The Pact

-Of Suspicions, Forfeits, and Unexpected Interruptions-

“No sign of Sasuke yet?” Lord Third asks, keeping his gaze on the group of Genin below.

Raidō Namiashi, an elite Jounin chosen to specifically guard the Third Hokage, shakes his head and bends over to speak lowly in the older males ear. “No. A team of ANBU Black Ops are searching for him, but so far, they’ve found nothing... He may already be in Orochimaru’s hands, in which case, of course, we may never find him.”

The elder nods. “I understand.”

On the Sarutobi’s left, Kenji sighs. “We can only hope that it hasn’t come to that.” He murmurs, sending Raidō a stern look for being so pessimistic. “He’s been training one-on-one with Kakashi - who’s known for being notoriously late... I’m sure they’ll be here.”

Lord Third hums and opens his mouth to speak but pauses as three ninja approach from the left. “Aha, you made it!” He greets, sending them a cheerful smile. “Welcome, Lord Kazekage.”

The male, donned in his traditional Kage robes that were trimmed in green, nods respectively and takes a seat in the remaining empty chair as his two guards move to stand behind him.

Unbothered by his silence, Lord Third continues to speak. “You must be weary, having come all this way.”

“Not at all.” The Kazekage replies, turning his head to meet the elders gaze. “I’m only glad that for your sake, the arena is here in the Leaf Village. As strong as you are, I’m sure a long journey would have proven difficult for you at your age...” he then trails off for a moment before asking thoughtfully, “Isn’t it about time you decided who will succeed you as Hokage?”

Keeping his face neutral, Kenji shares a brief glance with Raidō, feeling something pull at his instincts to be more on guard though he puts it aside for the time being.

Lord Third hums and lets out a loud laugh. “You act as if I were an old man. There’s plenty of life left in me!... No, I plan on staying here for some time to come.” He replies cheerfully before standing from his seat, making his way over to the railing. “Now then. It’s time for the final rounds to begin.”

***

“Welcome all, and our deepest thanks for coming here to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for this years Chunin Selection! We have come to the final competition between the ten candidates who made it through the preliminaries... We ask that no one leaves until all the matches have been completed... Now everyone enjoy!”

At the Hokage’s words, the crowd‘s cheers grow louder.

Genma looks around at the stands for a moment before turning to face the group behind him. “Oh, there’s one more thing before we get started.” He informs as he pulls a paper out of his flack-jacket and unfolds it. “Look it over. There’s been a slight change in matchups, but now it’s set. So everyone take one last look at who you’ll be facing.”

Amaya subconsciously furrows her brows as her eyes quickly scan over the roster. ‘Everyone’s there but Dosu... Guess he must’ve dropped out. Heh, and after all that talk about wanting to face Sasuke.’ She then looks over to Kazuki - who stood a little ways down the line. ‘But nothing’s really changed. We’ll still be the last to go.’

Naruto raises his hand. “Uh, question...? Question.”

Genma looks at him as he folds the paper and puts it away. “What is it?”

“I was just wondering what will happen to Sasuke? I mean, if he doesn’t show up?” Naruto asks, his question immediately making everyone perk up.

Genma sighs. “If a candidate is not here in the arena at the time his name is called, he forfeits the match.”

Sharing a concerned glance with Naruto before the blond turns to look back at the entrance, Amaya bites her bottom lip worriedly. ‘There’s no way in hell Sasuke would dare miss something like this. Not with all of the tough opponents he would get to face and especially not after his actions back during the prelims...’

“All right, listen up.” Genma calls, returning the attention back to him. “The terrain’s different but the rules are the same as before. That is, that there are no rules. The match continues until one candidate acknowledges defeat or dies... That being said, if I determine that a match is over, I can step in and stop it at any time and no arguments are permitted. Understood?” He then trails his gaze over the gathered Genin for a moment. “These are the opponents for the first match... Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga. Those two stay, the rest of you can go to the waiting room.”

At the unspoken order, everyone but Naruto and Neji turn and begin to make their way to a nearby stairwell.

Amaya pauses in her walk with a jolt before turning on her heel. “Oh, Naruto...!” She calls and when the blond turns to her, she holds up her fist. “Good luck! Kick his ass for me, ‘kay?”

Naruto stares at her for a moment before returning her bright grin with one of his own, reaching out to bump his knuckles against hers. “You got it!”

Looking around as she stepped into the skybox, Amaya hums and immediately makes her way over to the railing, whistling lowly to herself as she looked out at the arena. “Saa~… Look at this view...! You can see around the whole stadium from here.”

Shikamaru walks over, taking the empty spot between the brunette and Shino with a tired sigh. “It’s gonna be such a drag to get back down there.”

“Not if you jump...” Amaya replies in a light tone as she leaned over the barrier slightly to look down at the ground below. “You could totally stick the landing from here.”

The Nara turns to her unimpressed. “Not everyone likes to free-fall from high places, you weirdo.” He grunts.

Amaya laughs and slings her arm around his shoulders, forcing him to lean dangerously over the railing with her. “Oh, c’mon, Shika!~” She chirps playfully, tightening her grip when he flinches backwards. “S’nothing wrong with it. It’ll be a good way to get the adrenaline pumpin’ before your match!”

“O-Oi, cut it out...!” Shikamaru complains, his stomach clenching at the sight of the large drop below.

Shino watches the two scuffle for a minute in silent amusement before turning to the match below. “It’s starting.” He murmurs.

“Hm...?” Amaya hums, relaxing her hold on Shikamaru as she looked in the quiet boy’s direction, following his gaze. “Oh...”

***

Naruto and Neji both walk to the center of the field and face each other.

Neji stares at the blond for a moment before smirking. “You got anything to say to me?”

Naruto scowls and holds up his fist, mimicking his stance from the prelims. “Only what I told you the last time... I vow to win!”

In response, Neji activates his Byakugan and readies his stance with a low chuckle. “So much the better for me... I can’t wait to see the look of despair on your face when you learn that your foolish vow is impossible to keep.”

“Are we gonna stand around here talking all day?” Naruto grunts with a sneer. “Lets get going. Show me what you got!”

Genma looks between the two before nodding. “Alright. Now, let the first match begin!” He states, making the crowd above cheer.

Both boys go still and begin sizing each other up, neither really wanting to make the first move.

Finally, after a tense moment of silence, Naruto suddenly pulls out and throws multiple kunai.

Neji jumps back and dodges the first few before pulling out his own weapon to block the rest, and it’s then that Naruto charges forward, aiming a punch.

Neji grabs the blond’s arm and shifts to the side, pushing the boy down to the ground as he moves.

Naruto stumbles at first but manages to quickly right himself, flipping out of the Hyuuga’s range before pivoting on his heel to charge forward again. He throws another punch but Neji dodges a second time; the close range forcing the two into a Taijutsu battle.

After a few more attempted hits, Naruto retreats slightly and goes for a roundhouse-kick that was followed by another punch.

Neji jumps backwards from the kick and quickly blocks the blond’s fist before rushing forward, slamming his own hand into the blond’s shoulder. He then brings his free arm up and attempts to jab his fingers near the boy’s clavicle, however, Naruto ducks to the ground and rolls away.

“Do you understand now? You have no way of beating me.” The Hyuuga asks after taking in Naruto’s panting form.

Naruto scoffs in response. “Heh, get real! I was just checking you out, that’s all.”

“Huh?”

Naruto stands. “Okay, now that we’re warmed up, we can get started.” He states before making a hand-sign. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

Five clones then appear next to the blond, each one pulling out a kunai.

Neji looks at the clones, unable to decipher which one was the real Naruto, the realization making him smirk. “No matter. You can’t hide for long.”

“Hah! Well, we’ll just see about that!” The clones all say in unison.

“If you’re coming, then come on.” Neji sneers.

In response, the clones run forward and Neji jumps into the air, flipping over two as he pushes off their shoulders. Seeing this, the remaining two charge at his sides with their kunai gripped tightly in their hands.

Once they’re close enough, Neji grabs their forearms and twists his body, quickly and deftly pushing them aside. It’s then the final Naruto runs forward and aims a high-kick, however, Neji jumps away with a backflip, just barely missing the blond’s shoe.

Naruto grins. “Not bad, but let’s see you do that again!” He exclaims and the clones charge forward again, this time splitting off and encircling the Hyuuga on all sides.

