brutalizing the ninja from inside of the now sealed off dome. Naruto couldn't see much of the battle. Haku had improved his demonic ice mirrors to the point where the cracks were too small for a human to fit through, but he judged things were going well by the screams echoing from inside.
As he fought against Hikari, Naruto thought about how best to finish this. His ultimate goal here was a two-fold plan. First, he wanted to showcase the talent of these three ninja. Second, he wanted to defeat them without dealing serious damage. The problem he faced with both issues was how to make it seem realistic. If he just let them have their moment and then defeated them, it would look totally fake, and even if he made it seem realistic, it would seem fake if he demolished his opponents next round.
This is trickier than I thought.
It was sort of like being between a rock and a hard place, but this was just a hard decision.
While he was trying to decide how best to fight, Hikari had picked up his rhythm and was beginning to launch counters. They slipped through his arms and attempted to smack him upside the head, but he tilted his head left and right to avoid them. As he avoided her attacks, she leapt back. Naruto thought about hounding her some more. He decided not to.
"You're not bad," he complimented. "I didn't really expect much from you since I don't know who you are, but you were able to respond to my attack pretty quickly."
Hikari frowned. "I wouldn't have been able to respond if you weren't holding back."
Naruto was a bit surprised that she knew he was holding back, but not surprised enough that he'd let her know that.
"So you saw that, eh?" He rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "The truth is that Mei and I made something of a deal, so I'm not using my full-strength."
He didn't let this girl know that he not only was fighting with just taijutsu, but that he wasn't using much of his strength. Her pride as a ninja would be hurt. However, this was necessary to give her and anyone else he fought against a fair chance. That was also why Akane was fighting barehanded… though given that her opponent was already on the ground, his limbs twitching spastically, she apparently hadn't held back like he was.
"I don't know what sort of deal you made, but I'll make you regret making that deal."
As she said this, Hikari pulled out a scroll with a seal on it, unsealing a staff that was about a meter and a half in length. The ends were weighted. As she expertly twirled the staff around in her hands, the water they were standing on suddenly began moving with her, mingling as though she and the water were dancing together. It was very beautiful—at least, it was until she sent the water flying at him.
Smiling as he dodged her attacks, which came at him in the form of streamers, Naruto kept an eye on what happened after her attacks missed. He expected them to crash into something or disperse into water. They didn't. When the water streamers curved around and attacked him from behind, he knew that his decision was a wise one.
Naruto spun around on the balls of his feet and smacked the streamers that came at him. Each one broke against his chakra infused fist. After destroying the last one, he turned back around and was about to run over to Hikari—when he found out that he couldn't move. Something was wrapped around his leg. He looked down. It was water. A water tentacle. A tentacle made of water.
"Huh… that doesn't look good," he said before the tentacle flung him into the air.
Reacting quickly as the wind whipped all around him, Naruto slammed his fist into the tentacle, which exploded and sent water everywhere. Now in the air, he oriented himself so that he was falling feet first.
Hikari was down below. She was going through numerous hand seals, stopping on one in particular. She said something, though she was too far away and the wind too loud for him to hear, but several dozen tentacles shot from the water's surface in the next moment. What sort of water tentacle jutsu was this?
Since Naruto was not allowed to use anything but taijutsu, that meant he had no choice but to destroy each and every tentacle with a well-placed punch or kick. It was annoying. However, he flipped his body around and unleashed a barrage of strikes that obliterated all of the tentacles coming at him.
Hikari seemed shocked, but she quickly began dancing again. More water rose from the arena. This time it didn't take the shape of tentacles. They became spears, which were soon launched at Naruto, who clicked his tongue before extending his fore and middle finger. As the spears came closer, he hardened his fingers with chakra and attacked. Each finger strike destroyed a spear. He kept this up until all the spears were demolished.
I wonder if I've let her show off enough.
Landing on the ground, Naruto decided that it was about time to end this. Haku had already finished his opponent now. He had even decided to be kind and had the unconscious dude slung over his shoulder. That meant Naruto was the only one who still had an opponent to fight.
He rushed across the water. Hikari danced some more. A wall rose in front of her, but Naruto reared his fist back and slammed his fist into the wall, which exploded like, well, like water when it was punched by someone, he supposed. Continuing on, Naruto was upon Hikari in less than a second.
