Everything Sucks

A sickly jounin coughed at them. Their jounin senseis were standing behind him, flanking the Hokage. Shikamaru yawned. Only one other team had shown up, a trio of older genin who came in at the last minute. Shikamaru recognized one, Kabuto. He had been showing off a deck of cards with a surprising amount of information on them. Shikamaru could understand knowing how many missions someone in your own village had gone on, but other villages? How had Kabuto gotten that information, and why was he collecting such detailed data on his comrades?

“Hello everyone,” the jounin said. “My name is Gekko Hayate, proctor for the third exam. Before the exam starts, there is something we need to do.”

Hayate coughed again, drawing concerned looks. He sounded bad. 

“Since eighteen of you have passed, we are going ahead with a preliminary round. Is there anyone who would like to quit at this time?”

There were people who had questions, which Hayate answered. There were too many people for the final round, and the rules required a preliminary. The tournament matches could otherwise go on too long. No one on Shikamaru’s team was surprised, but since Sakura was asking the questions, Shikamaru figured Naruto hadn’t told her. He probably thought it was funnier for his team to find out this way.

“No one?” Hayate said, clearing his throat. “Good. We will now announce the participants in the first fight.”

Hayate gestured at a screen behind a huge statue of two arms clad in green mail, the hands clasped in hitsuji, ram. The screen flickered to life, scrolling through characters before settling on Hyuuga Hinata vs. Kankuro.

“If the two on the screen could please step up,” Hayate said. “Everyone else, please move to the upper level.”

Shikamaru slouched after his teammates, looking over his shoulder to see Naruto approaching Hinata. He whispered something in her ear, which made the girl blush, but she nodded and looked at her opponent with determination. 

Once up the stairs, Shikamaru walked along the platform and leaned against the rail. He noticed the Suna team was on the other side, along with Kabuto’s team. There was something decidedly off about them. It wasn’t unusual for ninja to have a dangerous, creepy air about them, but in general most people in Konoha at least acted nice and happy. Anko was a bit off, based on what little he knew about her, but she didn’t seem cruel. Kabuto’s team looked like they wanted to hurt people for the sake of hurting them.

“Now,” Hayate said, “please begin.”

He jumped back to give Hinata and Kankuro space. Hinata moved back too, forming signs. The veins around her eyes bulged. 

“What the fuck is wrong with your eyes?” Kankuro asked. 

Hinata ignored him, running forward with surprising decisiveness. Kankuro took a swing at her, but she slapped the arm away with a loud crack. She ducked under the arm, spinning around and attacking the bandage-wrapped thing attached to his back with the flat of her hand.

“What is she doing?” Ino asked.

Shikamaru smirked. “She saw something we didn’t.”

‘Kankuro’ dropped to the ground in a wooden clatter. The face cracked, revealing a puppet underneath. Hinata had continued attacking Kankuro’s actual body, and as he was wrapped up he was entirely defenseless. He forced out a hand and attempted to unravel himself, but Hinata batted it away. She finished with a kick to Kankuro’s chest, knocking him over. He didn’t move. 

Hayate walked over to look at him. “Winner, Hyuuga Hinata.”

“That was fast,” Naruto said, taking a spot at Shikamaru’s side. “I thought it might be.”

“What did you tell her?”

“The truth,” Naruto said, shrugging. A team of medics trotted out and loaded Kankuro on a stretcher, still wrapped up. Hinata’s teammates—just Kiba, really—cheered loudly for her as she joined them on the platform.

Hayate coughed. “We will now begin the next match.”

Shikamaru watched the scoreboard shuffle their names, grimacing when he saw his own. 

“Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru. Please step forward.”

He sighed, then jumped into the arena. The overhead lights reduced the efficacy of his shadows, but he had a few ways to deal with that. Neji was a close range fighter like Hinata, exclusively using the Hyuuga’s Juuken style. Shikamaru was decent at taijutsu, it was impossible not to be with Naruto demanding spars every day for years, but he wasn’t anywhere near Neji’s level. 