Neji doesn’t reply and when two of the clones run forward, he jumps into the air, spinning slightly before quickly bringing his legs downward. One foot slams into the top of a clones head and as it disperses, Neji regains his footing and swings his other leg out, kicking the second in the chin.

Two more clones charge forward but Neji once again grabs their arms and twists as he pushes them forward. Then, as they pivot on their heels to face him, he simultaneously slams both of his hands into their stomachs, knocking them into a third clone as they disperse.

“This guy... He must have eyes in the back of his head...” Naruto murmurs to himself, watching as Neji walks over to the remaining clone that was still crumpled on the ground and lifts it into the air by its collar before forcing it to disperse.

Neji then turns in his direction. “You thought you could be Hokage? It’s absurd. Never... These eyes of mine show me many things. One thing they’ve showed me is that people’s limitations are set, fixed, and unchangeable. Only a foolwastes his time trying to become something he can never be.”

Naruto glares. “A fool, huh? Not this crap again...! Who are you to judge what a person can or can’t be?!”

“Do you think anyonecan become Hokage? That all it takes is a little hard work?” Neji then scoffs, “Open your eyes. Of all the Shinobi in all the world, think of how few ever become Hokage... They were born destined to be Hokage. It’s not something you become merely by trying to become it. They were chosen by destiny. Each person is given his own path to follow, and he must follow it obediently to the end... There is only one destiny we all share equally... Death.”

Naruto’s glare deepens. “Yeah? So what?... You can think that if you want. People always tell me I just don’t know when to give up...!” He then makes another hand-sign. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

As soon as the words leave his lips, more clones appear, this time nearly tripling the previous amount.

They all charge forward and Neji enters a Taijutsu battle with each one that gets too close, however, none are able to land a hit on him. “This is ridiculous. We’re not even getting close to this guy!” One exclaims, panting.

“You think I can be fooled with a trick like that?” Neji asks with a smirk. He then sprints though the throng of clones, his eyes focused solely on one particular blond of the bunch. And once he was close enough, he strikes the boy in the right pectoral region with the tips of his fingers. “You’re the one keeping out of range for fear of my striking your chakra points like this. The more the others attack, the more you stand out for holding back.”

Naruto coughs and some of the clones begin to disperse one-by-one.

Neji smirks. “You’re the real one, aren’t you?” He questions, backing up as more clones disperse. “I told you it was pointless.”

Naruto laughs and looks up at him. “Oh, yeah? And I told you it was a mistake to count me out!” He replies before dispersing with a pop, revealing himself to be a clone.

“But how?!” Neji exclaims, spinning around as the real Naruto approaches him from behind, throwing a punch. “You thought I’d be too much of a chicken to attack you myself? Well think again!”

However, before the hit could land, Neji smirks and rotates his body, deflecting with what seemed like a shield of chakra. As he does this, Naruto and the remaining clones are also knocked back.

The clones then disperse, leaving the two boys by themselves.

“Damn it...!” Amaya grunts, slamming her hands down onto the railing out of annoyance.

“What was that?” Shikamaru questions, looking between the brunette to his left and the fight below.

Amaya’s brows furrow. “Hakkeshō Kaiten. It’s a form of secret Taijutsu obviously only known to the Hyuuga Clan.” She replies, and at his curious expression, she continues. “To put it simply... When hit, the user spins and releases a strong burst of chakra from all of their chakra points simultaneously, deflecting the attack and repelling anything in their direct vicinity.” She then turns to look at him. “Basically, it forms a shield of chakra around the users body, and almost nothing can get past it... I’d even say it’s more impenetrable than Gaara’s shell of sand.”

“So in other words, the kids gonna have one hell of a time actually getting to Neji...?” Shikamaru asks rhetorically, and when the girl nods he sighs tiredly and looks back to the fight. “What a drag...”

By this point, Naruto had attempted the same attack again with more Shadow Clones, only to receive the same result.

“This is the end for you. You’re in range and you can’t escape my Eight Trigrams.” Neji informs, watching as the blond slowly pushed himself up from the ground a second time. And as soon as the boy was standing, he lowers himself into another - yet slightly different - stance. “Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!”

Running forward, Neji begins his jutsu, and each sequence is followed by multiple consecutive strikes to the blond’s torso. “Eight Trigrams, two palms...! Four palms...! Thirty-two palms...! Sixty-four palms!”

Naruto flys back onto the ground with a cry of pain, prompting Neji to relax his stance.

Genma takes a step forward. “Looks like this is over.” He mutters, watching as Naruto struggled to stand.

“I have now struck all sixty-four of your chakra points. You’re lucky to still be breathing.” Neji informs, also watching the blond closely.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto glares at the ground as he tried to push himself up. “Come on...!”

Neji smirks to himself, certain that the match was now over. “Well, it must be frustrating to realize how utterly hopeless it all was, this little dream of yours. You thought you could succeed through hard work alone. That’s only an illusion.”

Panting, Naruto pushes himself further and slowly stands. “No way.” He grunts out before laughing at the look on Neji’s face. “I told you, I just don’t know when to give up.”

Neji sends him an annoyed look. “It can’t be! Stop this madness. You’ll only get more of the same... I have nothing against you personally.”

Naruto smirks. “Heh. That’s touching. You’re gonna make me cry...” His expression then becomes angry. “Anyway, I’ve got plenty against you.”

Neji’s expression morphed into one of curiosity. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You don’t?” Naruto asks rhetorically. “And here I thought you were Mr. Know-It-All... You don’t remember what you did to Hinata, huh? The way you worked on her with your mind games, tearing her down when she worked so hard to get here!”

Neji scowls. “Never mind that. It doesn’t concern you.”

“You mocked Hinata, calling her a failure!... All that stuff about the great Hyuuga Clan, Main Household, Branch Families...! What a bunch of crap!” Naruto exclaims with a glare. “It doesn’t give you the right to decide who’s a failure. That’s what I’ve got against you!”

Neji returns the glare wholeheartedly. “Very well. As you’re so interested, I’ll tell you about it. The Hyuuga Clan’s heritage of hatred!... For generations, the Main Household of our clan has practiced a Secret Ninjutsu known as the Curse Mark Jutsu.”

“Curse Mark Jutsu?” Naruto questions curiously.

“The curse mark is the symbol of a bird locked in its cage. It’s the mark of those who are bound to a destiny they cannot escape.” Neji replies before reaching up to remove his headband, revealing the aforementioned marking in the center of his forehead.

Naruto’s eyes bulge in surprise. “Is— Is that...? That’s the curse mark?”

“I was four-years-old when the leaders of my clan branded this symbol on my forehead. On that same day, a great celebration took place in the Hidden Leaf Village... After many years of war, a peace agreement had at last been reached with the Land of Lightening and they had sent the Head Cloud Ninja to sign the treaty and join in the celebration.” Neji informs, not once breaking eye contact with the blond. “Everyone was there to welcome our old enemies. Every Genin, Chunin, and Jounin in the Leaf Village... Only one clan was absent, the Hyuuga Clan. Because this was the day in which the heir to the Main Household was to turn three. It was Lady Hinata’s birthday...”

Neji then turns to look up at the crowd, seemingly focusing on one individual in particular. “Her father, Lord Hiashi Hyuuga, is sitting up there. He and my father, Hizashi, are twin brothers. And yet, he entered into the world first, so he is head of the family, the firstborn. While my father, his twin brother, is banished to a lesser branch of the family... It was then, on the day the heir to the Main Household turned three, that the curse mark was put on me and I was made a bird in a cage by my own uncle.”

As he spoke, Amaya‘s brows furrow and her mind goes to Kou, Kurai and her mother’s older brothers, Hiro and Hideki. ‘Saa~… It’s true that Clan’s can have different traditions... But the Hyuuga are definitely amongst those of the strictest... I can’t imagine picking one twin over the other simply because they were born first.’

‘As for the curse mark...’ She muses, feeling the tattoo on her right shoulder tingle. ‘I suppose it’s not completely unheard of— Using such means to protect a Kekkei Genkai. Even the Minamoto have them, though they’re used for different means and aren’t forced on anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary...’

“You and this clan of yours, what’s the point of it all? Why have a Main Family and a Branch Family?... And this weird curse mark? What’s it mean, anyway?” Naruto asks.