Credit had to be given where it was due. Despite being surprised, Hikari responded by trying to slam her staff into his face. However, Naruto made quick use of the shunshin jutsu and appeared behind her. He placed a hand on her lower back and sent chakra straight through her body. The girl screamed as she was sent flying, though the scream was cut off as she skipped across the water like a rock thrown by the Raikage.
Once he was sure the girl wouldn't be getting back up, Naruto looked over at the stunned proctor, who was merely standing in place with a stupid look on his face.
"Are you gonna call it?" he asked.
"Er… right." the proctor coughed into his hand. "Winner by knockout for this match is Team Anko!"
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Sarutobi pressed a hand to his face as he watched Naruto and Akane leave the arena with Haku in tow. He looked over at Mei. A small shudder passed through him when he saw the amused smile on her face. Of course, he called it an amused smile, but really, it looked like she wanted to go down there and melt Naruto's balls with lava.
"I had not quite expected the battle to be so one-sided," she muttered.
Trying to give her what he hoped was a congenial smile, Sarutobi said, "unfortunately, Naruto has never been very good at holding back." He looked back at the arena. The members of Team Hanai were all being carried out on a stretcher. "To be honest, I'm surprised he was able to make the battle last as long as it did."
"That's only because he didn't attack until the very end, though."
"I'm sure you already know this, Lord Mizukage, but all of Naruto's attacks are incredibly powerful, extremely destructive. Even his weakest attack could probably put the average jonin out of commission."
"That… is true."
Mei had intimate knowledge of Naruto's power from when he fought alongside her during the Kirigakure Civil War, a fact that Sarutobi was still dealing with. She also probably understood that Naruto had only grown more powerful since then. Of course, just how powerful was a question that not even Sarutobi knew. He had no real frame of reference, since Naruto had kept his true talent a secret even from him.
"This… Naruto," the Kazekage suddenly spoke up. "He is powerful?"
Sarutobi and Mei looked at each other, both wondering exactly how much they should tell their fellow kage. It wasn't like they really wanted to hide Naruto's talent. They couldn't even if they tried. Naruto wasn't the type to hold back. He probably didn't even care how many people saw his power.
"Let's just say that if I were a betting man, I'd place all my bets on Naruto," Sarutobi said with a smile, while Mei nodded in agreement.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
Tsunade could not contain her grin at the sight of all the money she was being handed by the lady manning the betting booth. Despite having told everyone that she would never bet on Naruto, she had gone against her word and bet on Naruto. Of course, it wasn't like she was truly going against her word. She had placed her bets before telling everyone that.
I'm still going to have to put up with that Anko woman for awhile, but it's a small price to pay in exchange for all this cash.
Normally, a victory like this would have preluded a tragedy of equal proportions, but today, she didn't feel any of the stomach-twisting problems she normally did when she won a bet. She wondered if it was because of who she had bet on.
"Th-that is an awful lot of money, Lady Tsunade." Shizune gawked at the large sack filled with ryo that Tsunade was now carrying. She had no idea how much, exactly, was in it, but it weighed a lot. "H-how much did you win?"
"Let's see…" Tsunade tilted her head as she did her best to think up a rough estimate. "I bet two thousand ryo on the brat, and I was given ten to one odds on his victory, so this should be about twenty thousand ryo."
"T-twenty thousand?!" Shizune swooned as though she was about to pass out. The pig in her arms also looked ready to faint, though that was probably due to the swooning. "We could pay off most of our debt with that!"
"We could…" Tsunade could actually feel the grin splitting her face in half. "Or I could put all this money on another bet and make even more money."
"L-Lady Tsunade! We should consider spending this money responsibly! How can you even think of spending it all on more bets when you have so many debts that need to be paid off?! Do you want to have the yakuza chasing after us for the rest of our lives?!"
"You worry too much, Shizune. If we make another bet and make more money, then we can pay off all our debts in a single swoop."
"Even so…"
"Don't worry so much." Tsunade turned back toward the betting booth. "What are the odds for Team Anko's victory?"
"Let's see." The betting booth girl flipped through her book, which had listings of all the bets being made and the odds on each team. "It looks like Team Anko is being given seven to three odds for their next victory, though this is subject to change depending on who wins the next round."
Tsunade nodded, set the large sack of ryo on the counter, and grinned. "I'd like to place all my money on Team Anko to win the entire tournament!"
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
"Come on, Kabuto. They're calling our team down."
Kabuto smiled at his teammates. It was a congenial, friendly smile that hid the emotions he felt deep within his heart quite well.