He and Naruto had spent the week before the beginning of the exams dropping in on teams practicing. Spying, though he didn’t like to call it that. It was important to be aware of the abilities of one’s comrades. It was common sense. 

Hayate coughed again, shaking Shikamaru from his thoughts. “Please begin.”

Shikamaru put his hands together. His kagemane needed only one hand sign, but he reined his shadow in. He just needed the right moment.

“Give up,” Neji said.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Naruto started cackling.

“Don’t lose, Shikamaru!” Ino shouted.

“Whatever,” he said, pulling out a few kunai and tossing them experimentally at Neji. Neji ducked away, smiling.

“Do you think you can win like that?” Neji taunted.

The problem with Shikamaru’s plan was he needed Neji to get serious. Which was why he had thrown kunai wrapped with Naruto’s own explosive tags. Shikamaru knew there were different categories for the tags Naruto made, and normally he'd be more selective in which he used, but at the wasn’t picky about the size of the explosion.

It was a big one.

Neji dodged the chunks of rock flying at him, and Shikamaru watched his Byakugan activate. 

“Do you think you can win standing around talking shit?” Shikamaru asked, regarding the older boy with boredom. “I thought you were a genius or something.”

Neji glared at him. “As you wish. I’ll make this quick.”

Neji was fast, but Shikamaru knew that. Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets, watching calmly as Neji charged at him, a little surprised Neji hadn’t noticed he had already performed a technique. He chalked it up to ignorance and a superiority complex.

Neji pulled his arm back to strike, and Shikamaru let his shadow pool out. He knew in Juuken the fighter expelled chakra when they struck, with pinpoint precision. If he got the timing wrong, Shikamaru was fucked. 

Neij froze, fingers nearly touching Shikamaru’s chest. Shikamaru quickly slapped himself in the head, watching Neji’s horrified expression as he did the same. The chakra in Neji’s palms was driven into his own body. The veins around his eyes retreated, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and when Shikamaru released his shadow, Neji slumped to the ground. 

“Hmm,” he said, looking at his unconscious opponent.

“Uh…” Hayate wandered over to also look at last year’s Rookie of the Year. A meaningless title if Shikamaru had ever heard one. “Winner, Nara Shikamaru.”

Shikamaru yawned and walked back up the stairs. He was glad his fight was out of the way, but he didn’t have time to nap now. He had to see how everyone else did.

Naruto was loudly cheering his name, along with Ino. Asuma clapped him roughly on the shoulder, and Choji offered him some chips. He ignored questions of how he had done it—if they didn’t know what the Nara clan specialized in, that was their problem—and the shocked looks from Team Gai. Lee in particular looked devastated by the match. Was he good friends with Neji? Did he want to beat Neji himself?

Shikamaru didn’t really care. He ate some chips. 

Naruto took a chip from Shikamaru and bit into it. “What flavor is this?”

Choji looked at the bag. “Meat.”

“Okay…” Naruto drifted away from Shikamaru, joining his team.

“How did Shikamaru win?” Sakura asked, looking at the rather laid back Team 10.

“His clan uses shadows to fight,” Naruto said. “They force the other person to mimic them.”

“He used Neji’s own technique against him,” Kakashi added. 

Naruto turned to Sasuke. “That’s what I was talking about.”

Sakura had wrapped bandages around Sasuke’s neck and chest to cover up the curse mark and the fuja hoin. It was best if no one knew about either, though Sasuke’s hand kept twitching as if to stray to his neck.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Neji was Rookie of the Year last year,” Naruto said. “He’s the genius of the Hyuuga clan. In a taijutsu battle he would kick Shikamaru’s ass. So Shikamaru used it against him. He set a trap, drew Neji in, and defeated him in one move.”

Sasuke huffed, but didn’t argue. 

“Inuzuka Kiba and Tsurugi Misumi.”