Neji’s scowl deepens. “I can assure you of one thing. It’s not simply for decoration... You see, this is more than a mark that we wear. It is also the instrument by which they keep us in our place. We live with the fear that they will use this curse mark to turn our brains to jelly any time they wish... Fear, that is what we live with. And we live with it everyday. Only in death are we free of it. This is how the power of the Byakugan is kept sealed away. Only the Hyuuga possess the secret of this unique form of Kekkei Genkai, and of course, there are many who would steal it from us. That is why we exist. It is the purpose of the Branch Family to defend that secret and to serve the keepers of the secret, the Main Household, obediently and without question for eternity. That is our destiny. Or was...until that dreadful night they went too far. When they murderedmy father!”

At Naruto’s surprised expression, Neji elaborates further. “One night, someone entered the Main Household and abducted Lady Hinata. Lord Hiashi quickly caught and killed the man... And who was the intruder, stealing through the shadows in the dead of night wearing a mask over his face? It was none other than the Head Cloud Ninja from the Land of Lightening, the man who had just signedan alliance with us... It was obvious to everyone that he was after the Byakugan, but the Land of Lightening professed shock at this willful murder of their ninja. They claimed that the Hidden Leaf Village was in violation of the treaty and they demanded recompense... Things got worse and worse until it looked like war would break out anew. The Leaf Village wanted above all things to avoid a war, so at last, they made a deal.”

“A deal?” Naruto asks.

“A life for a life.” Neji answers. “The Land of Lightening demanded the death of the person who had slain their ninja. If there was to be peace, Lord Hiashi must die. The Leaf Village accepted their terms. And so, to advert a war a man was killed, but not Hiashi. My father, his twin brother was killed in his place in order to protect the Main Household!... Only in death was my father finally free of this evil curse mark... They were so much alike, twin brothers, but their destinies had been determined long ago when one was born a few seconds after the other... And this match is the same. Your destiny was decided the moment I was chosen as your opponent. It’s your destiny to lose to me and that’s it.”

Naruto grins to himself. “Oh, yeah? Well, we won’t know that until you beat me, will we?” He replies, watching as Neji reaches up and puts his headband back on. The blond’s expression then turns serious once more. “Okay. So your father was killed a long time ago, and I know it wasn’t fair and maybe you’re upset about that, I understand. But that’s got nothing to do with destiny... If you think I’m buying that, you’re wrong.”

As he finishes retying his headband, Neji looks up at the blond and glares heatedly. “You will never understand...!” He snaps before reading his stance and reactivating his Byakugan. He then charges forward and strikes Naruto in the stomach, sending the blond tumbling backwards.

Neji turns to Genma. “Proctor! It’s over.” He states before looking back at Naruto’s crumpled form. “Hmph. You’re a failure.” He sneers before turning to walk away.

“W-Wait, don’t walk away from me!” Naruto grunts as he slowly stands, making the Hyuuga immediately halt and turn to face him once more. “I’m not done yet. I don’t quit and I don’t back down on my word. That’s my nindo, my ninja way.”

“Ha. I’ve heard those words before.” Neji sneers, referring to Hinata’s own proclamation during their match in the preliminaries.

Naruto glares at the taunt. “All this destiny crap... Well, if you really believe it, why are you the one walking away?!”

“You impudent little brat!” Neji snarls, his lavender colored eyes narrowing into slits. “Why waste my breath explaining it to you?! We are all given a destiny at birth, and it’s pointless to fight against it... You don’t know what it’s like to be branded with a mark that sets you apart, a mark that can never be wiped away!”

“Oh, yeah. I know exactly what that’s like.” Naruto replies, his voice low as his own eyes narrow. “Well, big deal. Who cares?”

“You worthless little—!”

“Man, you think you’ve got troubles? I’ve got news for you, Neji, you’re not the only special one around here.” Naruto sneers, effectively cutting the Hyuuga off. “Did you ever think that Hinata might be suffering just as much as you are? It’s not her fault that her father was born ahead of yours, but you resenther for it...! You disrespect her even when she’s trying so hard to improve herself... All she wanted was your respect. That’s what she was fighting for even though it almost killed her. And what was that about, anyway? I thought it was your destiny to servethe Main Household, not to beat it to a bloody pulp?!... After all you said about how you can’t fight your destiny, you don’t really believe in it either, do you?”

After his rant, Naruto coughs, the action making Neji smirk triumphantly. “I have blocked all sixty-four of your chakra points. How are you planning to keep fighting when you can’t use your chakra against me?” He questions before adding, “It’s fitting that you sympathize with Hinata, because you’re about to share her fate!”

Naruto scoffs. “Oh, really? You think that Byakugan of yours sees everything. You know everyone’s weakness, right?” He asks, his words practically dripping with sarcasm.

Neji, however, was unperturbed by his tone. “That’s right. But if you think you’re the one who can prove me wrong, well, be my guest.”

“You got it... I’m gonna show you you’re wrong about a lot of things, starting right now.” Naruto replies, widening his stance.

Neji narrows his eyes and looks over to Genma. “Proctor, this has gone on long enough. I suggest you stop the match... If he’s foolish enough to continue to fight, I will not be responsible for what happens to him.”

Genma huffs, not really bothered. “Fine.”

Naruto scoffs at the duo and makes a hand-sign, yelling as he attempted to focus his chakra.

Neji rolls his eyes. “It’s pointless, I told you. Why bother? You have no chakra to use.” He then shakes his head as the blond ignores his words, smirking to himself. “Why fight a hopeless battle trying to defy your destiny?”

Naruto opens his eyes and meets the Hyuuga’s gaze head-on. “‘Cause people called me a failure. I’ll prove ‘em wrong.”

Neji scowls at his words and activates his Byakugan.

Naruto continues to focus, yelling as a bright scarlet colored chakra begins to swirl around him in light, thin wisps. “Here goes...!”

Neji stares at the blond, watching in awe as a darker, more sinister chakra began to surge through the boy’s body.

Amaya shivers and grips tighter onto the railings. “That chakra...” She mutters lowly, unknowingly garnering the attention of the Genin she currently stood with. ‘The Nine-Tails... Did Jiraiya teach him how to control bits of it’s chakra...?’

Naruto surges forward, disappearing from view in an instant. Almost immediately afterwards, he reappears in the air behind Neji and throws a few shuriken.

Neji, predicting this, uses his Palm Rotation Jutsu which effectively deflects the blades. Then, as he comes to a stop, he reaches into his pouch and pulls out his own set of shuriken, throwing them in the blond’s direction.

Now moving much faster than before, Naruto easily dodges and disappears from sight again only to reappear in front of the Hyuuga, aiming a punch.

Neji deftly avoids and the two retreat backwards, leaving a considerable space between them. They then each pull out a kunai and charge forward, their knives clashing with a loud clangas they pass one another.

Skidding to a stop a few feet apart, both turn to face each other and Naruto glares determinedly. “Okay, you. So I hear you like close combat, huh?” He exclaims before running forward again. “It may be the Hyuuga way to give into destiny...But it’s not mine!... If you think it’s futile to fight, then don’t! Just stand there and take it!... I’ll change the way of the Hyuuga Clan...after I become Hokage!”

As Naruto nears, Neji begins his rotation jutsu once more, making Naruto’s kunai and powerful chakra merge with his shield at full-force.

Almost immediately after, a loud explosion erupts from where the two collided and the whole arena shakes from the impact. Dust and rock fragments are sent into the air as both boys are sent backwards, both crashing into the ground and creating two deep, crater-like holes where they land.

Everyone spectating covers their faces and eyes as high winds are kicked up, some even trying to squint in order to keep watching the fight below.

Once things begin to calm down, Genma opens his eyes and looks between the newly formed holes. ‘Man, that’s some chakra that kids got. Never seen anything like it... No way that Hyuuga kid could have—!’He muses to himself, trailing off as a hand shoots up and out of one of the mounds of dirt.

Grunting, Neji slowly pulls himself out of the hole, coughing. Once he’s standing, he slowly makes his way over to where Naruto landed, finding the blond unconscious.

Everything is silent for a moment and the Hyuuga lets out a tired sigh. “Sorry, but this is reality. You’re a failure... This match is over.”

As soon as the words leave his lips, there is a low rumbling sound coming from underground. Looking down, Neji gasps as the soil beneath his feet begins to split open.

Then, not a second later, Naruto erupts from the ground with a loud yell, clipping Neji in the chin and sending him stumbling backwards to the ground.

Wincing at the blow, Neji attempts to push himself up but finds that he is unable to due to exhaustion and lack of chakra. “I can’t move...!”