"You two go on ahead," he replied. "I'll catch up in just a minute. There is still something I need to do."
His teammates looked at each other and frowned. Well, it seemed like they were frowning. Both of them wore a cloth that covered the lower half of their faces, and the one on his left even had sunglasses to hide his eyes from view. They were wearing basic black pants with white shirts and purple vests. Wrapped around their heads were Konoha headbands.
"Don't be long," one of them said before they were both leaving.
Kabuto watched them go for a moment, waiting until they were both out of sight before speaking. "Did you need something from me, Lord Orochimaru?"
"Ku ku ku, I did indeed."
He appeared from within the shadows of a column, a man with pale skin and yellow eyes. His long-sleeve shirt covered most of his toros, though that in turn was covered by a tan flak jacket. The way he strolled so casually out of the shadows caused his black pants to ruffle. The white bandages that he wore around his calves went into a pair of black sandals. To top off his appearance, he wore a headband with a musical note on it.
"You have become quite good at detecting my presence."
"It's just a matter of experience."
"Indeed." Orochimaru paused long enough to smile. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but I want you to test out Sasuke's potential. Thanks to a previous obligation that I had, I was unable to test out his skills for myself."
"This previous obligation wouldn't have anything to do with the demon that suddenly appeared during the second stage, would it?" Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smirked a Orochimaru, who merely returned the look with a smile. Shrugging, Kabuto got back to the main topic. "I'll be sure to test out his skills. Would you like me to make sure he wins as well?"
"Oh, I don't care about whether he wins or loses," Orochimaru said. "Even if he won, I doubt he'd win the next round. Do whatever you think is best."
"I understand." Kabuto bowed. "In that case, I shall make a judgement based on whether I think he's qualified to pass."
"Fair enough." With his snake-like smile still in place, Orochimaru moved backward, until he once more vanished into the shadows. "I'm counting on you, Kabuto. Do not disappoint me."
Kabuto waited until he was sure that Orochimaru had left, and then slowly made his way down to the arena. He didn't much care about Sasuke anymore. However, he would do what Orochimaru asked of him. Still…
I really want to see more of what Naruto and Akane is capable of. He smiled to himself as he left entered the battlefield. It's not every day that I find people who are capable of slaying demons by themselves.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
"I hope you dickless weenies have a plan," Sai said as they stood on the arena floor. "Kabuto is not to be underestimated."
"Hn. Didn't Kabuto already fail this exam several times?" asked Sasuke, crossing his arms. "I somehow doubt he'll be much of a challenge."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Adjusting the gloves that she now wore, Sakura stared at the three genin across from her with a minor frown. "I think Sai might be right, Sasuke. While I'm sure that you're stronger, there's no sense in being reckless. Part of being a ninja is remaining cautious. We should learn what tricks our enemy has before deciding on our plan of attack."
Sasuke grunted, but he accepted Sakura's advice at face value. At one point in time, he would have been annoyed by her, but now that she no longer acted like a drooling idiot every time she saw him, her presence had become more tolerable. It was one of the things that he was thankful to Kakashi for.
"Then we should split ourselves into three, attack each one to learn of their weaknesses, and then retreat when we've learned what we can," Sasuke said.
"I'm fine with that," Sai acknowledged the course of action.
"Sounds good," Sakura said. "I'll take the one on the left."
"Then I suppose I'll go for the right one," Sai added.
"And I've got Kabuto," Sasuke said.
The other team hadn't spoken at all since coming down to the arena floor. Sasuke didn't know if this meant they were done planning already, or if they were going in without a plan. He honestly didn't care what they did. So long as they could uncover the weaknesses and strengths of their enemy, nothing else mattered.
"Are both teams ready?" the proctor asked and got a series of acknowledgements in return. Nodding, he raised his hand. "In that case, get ready, and… fight!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Since their goal was to separate the three shinobi and fight them one-on-one, Sasuke immediately opened up with one of his signature fire jutsu. He sucked in a deep breath and spat out several small fireballs, which he aimed close to the three ninja so they would leap away from each other.
That wasn't how things worked out.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Sasuke gnashed his teeth together as a wall of water rose in front of his fireballs and blocked them. He didn't let this get to him, though. Unexpected occurrences were par for the course in the shinobi world. Instead of lamenting, he and his teammates decided to use the smokescreen that had resulted from his fire jutsu being blocked.