Naruto looked down at Kiba, who was busy taunting his older opponent, Akamaru barking at his side. Apparently growing bored, Kiba shouted, “I’ll end this with one move!” and launched himself at Misumi. Misumi caught Kiba’s fist, and then his limbs began wrapping around Kiba. 

“What is that?” Sakura whispered, watching as Akamaru lunged at Misumi’s neck. Kiba was struggling to reach his pocket.

“It looks familiar,” Naruto whispered. “That’s what Orochimaru was doing, right? Going snake mode?”

“Snake mode?” Kakashi asked. Kiba had gotten a pill to Akamaru, and Akamaru renewed his assault on Misumi’s throat. Misumi was forced to let go of Kiba, then Kiba did some kind of transformation to make Akamaru look like him. 

“Gatsuga!”

Twin vortices flew through the air, drilling into Misumi and chasing him around the arena.

“He could do the same thing to his body,” Naruto explained. “Make it all flexible and snakey like that.”

It was a long match. Kiba filled the arena with purple smoke and kept attacking Misumi. Misumi seemed only to have that weird limb thing, and was gradually worn down by Kiba’s assault.

“Winner, Inuzuka Kiba.”

Kiba and Akamaru rejoined their team, while Misumi was carried out on a stretcher. 

“Is everyone going to end up in the hospital?” Naruto asked.

“Possibly,” Kakashi said, smiling at him. “Try to win.”

Naruto scowled at him and went back to stand next to Shikamaru.

“Aburame Shino and Rock Lee, please come down.”

“Yes!” Lee exclaimed, jumping in delight. 

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

“I hope Shino wins,” Naruto said, watching as the quiet boy walked down. 

“He won't,” Shikamaru said. 

After hacking a few times, Hayate said, “Please begin.”

Lee immediately ran at Shino, who just stood there. Lee was fast, even at his base speed. His first punch went right through Shino’s face. Shino had considerately turned into a collection of bugs, which swarmed over Lee. Lee made the mistake of shouting as this happened, and Naruto’s skin crawled at the thought of Shino’s kikaichu in his mouth.

“I think their team has a problem,” Naruto said, watching as Lee fell over, his chakra draining away. “Punch first, ask questions later.”

They watched Lee blindly stumble around, trying to crawl away, to brush the insects off, to crush them.

“First gate, open!”

The kikaichu exploded outward in a burst of chakra. Naruto watched, stunned, as Lee climbed back to his feet.

“Gai,” Kakashi asked, “what did you teach that kid?”

Gai didn’t have time to explain. Lee vanished, reappearing to punch Shino into a wall. He burst into insects again, but the kikaichu were too slow to latch onto Lee. In moments Lee had found Shino’s real body, punching him with a horrible crack that sent Shino flying into a wall. He fell to the ground like a sack of bones.

“Winner, Rock Lee.”

Shikamaru groaned. “I don’t want to fight him in the final. What a nightmare.”

Gai and Kurenai hopped down to gather their students. Shino was carted away on another stretcher, and after a moment Lee was persuaded to get medical attention too. Opening one of the gates put a lot of strain on one’s body, and Lee was very young to have learned that technique.

“Next up,” Hayate wheezed. “Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Ino.”

Shikamaru pointedly did not look at Naruto. He knew his friend was overjoyed at the match up. He looked at Ino instead, who seemed like she didn’t know whether to be happy at sparring with Sasuke-kun, or mortified at potentially having to hurt him. She didn’t even take time to taunt Sakura, just walked into the arena in a daze. 

Sasuke, for his part, looked pissed. 

“Sasuke-kun, let’s have a good fight,” Ino squealed with a fraction of her normal energy.

“Hn.”

“Begin.”

Sasuke was across the room in an instant, punching Ino so fast she had no time to guard. She flew back, smacking her head against the ground. Instead of following up, Sasuke just looked down at her with slight disgust.

“Sakura puts up a better fight than you,” he said.