It’s then that the unconscious Naruto lying in the crater disperses, revealing itself to be a clone as well as the small tunnel beneath it that lead deeper underground.

At the sight, Genma smirks to himself. ‘He used his clone as bait and waited for his chance to get Neji. Even when he was getting pounded into the ground, he never stopped planning his next move. He never lost faith in his ability to win...’ his gaze then trails over to the blond, ‘Naruto knows instinctively that believing in yourself can give you the power to change your destiny. And on top of that, he’s got one hell of a left hook.’

Panting, Naruto walks over and looks down at Neji.

“I should have guessed you’d use that Shadow Clone Jutsu. It’s your specialty, after all... I was careless.” The Hyuuga grunts with a wince.

“For the record, I failed the graduation exam three times... ‘Cause there was this one jutsu that was always on the exam. And it tripped me up every time. It was the one jutsu I just couldn’t master... My clones were pathetic.” Naruto informs, nodding when Neji looks up at him shocked. “That’s right. I flunked the Shadow Clone Jutsu every time. So don’t come whining to me with this destiny stuff and stop trying to tell me you can’t change what you are. You can do it, too. ‘Cause, after all, unlike me, you’re not a failure.”

Neji continues to stare up at the blond, not knowing what to say in response.

Genma smirks at the information. “Hm... The winner is, Naruto Uzumaki.” He announces, making the crowd cheer.

***

Amaya cheers, practically hanging over the railing as she whistled loudly. “THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT! WAY TO GO, NARUTO!”

Shikamaru tightens his grip on the girls shirt, his expression one of disbelief. “Ugh... Naruto defeated Neji? Oh, man. I can’t believe it... And I thought Naruto was the same as me, one of the dorky, uncool guys.”

Shino turns to him. “Dorky and uncool...?”

Amaya also looks back at the Nara and climbs down from the railing as he continues to speak.

“Now everyone’s gonna say he’s going to make something big of himself. Just great. I doubt I could beat him now...” Shikamaru grunts, referring to the cheering crowd.

Amaya laughs. “Not with that attitude, you won’t.” She scolds lightly, clapping him gently on the shoulder. “Now you’ve gotta work extra hard in your match, okay? Can’t let ‘em show you up, ya know?”

The Nara groans. “This is really bad. I’ve never felt so depressed... What a drag...”

Amaya sweatdrops and shares a look with Shino. “It’s really not that big of a deal...?”

-A Few Minutes Later-

“C’mon! We don’t have all day here!”

“Get on with it! Start the next match already!”

“Anytime before nightfall would be great...!”

Hearing the crowd grow increasingly restless, Shikamaru sighs. “That Sasuke, what in the world does he think he’s doing? Forfeiting?”

“A wise man never courts danger, leading to a wise decision.” Shino comments quietly, making Shikamaru, Amaya, and Naruto glance in his direction.

“Huh? What are you talking about? He’s definitely gonna be here, believe it.” Naruto replies, resting his head on his folded arms as he made eye contact with Gaara.

Amaya, oblivious to the stare down, also leans against the railing - obscuring the duo’s view of each other. “Saa~… It’s still unlike him to be this late, though.” She mutters, watching as a Jounin appeared next to Genma to give him his new orders. “I wonder what they’ll decide to do? You don’t think they’ll disqualify him...?”

“That’s how it’s looking... I mean, they can’t really do much.” Shikamaru sighs.

Genma nods at Raidō, waiting for him to leave before turning his gaze to the stands of jeering spectators. “Listen, everyone. One of the competitors from the next battle has not arrived yet, so we’re going to postpone this match briefly and simply jump ahead to the next battle that would’ve followed this one.”

Naruto sighs out of relief and nods. “That’s good.”

Amaya slouches even more against the railing. “Saa~… I thought for sure that they’d disqualify him!”

Shikamaru, however, wasn’t as pleased. “Hey, that means my battle’s one match closer now! What a drag...!”

Amaya snorts in amusement and shakes her head at the male. “It would’ve been one match closer even if Sasuke were here.”

“You know what I mean...” Shikamaru retorts, rolling his eyes.

Genma then turns in their direction and slightly squints up at them. “Then onto the next battle... So, Shino and Kankuro, come down.”

At the order, Shino prepares to move but pauses when Kankuro speaks up.

“Uh... Proctor! I withdraw.” The Sand nin calls as he raised his arm into the air slightly, his sudden forfeit surprising those around him.

‘What?’ Genma thought to himself, staring up at the boy in confusion. “Huh?” He asks aloud, wondering if he heard wrong.

“I withdraw, so please advance to the next match.” Kankuro replies and his words send the crowd into another uproar.

Amaya stares at the boy, her scrutinizing gaze making him fidget slightly in place. ‘That’s...odd.’ She muses as something tugs at her instincts, sending up red flags in her mind.

Genma also stares at the boy for a moment with narrowed eyes before sighing out of annoyance. “Ugh...” he groans, “Due to withdrawal, Shino Aburame wins by default.”

His words anger the crowd once more, though they quiet down slightly when Temari pulls out her fan and sends out a large gust of wind - which she then uses to float down to the ground level of the arena.

Genma stares at the blonde blankly as she folds the large fan and makes her way over to him. “And you are...?”

“It’s my turn, right?” Temari asks smugly.

“Well, you’re sure an eager one, aren’t you?” Genma responds with an amused smirk. He then turns to look back up at the skybox - current acting waiting room - that she jumped down from. “Fine, lets start the next match then... Hey, you up there. Come down.”

Shikamaru panics slightly. “Oh, come on. What are you doing moving these matches up like this?! Why does it have to be mystupid match that gets pushed up?... Oh man, this is such a drag...” He mutters to himself, internally debating whether he should also forfeit or not.

Genma, sensing his hesitation, rolls his eyes annoyed. “Shikamaru Nara, come on.” He orders again.

Shikamaru fidgets, unsure of what to do. However, before he could actually doanything, Naruto quickly approaches him from behind and repeatedly claps him roughly on the shoulder, making him stumble forward and teeter dangerously over the railing.

“ALL RIGHT! Go on, Shikamaru! You can do it!” The blond cheers, oblivious to the Nara’s fearful flailing.

Then, with one final shove from the blond, Shikamaru is sent over the rails, yelling as he fell to the ground below.

Amaya covers her mouth, her eyes wide as her body began to tremble due to holding back her laughter. She then steps closer to the rails and looks down, locking eyes with Shikamaru as a wide grin forms on her face.

“LETS GO, SHIKAMARU!” The brunette cheers.

Naruto grins and joins in. “YEAH, WIN THIS THING!”

Shikamaru heaves a heavy sigh as he stared up at the now cackling duo, thoroughly annoyed. ‘Yeah. Thanks a lot, you two.’

***

A minute or so passes and Shikamaru is still in the same place as before, not moving an inch as he starred up at the sky. ‘Damn that Naruto...!’

Seeing this, the crowd begins to boo and jeer loudly, throwing trash down at the boy.

Shikamaru sighs. ‘They don’t care about this match. I’m just the warm up for the main event. All they care about is watching the next two matches... Listen to ‘em, the jerks... Well, if that’s the way they’re gonna be, maybe I won’t give them a match at all. Why knock myself out for them?’

Temari taps the tip of her fan against the ground, smirking. “What is it? You planning on giving up, too?”

Shikamaru lets out another tired sigh. ‘And to top it off, my opponents a girl. Again.’

Sneering, Temari picks up her fan. “Well, if you won’t move, I will!” She exclaims, running forward.

“Hey, I didn’t start the match yet.” Genma calls out after her but doesn’t bother to interfere.

Shikamaru cranes his head back and watches her approach. “I forgot. This girl’s a spunky one... I hatespunky.” He grunts as he reaches into his weapons pouch to pull out a kunai.

By this point, the blonde had reached him. She jumps into the air and swings her fan back over her shoulder before slamming it down onto the ground where he laid, creating a loud explosion of dust and soil.

When the air clears, Temari is surprised to find Shikamaru nowhere in sight. “Huh...?” She questions before slowly looking up, immediately meeting his gaze from where he stood, leaning lazily against the wall.

“It really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference to me whether I ever become a Chunin or not, but I guess, maybe I shouldn’t let myself get beaten by a female.” He taunts, and she glares at his words. “So, lets do it.”