Unsealing a fuuma shuriken from within a scroll, Sasuke grabbed it by the ring in the center and threw it. At the same time, Sakura launched a series of kunai with exploding notes attached to them, while Sai painted a variety of creatures on his scroll, which came to life seconds later. All of their attacks shot through the smoke screen.
"Let's go!" Sasuke ordered.
"Right!"
Because going through a smoke screen was a dumb idea when you had no clue what your opponent was doing on the other side, Sasuke and Sakura raced around from opposite sides. Sai took to the skies. He created a bird out of ink, hopped on it, and became their eye in the sky. His job would also be to supply long-range support, should they need it.
Kabuto and his two teammates were not on the other side when they arrived. That meant they had either gone in the smoke screen, or they were underwater. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked down.
"Jump, Sakura!"
Sakura didn't question his order. She leapt into the air at nearly the same time that he did, and they both avoided the hands that tried to grab onto their legs. Speeding through a series of three hand seals, Sasuke activated the jutsu that Kakashi-sensei had taught him.
"Chidori!"
Using what he knew of nature manipulation, Sasuke didn't keep the Chidori in its original form. He made a swiping gesture with the hand covered in lightning chakra.
"Senbon!"
The Chidori suddenly turned into dozens of senbon that shot from his hand and peppered the water.
Water did not conduct electricity. However, that was only the case when the water was pure, when nothing else was in it. Whenever an impurity was added, such as salt, it separated into different electrically charged atoms called ions.
The water in this arena was filled with salt.
Lightning coruscated along the surface and within its depths. Sasuke could actually see the person who had tried to grab him. There were two at first, but one of them dispersed, revealing it to have been a clone of some kind. The other one didn't. He lit up like a fireworks display, his body jerking and twitching until the lighting jutsu had run its course. After which, he floated up to the top and remained there.
He's not dead, but he's definitely out of this fight.
"Sakura," he said.
"On it."
As they landed back on the ground, Sakura hefted the unconscious genin into the air and threw him to the nearest island with one hand. Sasuke didn't concern himself with the guy after that.
The steam had dispersed by this point, revealing that Kabuto and the other genin were standing on the island that had been engulfed by the steam. Upturned ground surrounded them in a perfect circle. Sasuke could only assume they had used some kind of earth ninjutsu to protect themselves from the shuriken and kunai that he and Sakura had sent during their initial assault.
High above them, Sai drew on his scroll once more. It wasn't a horde of creatures this time. It was just one—a massive dragon that was at least ten meters in length. Made of ink, it bore down on Kabuto and his teammate, who leapt out of the way. The ink dragon crashed into the island they had been standing on, exploding and covering it in ink.
"Are you ready, Sakura?"
"I'm ready."
Sasuke went through several more hand seals, inhaled a deep breath, and then unleashed his next jutsu.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
He didn't aim his fireball jutsu at the two opponents. He aimed it at the island, covered in highly flammable ink. A gigantic detonation sent plumes of fire everywhere as the island became engulfed in a sea of flames. However, Sasuke didn't stop there. He went through another series of hand seals and unleashed another jutsu.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
This was the only wind jutsu he knew, and all it did was create a gust of wind, the scale of which depended on the shinobi. Jonin-level ninja could create gales so fierce that it tore apart everything. Sasuke wasn't at that level yet, but he could create a pretty big gust. That was all he needed right then.
The gust of wind struck the fire, which roared as the wind fueled the flames to greater heights. Even he and Sakura began to sweat from the heat. And the fire wasn't even heading in their direction. It was traveling in the direction of Kabuto and his teammate.
Thanks to his skill at manipulating chakra, the fire was widespread, so it covered a large area, which meant the only way to avoid getting consumed by the flames was to go up. Kabuto and his teammate leapt into the air. That was exactly what Sasuke wanted.
Sakura had reacted from the moment the Great Breakthrough struck the flames. She leapt forward, over the fire, and toward Kabuto's teammate. Whether he was just too surprised to respond, or simply disoriented from the flames, was inconsequential. Like a guided missile jutsu, Sakura flew unerringly toward him, fist reared back and ready.
"SHANNARO!"
Even Sasuke winced when she slammed her fist into the ninja's face. Given the distance, it was obvious that he could not hear it, but he could well imagine the sound that genin's face made when Sakura punched it. He'd seen her create craters with her fist. His teammate was scary strong.