Ino twitched at that, pushing herself up with shaking arms. “I won’t lose to someone like Sakura!”

Sasuke scoffed. “Prove it.”

The match didn’t go on for much longer. Sasuke was clearly bored and playing with her. 

“He’s not even bothering with anything but taijutsu,” Naruto said, frowning as Ino was smacked down again. “Sakura learned the hard way that Sasuke only recognizes strength.”

Shikamaru sighed. “Maybe Ino will take training seriously after this. It’s embarrassing.”

The proctor soon called the match in Sasuke’s favor. Ino wasn’t beat up too badly, which further demonstrated Sasuke had been taking it easy on her. She was the first loser who wasn’t taken to the infirmary. Sasuke joined Kakashi and Sakura, not a hair out of place. He wasn’t even breathing hard. 

Asuma jumped into the arena to recover Ino’s prone body, then back to the platform, laying her against the wall to rest. Sakura hurried over to check on her former friend, hands already glowing green.

Shikamaru didn’t know if Hayate was coughing on purpose or not, but it was starting to get annoying. “Next match, Akimichi Choji and Tenten.”

“You can forfeit if you want,” Shikamaru offered. If he hadn’t been born into a ninja clan, Shikamaru knew Choji would never have become a shinobi. Maybe he’d have a simple life designing chip flavors.

“If you fight, I’ll buy all-you-can-eat yakiniku,” Asuma countered. 

“Yes!” Choji shouted, fired up. He jumped down into the arena of his own volition. Tenten, Team Gai’s weapons mistress, seemed immune to ridiculous displays. She was on Team Gai, after all. When Hayate said, “Begin,” she immediately jumped into the air and threw shuriken at Choji. Choji shrieked and narrowly dodged. Unfortunately for him, the weapons kept coming. 

“Move it, fatass!” Naruto shouted, taking Ino’s role. Shikamaru was grateful for that. He really didn’t like insulting Choji’s weight, which Choji was self-conscious of despite it being key to the Akimichi’s techniques. He wasn’t even that fat, and his weight didn’t prevent him from doing the same things as other ninja. He might not have Lee’s speed, or Ino’s flexibility, but he made up for it in other ways.

Naruto’s words were nevertheless effective.

“Ninpo, baika no jutsu!”

Choji inflated into a ball, chakra shooting out of his sleeves and pant legs. He began to spin rapidly, then shot across the arena. Tenten dodged easily, peppering him with more weapons. Shikamaru winced as Choji rolled over the blades already scattered on the ground. It wasn’t the best idea for Choji to roll over them, but he knew Choji had yet to advance past this technique and that his father was reluctant to train him in other Akimichi jutsu while he remained so unmotivated and undertrained. 

The plus side was none of Tenten’s weapons could stick in Choji as he rotated at high speed. He did eventually embed himself in a wall, which allowed Tenten to corner him and claim her victory. Choji was cut up and disoriented—likely concussed as he had slammed headfirst into the wall—so medic-nin took him to the infirmary. 

“Next up, Akado Yoroi and Haruno Sakura.”

“Sa..kura?”

Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw Ino blinking in confusion. 

“Sakura’s up next,” Shikamaru told her. “You missed Choji. He just lost.”

Ino shook her head, then pushed herself up. She stumbled to the rail and draped over it, eyes focusing on Sakura. 

Naruto examined Sakura’s opponent. He didn’t know anything about him, which was strange since he and Shikamaru had gathered information on almost all of the other Konoha genin. The older man had two dark lenses, almost as if he had buttons instead of eyes. Naruto was curious about what he was hiding under his veil. It was an odd choice for Konoha ninja. Most wore masks like Kakashi, or bandages to obscure their faces. 

“Beat the shit out of him, Sakura!” Naruto shouted. She flinched, then turned to glower at him.

“Don’t disappoint us,” Sasuke said. 

Kakashi simply nodded.