Temari stands and opens her fan completely before swinging it, creating a large and powerful burst of wind that kicks up even more dust, once again obscuring her view of the boy. And once it clears this time, she’s no longer caught off guard when he’s nowhere in sight.

Turning her head, Temari allows her gaze to trail over the foliage that lined the arena until her eyes land on one tree in particular. ‘He’s quick enough when it comes to running away.’ She muses with a smug smirk.

Shikamaru peeks around the tree he stood behind. ‘I know it’s not very classy for a guy to clobber a girl... But whoever said I was classy?’

Temari stares at the boy’s figure, her smirk still in place. ‘Nice try, but I know what the game is... He’s trying to lure me to the shadow of that tree. I’m not falling for that.’

Shikamaru looks up to the sky. ‘So, why do I always have to fight girls? It sucks, man.’ He then faintly hears Ino’s cheering from the stands above, making him sigh tiredly. ‘Ah, sometimes I wish I was a cloud... Just floating along, going wherever the breeze takes me. That’s my style... I’m just not into putting effort in this stuff. The only reason I became a ninja was so I could do whatever I wanted... Geez, who knew it would be so much work?’ He then stands with a grin tugging at his lips. ‘Oh, well. Heh, a guys gotta do what a guys gotta do.’

The sight of the boy’s smile puts Temari further on guard. ‘What’s he thinking behind that stupid grin? Is he mocking me?!’ She questions, her jaw clenching tightly as she swings her fan once more. “Kamaitachi no Jutsu!” She exclaims, squinting through the kicked up dust.

Suddenly, a shadow surges outwards from the foliage, making the blonde retreat back in a series of jumps. Eventually, the shadow comes to a halt a few inches from her own, unable to go any further.

As it recedes, Temari uses her fan to draw a line in the dirt, marking the distance for later reference. “Now I get it.” She informs, looking up afterwards. “Almost got me... Aren’t you clever? With that Shadow Possession Jutsu of yours, you can manipulate any shadow you’re in... The wall’s shadow for instance. But there’s a limit, isn’t there? No matter how thin you stretch it, it will only reach so far. Isn’t that right?”

Shikamaru grins and concedes. “Heh, you got me.”

Temari smirks triumphantly to herself. ‘And now, I know just where that limit is. Even using the wall’s shadow, his jutsu can only reach to here. Fifteen meters, thirty-two centimeters. That’s the range if his attack... If I can just stay outside this line, he can’t touch me.’

Shikamaru looks up thoughtfully before closing his eyes as he brings his hands together, his fingertips touching to form a circle.

Amaya grins to herself and leans against the railing. “Saa~… Here we go.” She murmurs aloud, making those around her look her way - though she ignores them and continues to watch the fight. ‘Looks like he’s starting to get serious... If anything, his hands are always a tell of his scheming. He always puts them together like that when we play shogi.’

Shikamaru then opens his eyes and looks up at Temari, his expression turning somewhat serious.

Temari smirks. “So, you have some fighting spirit after all.” She taunts before sending another burst of wind with her fan.

In response, Shikamaru ducks behind the tree next to him and pulls out a kunai from his weapons pouch before quickly removing his jacket.

“No use in hiding!” Temari yells, scanning the foliage as the wind does down. “You can’t hide forever. Come out, coward!”

Suddenly, a kunai comes flying out from the bushes, making her gasp and jump to the side as it embeds into the ground where she previously stood. As she regains her footing, two more come at her on her right, forcing her to use her fan as a shield to parry them away.

It’s then she notices the shadow slithering across the ground in her direction, making her smirk in amusement. ‘Heh. Forget it... As long as I stay on this side of the line, he can’t touch me.’

However, instead of stopping like before, the shadow kept coming, making the blonde go wide-eyed. “What the—?! It’s still coming!” She exclaims forcing her to jump back until the shadow finally comes to another stop. She then looks up to meet his gaze.

“You’re pretty quick on your toes.” Shikamaru calls, amused.

Temari sneers. “Now I see what you’ve been up to. You weren’t just hiding, you were killing time, waiting for the sun to get lower and the shadow of that wall to get longer... The longer the shadows, the farther your range is, right?” She asks rhetorically as her gaze flicks up to the top of the stadium. ‘All right. If I just calculate the height of the sun and measure the distance he’s gained from his previous attack, I can still keep out of range. No problem.’

Gaara looks up, and his sudden shift in attention makes Kankuro do the same and gasp.

“Temari! Over your head!” He yells down to his sister, making her head snap up in alarm.

Beside her, Amaya hears Shino hum quietly and she’s unable to fight the grin that forms on her face.

‘What is that?!’ The blonde thought to herself, squinting up at the slowly descending object before realization struck her. ‘Oh no!’

Shikamaru’s jacket - now acting as a parachute - was attached to a kunai and was slowly drifting downward to the ground, eventually creating a shadow that grew larger and larger as it neared.

“I’ve got you now!” The Nara exclaims, pushing his jutsu harder. In response, his shadow makes contact with the one his clothing was creating, allowing him to expand his range.

Temari jumps back, struggling to keep both the shadow and cloth in her line of sight as she moved. ‘He made a parachute out of his jacket to create an extra shadow... Clever move. Now I not only have to worry about the shadows on the ground, I have to keep an eye in this thing above my head, and it expands his range indefinitely.’ She then smirks to herself. ‘Heh, guess I’ve been underestimating this slacker. His Shadow Possession jutsu is a lot more dangerous than I thought.’

As she retreats, the jacket finally hits the ground, making Shikamaru lose his range and Temari smirk.

“She learns fast, I’ll give her that.” Shikamaru grunts to himself with a sigh.

Coming to a halt, Temari looks up at the sun - which was lower than before. ‘The longer this match takes, the lower the sun gets. The longer the shadows, the farther his range.’ She muses before slamming her fan down into the ground in front of her as if creating a shield that hid her from the Nara’s view. ‘Time to finish this... if I create a diversion with the Clone Jutsu— Yeah, that’ll work.’ She then peeks around the fan and watches as the shadow slowly recedes. ‘Now...!’

Temari brings her hands together and begins to make hand-signs, however, before she could complete the jutsu she suddenly loses all control of her body. “What?!” She exclaims, becoming panicked as she looked up to see Shikamaru’s smug expression. ‘My body, it’s frozen...!’

Grinning, Shikamaru drops his arms to his side. “It took a while, but my Shadow Possession finally worked.”

Temari’s eyes widen in realization. “No...!” She gasps. ‘Impossible! How could he have caught me with his shadow?! It couldn’t reach this far...!’

As if he read her thoughts, Shikamaru turns his head slightly. “Look behind you. I’ll let you.”

Turning her head, Temari’s eyes land on the shadow coming out of a hole in the ground. ‘Out of a hole...? How?!’

“Don’t you recognize that hole? It’s where Naruto popped out of the ground and knocked Neji for a loop... The hole in front of you is where he went into the ground. The two are connected.” Shikamaru elaborates.

Temari looks down for a moment. “I see. I never thought of the shadows underground.”

“That was your mistake.” Shikamaru grins.

‘I don’t believe it. The whole time I thought I was keeping out of range of his shadow jutsu when I was really walking right into it... Amazing...! This slacker outsmarted me.’ Temari thought to herself, still in disbelief.

Shikamaru then begins to walk forward, forcing her to do the same.

‘He’s got control of my body. I’m helpless.’ She thought again with a small disappointed sigh.

“YEAH! HE DID IT!” Naruto cheers with a fist-pump. “He pulled off an upset!”

Amaya laughs and shakes her head. “Shikamaru may be lazy, but he’s definitely not stupid... The guy practically lives like his life is a game of shogi... He had her from the moment she drew that line in the dirt... Now, it’s checkmate.”

Beside her, Shino hums. “I see.”

The duo walk forward, only coming to a stop with just a few feet between them.

Shikamaru stares at the blonde for a moment before sighing, raising his arm in the air; his actions forcing her to do the same.

A moment of silence passes and no one - not even the spectators - said a word. Finally Shikamaru is the one to break it. “To hell with it. I give up.”

Temari stares at the boy gobsmacked. “Huh...?! What? What did you say?!” She asks as the crowd above begin to angrily boo the boy.

Shikamaru sighs. “I used up all of my chakra on that Shadow Possession Jutsu. I’m good for about another ten seconds and that’s it... Bummer, and here I already had the next two-hundred moves in my head. But my chakra’s running low.” He then shrugs. “Anyway, if I wasdoing this, it would just mean more work.”