While Sakura attacked Kabuto's partner, Sai attacked Kabuto. Several dozen birds flew around him and attacked from different angles. With his Sharingan eyes, Sasuke watched as Kabuto created a medical scalpel on his hand and swung it around. He cut through the ink birds. What's more, his hand moved so fast that he didn't get ink on him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
That's not the skill of a genin who lost the tournament several times.
Sasuke shook his head. Now wasn't the time. With the ink burnt up and nothing left to fuel it, the flames had died down, though the island now looked molten and had steam hissing from it.
Rushing around the destroyed island, Sasuke raced toward where Kabuto was falling. He was there by the time Kabuto landed on the water. The first thing he did was strike out with a fist, a regular jab that was easily dodged when Kabuto tilted his head. Instead of pulling back, Sasuke leapt forward and stuck out his knee. His intent was the plow his knee into Kabuto's face, but the older genin leapt back.
"You three are really good." Kabuto smiled at them. It was an easy-going smile. "I'm pretty shocked. My teammates and I had this really good plan to deal with you three, but it seems like you're a lot stronger than my cards indicated."
"Inaccurate information can kill a shinobi in the field," Sasuke said.
"It definitely can."
Kabuto looked around. Sakura had dealt a one-hit KO to his last remaining teammate, and now she was standing on the opposite side as Sasuke, essentially hemming him in a pincer attack. To make matters worse for him, Sai was flying above him, his scroll already filled with various creatures to attack him with.
"Certainly, it seems like my own situation is rather untenable," he muttered, raising his hands in the air. "Very well, it's pretty clear that I'm outmatched here. I surrender."
"Kabuto has forfeited the match and the rest of his teammates are unable to continue fighting." The proctor raised his left hand. "Victory goes to Team Seven!"
This announcement, which signaled an end to the first day of the Chunin Exam's final stage, was met with roaring applause.
~Ten-Tailed Wolf~
It was much later in the day, well after the first round of the Chunin Exams had ended. Given that the first stage had lasted for several hours, it was decided that the event would extend for another day. Tomorrow would be the semi-finals and finals. Team Anko would be fighting against Team Seven, and if they won, they would get a pass on the next round before fighting in the finals, which would be them against either Team Samui or Team Suna.
Since the hotel they were staying in had its own hot springs, Naruto and Akane had decided to enjoy the night by stretching out their stiff muscles in the water. The hotel was mixed bathing, too. That meant they could enjoy each other's company, though they still couldn't have sex since there was no telling when someone else might walk in on them. Sarutobi had also warned them not to soil the hot springs when he had learned of their plans. Just how he found out was another matter entirely.
That was unfortunate. Naruto and Akane had really wanted to soil the hot springs.
"These exams are kinda boring, aren't they?" asked Akane.
"A little," Naruto admitted. "But isn't that to be expected? None of these ninja are bad, but they are still genin. It's not like we should expect them to be amazing."
"I suppose not." Akane stretched her hands above her head. Naruto looked over her shoulder to better stare at the way her tits floated and swayed. Staring at her nipples, he licked his lips and wondered if maybe they could get away with paizuri at least. Surely the old hokage wouldn't begrudge him that? "Still, I don't think we're going to find much of a challenge in any of these opponents. Even that Gaara boy won't be much trouble."
They were the only ones in the hot springs right now, though this was subject to change. The hot springs was designed to have a more natural aesthetic. Rather than looking like an indoor tub, it was more reminiscent of a lagoon. They had even filled with the tub with a type of white sand often found in beaches, and the lip that kept the water from leaking out was made to look like a natural rock wall. Several boulders also lined the area and were inside of the pool, adding more to the appearance of being natural instead of man-made.
Naruto was sitting against one of the boulders sticking out of the water. Akane was sitting between his legs. She was so close that her back was pressed against his chest, and her bum was resting against his crotch, which was erect from the intimacy of their position.
"It looks like your kunai is ready to pierce my ninja pouch," Akane teased, wiggling her ass against him.
Naruto growled into her neck. "Cocktease. You know we can't do anything here."
Akane's response was to stick out her tongue. Naruto wished he could take her tongue into his mouth and suck on it. Damn it. If it weren't for the old man and his stupid rules, he would have already been screwing Akane's brains out.
Before anything could really happen, though it was up for debate if anything would happen, the doors slid open and the sound of padding feet made them turn their heads.
Someone had entered the hot spring. With her blond hair let down, Naruto almost didn't recognize Temari for who she was. She stepped up to the edge of a pool, the towel wrapped around her waist sliding up her thighs as she leaned down and dipped her toe in the water, testing the temperature no doubt. She nodded once.