Sakura smiled, then turned to her opponent. Her hand crept towards her weapon’s pouch.

“Begin.”

Yoroi formed a single sign, then stuck out his hand in a weird way. He threw shuriken at Sakura, and as she blocked he vanished.

“Shunshin?” Naruto said. “Sakura, move!”

Sakura moved, her hands forming signs faster than Naruto had ever seen her. She had a limited arsenal, but Sakura knew how to use it.

Yoroi appeared in front of her and punched her into the ground. Sakura popped into smoke, a log taking her place.

“You think you can win with cheap tricks?” Yoroi asked, kicking the log up so it intercepted the kunai Sakura had thrown. They exploded, and Naruto grinned. Sakura was a quick learner. Yoroi reeled back, and Sakura leapt through the smoke, kicking him in the face. He grabbed her leg and she screamed, stabbing at his hand until he let her go. She fell to the floor headfirst, barely catching herself and rolling back. She landed in a crouch, breathing heavily. Her leg looked unharmed.

“You…you absorbed my chakra?” she panted, scrutinizing Yoroi. 

“Oh, you’re pretty quick,” Yoroi said, managing a predatory look from behind his veil and dark lenses. “That’s right, little girl.”

Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled something out. Something small and round.

“She has food pills,” Shikamaru said as Sakura put one in her mouth. Naruto didn't see her chew or swallow it. She was saving it for later, like a squirrel. 

Yoroi charged her, but Sakura was already forming signs. She slammed her hands to the ground and a rock wall surged up. She ducked behind it, preparing another jutsu. Yoroi jumped over the wall and slammed his hand into Sakura. She burst into smoke, another log in her place.

"You think the same trick is going to work twice?" Yoroi sneered, looking up. Sakura was falling towards him, her arm pulled back, hand glowing green. Yoroi reached up to grab her, and Sakura bit down on her food pill. Her hand flared with chakra, even as Yoroi's technique drained her. He flipped her over and pinned her to the ground, just as Sakura's fist slammed into his head.

Yoroi shuddered, then fell over. Sakura kicked out of his grip then leapt on his back, pulling his head up and jamming a kunai against his throat.

"Do you yield?" she demanded, a fierce look in her eyes.

Yoroi, having been knocked unconscious, didn't respond.

"Shit," Naruto said, grinning.

"That's Sakura?" Ino said faintly, gawking as Hayate declared Sakura the winner.

Sakura climbed off her opponent and walked to the platform without looking back. Sasuke nodded approvingly at her. 

"She's smart," Shikamaru said. "She stuck to basic techniques and won without revealing too much."

Naruto looked around, gauging how people reacted. He spotted Kabuto, who had a calculating expression that Naruto didn't like. What about Sakura had caught his attention?

"Uzumaki Naruto and Temari."

Shikamaru jostled him. "You're up."

“Finally,” Naruto said, jumping down into the arena. The Suna kunoichi, Temari, was grinning at him, one hand on her oversized tessen. Naruto had seen her oiling the giant metal war fan, and was reasonably certain she used it in conjunction with wind techniques. If she used it with fire, well…he did have a few overpowered suiton courtesy of Senju Tobirama and a certain secret scroll. 

“Begin.”

Naruto whipped out a few smoke bombs and tossed them to the ground, disappearing into the orange smoke. He had smoke tags, but didn’t want to use any fuinjutsu in the open. Ninjas who broadcasted their skills gave an advantage to their enemies. 

The Chuunin Exam wasn’t just about getting promoted, or pitting children against each other in a proxy war, or impressing potential clients. It was about showing off without showing anything at all. He had already talked to Sasuke about not using his Sharingan. Not every Uchiha had developed it, as Sasuke had told him. But he was more valuable to the village if his bloodline limit was active. By that same token, it made him a more appealing target to creeps like Orochimaru, or anyone else who wanted a doujutsu to steal. Naruto knew his own mother had been kidnapped as a genin for being an Uzumaki, with unusually dense chakra which Naruto had inherited. Chakra perfect for subduing a bijuu, as it so happened.