Genma stares between the two for a moment before his gaze finally rests on the Nara. ‘This guy is something else.’ He muses with a grin before turning to the angry crowd. “The winner is... Temari.”

Almost immediately after, Shikamaru’s shadow recedes, giving Temari full control of her body once more.

The blonde watches it happen and looks back up at the boy, still in disbelief. “What the—?”

Shikamaru, however, ignores her curious gaze and reaches up to rub his shoulder, rolling it slightly. “Ugh, man, I’m beat.”

Amaya deadpans, her forehead red and tingling from her earlier facepalm.

“What the heck was that?! Forfeiting the match when he had it won...! Geez!” Naruto yells, slamming his fists down onto the railing. “Man, that really ticks me off!... That lazy son-of-a—!” He then pauses as he climbs up onto the protective barrier before jumping out of the skybox. “I’M GONNA GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND!”

“Naruto—!” Amaya exclaims as she attempts to grab the boy’s arm, yelping as he nearly pulled her down with him. However, thanks to Shino gently grabbing her by the waist, that didn’t happen.

Naruto, as soon as he touched the ground, takes off running towards the Nara. “Hey, I wanna talk to you, you idiot!” He yells, coming to a stop next to the stretching boy, pointing at him angrily.

Shikamaru continues to stretch. “Eh, who are you calling an idiot, idiot?”

Naruto scowls, though it wasn’t at the name calling. “Why’d you give up?! Are you really that lazy, or are ya just a big chicken?!... You even caught Amayaoff guard, and she’s used to it!”

Shikamaru’s eyes flick up to the skybox and land on the brunette momentarily before moving back to the blond. “Hey. It’s over. Lets just forget it, okay?”

Shaking his head, Naruto begins flailing his arms out for emphasis. “Are you kidding?! No! It’s not okay!... You had that match won—!”

“Would you drop it?” Shikamaru interjects, attempting to cut the boy off, though he doesn’t stop ranting.

“—And I want to know why!”

“Are you forgetting? There’s two more matches.”

“I mean, to quit right when—!” Naruto pauses with a start, looking at Shikamaru with wide eyes. “Huh? Two more...?” He asks, realization setting in when the Nara smirks, making him grin widely in response. “Yeah, that’s right...!”

Genma chooses this moment to interrupt. “If you two are done, we’ll move on.” He drawls before looking up to the stands. “Now, for the next match.” He begins and turns his head towards the skybox. “Minamoto, Tanaka. You’re up.” He calls, making the crowd cheer excitedly.

Amaya freezes momentarily, swallowing thickly as she looked over in Kazuki’s direction - meeting his expectant gaze almost immediately.

“You could just drop out now, while you’re ahead.” The redhead grunts with a wolffish grin as he climbed up onto the railing.

Amaya scoffs and follows his example. “In your dreams.”

“Whatever you say, ‘Princess’.”

As the duo near, Genma sighs. “Are you two ready?” He asks, and when they nod, he turns to Shikamaru and Naruto. “We’re moving on, go ahead and make your way back to the waiting room.”

Naruto huffs, grumbling under his breath at the older males attitude.

Shikamaru gives the proctor an acknowledging nod and grabs ahold of blond’s shirt collar, attempting to tug him along. “Lets go you idiot.”

“Ack! Alright, alright already, we’re going!” Naruto grunts, brushing the other boy’s hand away before turning to Amaya - who now stood beside him - with a raised fist. “You got this! If I can beat Nejiof all people, there’s no way this punk’ll be a problem!”

Amaya stares at him for a moment, not allowing her nerves to show on her face as she returns the boy’s smile wholeheartedly. “Right.” She concedes, bumping her knuckles against his gently. “I’ll meet you in the second round.”

***

“The match between Amaya Minamoto and Kazuki Tanaka will now begin.” Genma announces and the crowd begins cheering once more.

Amaya looks away from the stands as she feels the air shift. Turning, she tilts her head to the side just as a kunai flys past her face. She then quickly brings her arms up, crossing them into an x as Kazuki charges forward and attempts a roundhouse kick.

The two lock eyes for a brief moment before Amaya pushes the male off by batting his leg away. However, it isn’t long before Kazuki comes back, attacking in a series of kicks and punches - though none hit their mark.

Kazuki then retreats slightly and attempts another roundhouse kick.

Amaya ducks under his limb and pulls out a kunai from her pouch. She swipes at his leg and successfully nicks him in the calf.

As the redhead curses and stumbles back, Amaya drops to her knees and swings her right leg out, clipping him in the ankle and sending him to the ground.

Once he hits the dirt, Kazuki rolls back onto his haunches and jumps away as Amaya charges forward and slams her fist into the ground where he once sat, leaving a large crater behind.

Kazuki jumps back a few more times, only stopping when they were a few meters apart. He then reaches into his weapons pouch and pulls out a few shuriken, throwing them as he makes a hand-sign. “Katōn: Hōsenka Tsumabeni!” He exclaims, taking a deep breath before exhaling a steady stream of fire that encases the tools.

Amaya pulls out a kunai and jumps back, beginning to deflect the oncoming weapons.

It’s then that Kazuki moves forward, catching her off guard as he slams his fist into her stomach. However, as soon as the hit lands, the brunette disappears with a small pop, prompting Kazuki to pivot on his heel and quickly pull out his own kunai - which immediately met Amaya’s with a clangas she approached from behind.

The two go back and forth like this for a few more minutes, barely making a mark on one another as their attacks were either parried off or dodged.

“I don’t get it...?!” Naruto groans. “Why doesn’t Amaya just use a wind style jutsu and blow this fool out of the arena?”

“He’d just use fire against it, making his own attacks stronger... It’s such a drag.” Shikamaru replies with a sigh. He then leans against the railing lazily. “I wouldn’t be too worried about that though. Out of everyone in our class, Amaya’s one of the best at Taijutsu... So, knowing her, she’s either wanting to get him close enough to deal the real damage or pull off something unexpected.”

As she parries off another swipe with her kunai, Amaya is unable to block the quick left-hook that follows, leaving her slightly dazed and with a bloody lip.

Seeing this, Kazuki attempts another hit. However, this time Amaya grabs his forearm and spins around. Her back meets his chest and she quickly brings her elbow up, slamming it into his nose.

Kazuki yelps from the blow but manages to stay rooted to his spot. He places one of his feet between hers and knocks her off balance, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

The two grapple in the dirt for a moment until Amaya is able to maneuver herself around and plant her foot on the redheads chest, kicking him off and a few feet away.

Both then jump up and scramble to find their footing as they retreat backwards, taking the time to size each other up once they’re far enough apart.

A moment of silence passes and after realizing that the brunette wasn’t going to blindly charge at him, Kazuki begins to make hand-signs. “Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!” He exclaims, taking a deep breath before exhaling large, steady streams of fire.

Amaya retreats further back and heads for the wall, subconsciously focusing chakra in the palms of her hands. ‘The only real problem with the Yōso no Mage is the fact that it’s extremely difficult to master and manipulate something that isn’t already pre-existing in the area... I could try to pull moisture from the air or soil but it hasn’t rained, it’d take too long since I’m just getting the hang of it.’ She thought to herself before a small smirk formed on her lips. ‘Lucky me that I’ve thought ahead.’

The brunette skids to a stop and reaches into the tan pouch resting on her lower back, pulling out a dark blue scroll. She unravels and twirls it around for a moment before tossing it up into the air and once it lands on the ground, she makes a hand-sign. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

As the words leave her mouth, she kneels and slams her hands onto the scroll, completing the seal and breaking it open, allowing water to come gushing out.

The chakra that coats her skin practically thrums as it comes into contact with the cool liquid. Amaya grins at the feeling and activates her Kekkei Genkai.

The water that was still pouring from the seal bubbles around her hands before suddenly erupting upwards, it then curls in on itself, creating a large dome of water around the brunette that effectively shields her against Kazuki’s fire attack.

Steam fills the air, obscuring the duo from view.

Kazuki stops his jutsu and allows his hands to fall to his sides, readying his stance as his eyes observe his surroundings closely.

Naruto blanches. “What the hell?! When did she learn to do that?!”

“What a showoff.” Shikamaru grunts, though he’s unable to fight his own smirk from forming on his face. He then squints his eyes in hopes of seeing the fight better. ‘Back in the prelims, Amaya let it be known that she was a wind style user... He probably took it for granted that it was the only nature she could use at the time and focused on his fire jutsu in hopes that she’d give him a chance to use it in the Finals.’