The girl was just about to get in when she paused.
Their eyes met.
"Hey, what's up!" Naruto greeted.
"Iyah!" Temari shrieked.
"Wasn't expecting that response," he muttered.
"Would you calm down," Akane said, covering her ears. "By the kamis, does discovering a naked man in a hot spring really warrant this kind of yelling?"
Perhaps it was because she had been so preoccupied with the naked Naruto, but Temari didn't even seem to realize that Akane was also present until she had spoken. Green eyes blinked exactly six times. That was the time it took for Temari to register Akane's presence and really take in their intimate position.
"W-what sort of debauchery are you two getting up to in a public hot spring?!"
"Fucking," Akane answered immediately.
Temari's face burst with color. "Y-you're kidding?!"
"Of course she's kidding." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Do you really think we'd have sex where everyone can see it?"
Well, they had thought about it, but Naruto wasn't keen on the idea of anyone besides him seeing Akane naked.
"Well…" Temari looked down as though trying to see past the water's surface. Given the steam rising from it, such a task was impossible, but he gave her bonus points for trying.
"In any case, it's mixed bathing, if you didn't catch that from the sign hanging on the wall," Naruto continued. "That being said, you are welcome to join us."
Temari hesitated.
"It would be kind of a shame to leave now that you're here," Akane added. "Besides, you're already covered in sweat. Do you really want to take a cold shower to get that off without having enjoyed the hot spring?"
"No…"
Slowly, reluctantly, Temari slid into the water, until it was covering her shoulders. She kept her towel over her chest. Naruto didn't know why she had bothered. He wasn't interested in anything she had to offer, but he supposed that was a lady's prerogative.
Since their conversation had been nothing but pillow talk without the pillows, Naruto and Akane did not resume their previous dialogue. They instead focused on the new girl.
"You're Gaara's sister, right? Temale?" Naruto asked.
"That's Temari." 'Temari' glared.
"Right. Right. Temari." Nodding several times, Naruto pretended that her name mattered. "So, how is it dealing with Gaara? Is he always threatening to kill people?"
"Gaara?" Temari only looked surprised for a moment before she narrowed her eyes. "What about him?"
"I was just asking if he was always crazy?"
"You met him?"
"During the first stage." Naruto nodded. "He and I ran into each other in the hallway. Pleasant guy. He tried to kill me."
Temari winced. This was probably a sore subject for her, one that should be dealt with delicately. Unfortunately, Naruto was never the kind who dealt with emotional trauma in a delicate manner.
"I'm sorry."
"It's kind of weird that your teammate is so psychotic," Akane said. "I mean, I've known Shukaku for a long time, and while he's an oddball with a panty fetish at the best of times, he's not the type to drive his host insane. If anything, he and Gaara should be getting along." She tilted her head. "Provided Gaara isn't the straight-laced type."
"What?" Temari blinked.
"Tell me, did whoever sealed Shukaku inside of Gaara do something to the seal?" asked Akane.
"Er… I don't… really know." Temari looked ready to rock back on her heel. She couldn't seem to figure out what was going on. "Do you two… know something about Shukaku?"
"Somewhat." Akane's answer was about as vague as her smile. "You could say that he and I go way back."
Temari's frown grew larger by the second. "I'm not sure I understand."
Akane's condescending chuckle made the girl bristle. "That's okay. You don't have to understand. All you need to know is that Shukaku isn't the kind of guy who'd go around turning his host into a murdering psychopath. My guess is that something else got sealed up with him."
"Something… else?"
"That's right."
"But… what else could get sealed inside of Gaara?" asked Temari.
"What else indeed."
While Temari pouted at the vague answer, Naruto knew that the reason Akane answered like that wasn't because she was purposefully being obtuse. She did enjoy teasing others. However, there was obviously a real issue here. Something was wrong with Shukaku, and Akane didn't know what. Even if she put on a brave front, he knew that she was worried. And yet there was nothing they could do right now.
It would all come down to tomorrow.
The last day of the Chunin Exam.
Hey, everyone! We're nearing the end of the Chunin Exam Arc. I plan on finishing this arc in one more chapter. It's probably going to be a bit longer than my normal chapters, just because I'm combining every fight for the semi-finals and finals into this one chapter. After I'm finished, I'm going to begin writing for my original stories again. I hope you guys have been enjoying the constant updates of this fanfic.
Until next time! (^-^)