Pay attention! Kurama grumbled.

Naruto ran through the smoke, dropping behind the wall Sakura had made when he heard a fan swing through the air. He flattened himself as the smoke was blown away. As it died down, he stood, a little bemused to see that Temari’s fan was out but remained closed. She had it planted on the floor in front of her. 

He pulled out another smoke bomb, tossing it in his hand. 

“That didn’t work the first time,” Temari said, smirking at him. “Are you as stupid as you look?”

Naruto smiled, then stepped on the seal he had placed under his feet. Orange smoke billowed out in a continuous stream. Naruto tossed the smoke ball in the air, then made a shadow clone who immediately started a series of hand signs. Naruto did the same, using kage bunshin on the smoke ball. Dozens appeared, all flying forward as the clone released a vicious gust of wind. Naruto had chakra to spare, and his own futonjutsu competed with Temari's, the two clashing in the middle of the arena. Dense orange smoke spun around in a cyclone. The clone transformed into a kunai and Naruto snatched it out of the air, running to the side and throwing it where he had last seen Temari. He smiled at the sound of her tessen blocking it. If she was blocking with her fan, she wasn’t doing any jutsu. And there was a lag between her techniques, she couldn’t generate perpetual wind. His smile grew at her shout as the clone transformed again, snatched the fan away, and retreated.

Naruto ran along the wall, pelting towards the sound of Temari clapping her hands together. The smoke blew away, this time with her fan-less wind technique. He supposed the benefit of the fan was it didn’t require any hand signs. It was a conduit for her chakra. She wasn’t useless without it, but she had to dodge the kunai he threw at her. Temari caught one, clearly intending to use it for herself, until she noticed the explosive tag wrapped around the hilt. She tossed it away a moment too late, and the explosion threw her back. Her head bounced off the arena wall and she slumped to the floor.. 

The clone on the ceiling dispelled, dropping the fan directly onto Temari’s head. Naruto frowned at that. The clone’s memories told him how heavy a metal fan the same height as a teenage girl was. He hoped her neck wasn’t broken. Ninja were in general sturdier than civilians. Chakra reinforced their bones and muscles. She should be fine.

He carefully approached her prone body, relieved that her skull hadn’t been cracked open. She was still breathing. One of her wrists had been dislocated when the clone stole her fan, and it was purpling. It was impressive she had managed a jutsu in that state. 

Hayate wandered over and looked down at Temari. After a moment, he said, “Winner, Uzumaki Naruto.”

Naruto looked up at the remaining Suna genin, Gaara, who was staring at him, not Temari. Naruto waved at him, but the other boy just kept staring. Naruto saw he had the kanji for love tattooed over his eye, an odd choice for such an outwardly emotionless boy. He was kind of cute, for an apparent sociopath. 

Naruto shook his head, finally hearing Sakura’s excited cheers. He walked up to join his team. He didn’t feel very proud about his victory. He had the impression Temari was holding back. Like other long range fighters, her taijutsu was weak. She carried no weapons other than her fan. There hadn’t been much power behind the futon jutsu she had used.

Naruto couldn’t begrudge her for holding back. After all, he was too.

Shikamaru could tell Naruto wasn’t pleased with his fight. No one really knew what had happened. From the audience’s perspective, there was a lot of orange smoke, wind, more orange smoke, more wind, more smoke, a few explosions, then the kunoichi’s own weapon dropping on her head. Most of the other genin had missed Naruto’s clone clinging to the ceiling, out of range of Temari’s jutsu and with a clear view of the arena. The smoke had effectively obscured the techniques Naruto had used. There had just been so much of it, reaching all the way up to the viewing platforms. 

“Good job,” Shikamaru said, bumping Naruto’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” Naruto said, giving him half of a smile. “Just kept it simple.”

“Right,” Shikamaru said. “I’m glad it’s the last match. I want to sleep in my own bed.”