Not caring if her clothes became soaked, Amaya allows the dome to collapse around her and makes another hand-sign.

Not a second too soon, two identical clones appear next to her. “Saa~… I think it’s about time we went on the attack, eh?” She asks softly, making them snicker quietly and nod.

At their confirmation, Amaya grins. “Spread out.” She orders and the two do as told, both expelling their chakra into the moist air around them.

...

“Yōso no Mage: Nijū Dangan!”

Kazuki’s eyes widen slightly as two, low whistling sounds fill the air. He jumps back, just barely evading the two large bullets of air as they collided where he once stood.

The attack kicked up a large gale of wind, clearing the area of steam and revealing the brunette and her two clones - which disperse immediately after.

Amaya slams her hands onto the wet ground, pumping her chakra through the soil. In response, small drops of water rise into the air and morph into sharp, senbon-like shapes.

The brunette then claps her hands together and the water-like senbon surge forward, embedding into the ground and forcing Kazuki to retreat farther back and deflect with a kunai.

Amaya then smirks to herself and places one hand back onto the ground while the other makes a hand-sign, her eyes glowing as she spoke. “Yōso no Mage: Suiton.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, water rises from the ground and begins to slither towards the redhead.

However, before Kazuki could move fast enough, the stream of water picks up speed and quickly envelopes his right ankle, constricting around it like a snake. Panicking, he pulls out a kunai from his weapons pouch and attempts to slice through the liquid, his worry increasing as the girl’s infused chakra kept it as hard as steel.

Amaya, having the boy right where she wanted him, stands and twirls around. Swinging her arm outwards, she pulls the redhead off his feet and into the air before slamming him back down onto the ground.

The arena goes silent as everyone waits for the boy to counter.

When he doesn’t move, Amaya breaks her concentration on the water wrapped around her wrist, allowing it to fall to the ground with a splash. She then turns to Genma, who holds his hand up, signaling for her to stay in her place as he walked over to check on the younger male.

‘Yeah, he’s not getting up after that... Kid had a better chance against someone else, those Minamoto’s aren’t a joke when it comes to that Kekkei Genkai of their’s.’ The Jounin thought to himself as he stares down at Kazuki, feeling both amused and pity at the turn out. Deciding to end it there, he turns to look up at the crowd.

“The winner is Amaya Minamoto.”

***

Naruto cheers, his voice alone nearly bursting everyone’s eardrums. “YES! WAY TO GO, AMAYA!”

Beside him, Shikamaru groans. “Tone it down a notch, won’t ya?”

Naruto turns to him, eyes narrowed and lips pursed in an almost comedic fashion. “Can’t ya be a little more excited, Shikamaru?! I mean, Amaya wiped the floor with that guy!”

“As expected, I’m sure.” Shino murmurs quietly, making the two turn to him. “Shouldn’t be all that surprising. She’s one of the strongest Rookies.”

Naruto hums to himself at the quiet boy’s words. His face then lights up as he thought back on the match, prompting him to grab ahold of Shikamaru’s arm as he began climbing up onto the railing. “Lets get down there! I wanna know how she learned that water technique so quickly!”

Shikamaru blanches and attempts to break the blond’s hold. “O-Oi! Knock it off! We can ask her when she comes back up here— NARUTO!”

Once again, Naruto forces the boy over the railing, leaving Shino alone, silently amused as his former classmates make their way down to the ground-level.

-Meanwhile-

“That clan truly is a fascinating one.” The Kazekage murmurs and turns his head towards the three men to his right, his eyes zeroing in on Kenji. “Any relation? You are of the Minamoto, correct?”

Lord Third, taking notice of Kenji’s stiffening posture, feels at liberty to answer in the white-haired male’s place. “Ah, yes! Amaya-chan is Kenji’s youngest and only daughter. She’s quite renown amongst many in the Village.”

“I see...” The Kazekage replies thoughtfully before turning his attention back to the arena, though his eyes never strayed far from the Minamoto beside him. “You must be very proud of her. Even from here, I can sense her large chakra reserves and she hasn’t even tapped into her full potential yet... She must give your other children grief.”

Kenji sends the Village Leader a polite smile. “I am proud of all four of my children and their accomplishments. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses but are still very capable Shinobi.” He then turns to look down at the arena, his expression growing softer. “It’s true that Amaya has always been gifted and has excelled far faster than anyone could have expected, but it’s nothing to stress or worry over.”

“Even so,” the Kazekage begins, “I still look forward to seeing how much farther she grows.” He replies but doesn’t say or add more to the conversation, allowing it to die off as he returns his full attention to the arena, his eyes gleaming underneath his hat.

Amaya, somewhat oblivious to everything around her, walks over and crouches next to Kazuki, her expression nothing short of apologetic. “Sorry, I may have went a little overboard there at the end...”

Kazuki snorts, wincing as it sent a wave of pain down his bruised back. “No need.” He replies as he took in her equally disheveled appearance. “I’d say we’re pretty even... But don’t think that means I’ll let you win next time!”

Amaya huffs and shakes her head, standing and moving to the side as the medics approach with a stretcher. “You sound so certain.” She drawls sarcastically, not bothering to stop the smile from forming on her face.

“I am.” Kazuki sneers, though his tone was playful.

Amaya smiles but doesn’t get to reply as the medic nins lift the stretcher and quickly pack the redhead out of the arena.

Suddenly, Naruto slams into her from the side, lifting her up slightly as he pulls her into a celebratory bear hug. “YOU DID IT!” The blond exclaims.

Amaya was only surprised for a brief moment before she grinned at the blond, trying to decipher through his excited babble.

Beside them, Shikamaru rolls his eyes and lightly bonks the blond on the head, making him immediately go silent. “Oi, idiot, she can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Naruto opens his mouth to retort but is stopped when Genma speaks up.

“Hey, if you three are done here?” He drawls, making them turn to him. “Match is over, you need to go back to the waiting room so we can move on to the next round.”

Amaya frowns and looks up to the stands, hoping to catch sight of Kakashi and Sasuke. Failing to do so, she turns back to Genma. “We’re moving on to the second round already? What about Sasuke? He isn’t here yet...”

Genma shrugs. “Uchiha failed to show up on time, we can’t keep up with the special privileges. There are important people here watching the tournament today, and there’s plenty of other important matters they could be focusing on instead. If it had been anyone else, they’d be disqualified by now.”

Its Naruto’s turn to frown at this. “But—!”

However, before the blond could continue, Genma waves him off. “Sorry, kid. I don’t make the rules.” He then looks up to the Kage’s viewing box. “I just follow the orders I’m given.”

The three follow his gaze, and even though he was sitting some distance away, they could still barely make out Lord Third nodding his head in acknowledgment.

Genma sighs through his nose and chews thoughtfully on the senbon in his mouth. Looking at his watch for a moment, he finally makes his decision and turns to look up at the stands. “Due to—!”

Suddenly, before the Jounin could finish his sentence, the wind picks up. Turning, he watches as a whirlwind of leaves form, with two figures appearing in its center.

“Sorry we’re late, you wouldn’t believe the traffic.”

At the sound of Kakashi’s lazy drawl, Genma smirks to himself, his eyes moving away from his fellow Jounin and onto Sasuke. “And you are?” He asks somewhat rhetorically.

Sasuke returns his gaze blankly. “I’m Sasuke Uchiha.” He replies and the crowd’s cheering increases tenfold.

‘Damn, what a showoff. Making us all wait around like he’s emperor of the universe.’ Shikamaru thought with the roll of his eyes.

Amaya slouches, unsure if she should feel annoyed or relieved at the duo.

Naruto smirks. “Huh, so you finally decided to show up after all. I was betting you wouldn’t come, ‘cause sooner or later you’d have to face me.”

Shikamaru rolls his eyes again and shares a look with Amaya as she shakes her head in amusement. ‘Naruto was just saying how he was sure Sasuke would come.’

Sasuke smirks at the blond’s words. “So, what about you? Did you win?”

“You know it!” Naruto grins.

“Heh. Well, don’t get too full of yourself. You’re still a loser.” Sasuke replies, he then turns his gaze to Amaya, raising his brow curiously.

Amaya rolls her eyes with a huff. “Do you really need to ask?” She then tilts her head to the side, her tone taking on a more teasing lilt. “Some of us actually showed up today, on time and prepared.”