“Me too,” Naruto said absently.

“I think there’s room,” Shikamaru said. He was rewarded with Naruto's spluttered denials. “Shut up, they’re about to start.”

Gaara and Kabuto stepped into the arena. 

“Begin.”

Kabuto raised his hand. “I—”

He jumped away as sand blasted the spot he had been standing. Gaara stood in the middle of the arena, arms crossed, sand flowing out of the large gourd strapped to his back. The sand kept chasing Kabuto, as if it had a life of its own. Shikamaru didn’t know how Gaara was directing it. Was all of the sand imbued with chakra? It didn’t bode well for Kabuto, who was dodging and slapping streams of sand away.

“I forfeit!” Kabuto shouted, right before sand slammed into him. He appeared on the other side of the arena, arms and face skinned by the sand. “I said I—”

Sand wrapped around his legs, and there was a sickening sound as Kabuto’s bones were crushed. Kabuto screamed in agony, desperately beating at the sand as it continued creeping up towards his throat. Hayate sliced it away with a katana, the other jounin sensei dropping down to help block Gaara’s continued assault. The Suna jounin was standing in front of him, talking quickly in a low voice. Gaara wasn’t paying any attention, focused on Kabuto, who was being dug out of a pile of sand. There was blood everywhere, Kabuto’s legs squeezed like fleshy fruit, drooping like grotesque noodles as he was carefully moved onto a stretcher and whisked away. 

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, who had a distant look in his eyes. Shikamaru knew that look, and knew Naruto wouldn't explain what it was about. Shikamaru had his suspicions, of course, but would wait until Naruto was ready to tell him. Naruto deserved his privacy.

There were things Shikamaru hadn’t told him either. 

Hayate coughed again. “Well, that concludes the preliminaries. Will the winners please join me?”

Shikamaru lined up in front of Hayate with the other seven victors, Lee not having returned from the infirmary. It was a little sad how almost everyone was from Konoha. Of course their village had the most teams, but it felt like bragging that the latest flock of genin had made it into the finals. Maybe that was the point.

After the Hokage explained the finals would be in a month, how they were representing their country—Shikamaru sighed loudly at this—Anko went around with a box and they all pulled out a piece of paper.

As they each called out their number, Ibiki, who had showed up at some point, wrote them down. When they were finished, he showed them the tournament bracket. 

“Lucky,” Naruto said, elbowing Sasuke. “You get an extra match.”

It was obvious not everyone was happy with their matches. Hinata and Naruto were up first, then Lee and Sakura, Shikamaru and Kiba, and finally Sasuke and Tenten. Gaara had a bye, and would fight either Sasuke or Tenten. Hinata and Sakura both looked traumatized by their matches. Shikamaru felt he was lucky getting Kiba and Akamaru. He already had a plan in mind. He was not looking forward to Sasuke or Gaara, but he hoped Sasuke was the winner. Unlike the Suna-nin, he didn’t think Sasuke would actually kill him. 

Naruto glanced at Hinata, who was refusing to look at him. He wasn’t blind to her crush. For the most part, he tried to ignore it since he had no idea how else to handle it. He did hope she would want to impress him, and hopefully do better than her cousin. 

I’m sure of it now, kid, Kurama said. That Gaara brat has Shukaku sealed in him.

And what am I supposed to do about that? Naruto asked. Kurama had been going on about Shukaku for days. 

If you end up fighting him, you need to be prepared, Kurama said. 

How?

Kurama hesitated, and Naruto felt his reluctance. He soon understood the source of it. 

Uzumaki style sealing, Kurama spat. Your mother’s speciality, an Uzumaki secret technique. What she used to bind me in her seal, to subdue me when I was used to attack the village.

Naruto’s eyes widened. A hiden jutsu, something passed down through his family. Something his mother had specialized in. 

Kongo Fuusa, Kurama growled. The Adamantine Sealing Chains.