Sasuke scoffs. “I’ll bet.”

Kakashi shakes his head at the trio and turns to Genma, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry if we kept you waiting but, um, how late are we? I mean, it’s not like Sasuke is, well, disqualifiedor anything, right?”

“You’re so late, it’s almost painful to think about.” Amaya deadpans, making the Jounin sweatdrop as he and Sasuke turn back to her. “You’ve literally missed the entire first round... Way to go, Sensei. Aren’t you supposed to be a good influence...?”

Genma chuckles at the brunette. “Like master, like pupil, even down to your lousy sense of time.” He muses in agreement.

Kakashi laughs nervously. “Well, what about it?”

“You know, you were so late that we extended the deadline for you, three timesin fact.” Genma informs, making his fellow Jounin sweatdrop a second time. “And it’s lucky for you we did, because you just made it... No, he’s not disqualified.”

Kakashi sighs, his posture immediately relaxing. “Oh, that’s a relief! You had me worried there for a minute...” He begins and looks down to Sasuke, “So, we’re okay... Hm?” Trailing off, he follows the Uchiha’s gaze up to Gaara, who watched them from the skybox.

Amaya shivers. “As if he couldn’t get any creepier...” She mutters, earning a nod from Shikamaru in response.

Naruto, clearly remembering the incident from the day before, scowls up at the redhead displeased. “Make sure you don’t lose to this guy.” He grumbles.

Sasuke smirks, not once breaking eye contact with Gaara. “Got it.”

Genma, sensing the tension, clears his throat before motioning to Amaya. “Last match just finished up. Sasuke and Gaara are next, if you’re finally ready.“

Kakashi hums. “Right. We’ll clear out, then.” He replies, his gaze trailing over the arena as he mentally took note of the wet, scorched, and heavily damaged ground. ‘Looks like they’ve had fun...’ He thought to himself, feeling amused at his students obvious handwork and somewhat guilty for missing their matches.

The proctor nods and looks back up to the skybox. “All right, Gaara, come down here.” He orders and the redhead complies as he turns to take the stairs.

At that, Shikamaru turns to the two beside him. “C’mon, Naruto, Amaya, they don’t need us here.”

The two nod in response, though Naruto is hesitant to move as he looks back at Sasuke. “Oh... Uh...”

Shikamaru, however, doesn’t give him time to say anymore. “Lets go... And I’m taking the stairsthis time, if you don’t mind.” He grumbles, still unhappy with the blond’s habit of forcing him out of the skybox.

Naruto turns to the Nara. “C’mon, are you still upset that I gave you a little push? You ought to be grateful!”

Amaya laughs under her breath and moves to follow after the two, making sure to turn to her remaining teammate with a smile before she goes. “Good luck, Sasuke.”

Sasuke turns his head to the side, not bothering to give the girl a proper response - as usual. “Hn.”

-A Few Minutes Later-

“Will ya hurry up? C’mon!” Naruto urges the two as he hurried up the stairs.

“Relax, Naruto. You’re gonna give yourself an ulcer.” Shikamaru sighs as he and Amaya keep their lax pace behind the blond.

“Saa~… There’s no need to rush, Gaara still has to get down to ground-level and we haven’t passed him yet. We have plenty of time.” Amaya placates, her hand holding onto the railing as she started climbing the second set of stairs.

Naruto stops at the top of the stairs and turns to look down at them. He opens his mouth to respond but stops himself as something on the next floor catches his eye. “Huh...?”

“What is it?” Shikamaru asks as he and Amaya finally reach the boy, both turning to see what he was looking at.

Due to being eye-level with the landing, the three had the perfect view of one of the connecting corridors. There, they see two men standing, cornering Gaara as he made his way to the stairs.

“You puny kids think this tournament is about you, but it’s really about the people who bet on you - or against you in your case. You see, our master’s got a lot of money on the other guy to win.”

“Got it? That means you gotta lose.”

Gaara doesn’t reply and continues to stare at the two blankly, the cork in his gourd squeaking as it slowly came loose.

The first man speaks up again. “Well? So, what’s it gonna be, Kid?”

When the redhead doesn’t answer, the second laughs. “Maybe he’s too scared to talk?” He muses aloud tauntingly.

Amaya flinches as Gaara’s sand breaks free from his gourd, her eyes widening as the lights leading down the corridor shatter one-by-one, submerging the three males in total darkness.

Suddenly, pain-filled screams of the first man echo down the corridor followed by panicked footsteps as the second attempts to flee. However, just as he makes it to the end of the hall, a long whip of sand wraps around his ankle.

He struggles for a moment and looks up fearfully, briefly catching sight of the three Genin before his foot is swept out from under him. He hits the floor, clawing at the stone as he’s dragged back down the darkened corridor.

“Please no! No!”

Not too long after, the mans screams die out and everything is silent once more. That is, until footsteps are heard continuing down the hallway.

Frozen in place, Amaya, Naruto, and Shikamaru immediately look down to the floor, none daring to look up as Gaara steps out into the light of the landing.

Gaara, unbothered by their presence, continues walking until he’s at the top of the stairs. He then pauses and watches them for a moment before making his descent.

Amaya’s hand subconsciously tightens around the railing as the redhead passes between Naruto and Shikamaru, a shiver crawling down her spine at how nonchalant the boy was.

Once he’s out of sight, the trio’s legs give out on them and they drop to the floor, sighing out of relief.

“If we’d have come up the stairs even a second earlier, that could’ve been us just now.” Shikamaru murmurs as he leans back against the stairs, draping his arm over his eyes. “I have never in my life seen anyone kill like that, without even batting an eye... Things don’t look so good for your friend at all.”

Naruto is quiet for once as he reflects on his friends words. ‘Sasuke...’

Amaya lets out a shuddering breath and hunches over, resting her face in her hands. “Why didn’t he do anything...? We’ve done nothing but confront them since they got here...”

“I don’t know, I’m just glad he didn’t.” Shikamaru replies with a sigh. He then raises up with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Hey. Do you remember yesterday? What Gaara said?” He asks, making the two recoil slightly at the reminder. “I do, for sure.”

“All the same, I will kill you. Just you wait... I’ll kill you all.” Shikamaru recites, looking ahead thoughtfully. “That’s what he said, but then he didn’t do it. It was the perfect opportunity, buddy... I don’t know... It was like he didn’t even see us or something.”

All three are silent for a moment before Naruto finally speaks. “We’re not good enough... Not for that guy.” He sneers, slamming his fist into his open palm with a light smack.

Shikamaru turns to him. “Right now, the only person that can make him feel anything—“

“The only one is Sasuke.” Naruto interrupts, finishing the Nara’s sentence.

Amaya drops her hands and looks over to them. “T-then what do we do now...? We have to tell someone right...?” She asks worriedly. “Sasuke is strong, there’s no doubt about that, but we’ve all seen what Gaara did to Lee— What he was goingto do in the hospital... Not to mention what happened just a few minutes ago!”

At her words, Naruto clears his throat and stands, his face determined. “Shikamaru, Amaya, we have to go talk to Kakashi-sensei right now.”

Shikamaru looks up at the blond, confused. “What are you planning to do?”

Naruto, however, ignores his question and runs up the rest of the stairs. He then takes off down another corridor that lead to where the audience was seated.

Shikamaru jumps up from his spot with Amaya copying his actions immediately after. “Hey, wait!”

Naruto, however, doesn’t stop running. “I’ve gotta stop him! I’ve gotta stop the match!”

Amaya and Shikamaru share a look before taking off after the blond, both wanting to see how this would turn out.

“Kakashi-sensei!”

“Huh?” Kakashi grunts as he and the others turn to find Naruto, Shikamaru, and Amaya at the top of the stands, panting heavily.

Lee’s eyes light up at the sight of the trio - two of which in particular. “Naruto, Amaya!”

Kakashi stares at the three, both surprised and a little concerned. “What... What is it, Naruto?” He finally asks as his gaze moves to rest solely on the blond.

“Sensei, please! You just have to stop this match, right away!” Naruto exclaims worriedly.

The silver-haired Jounin turns to face them fully at that. “What?”

Naruto huffs. “The guy Sasuke is fighting is completely different than the rest of us! He’s about as far from normal as you can get!”

At his words, Ino turns around in her seat to see him clearly. “Naruto, slow down. What are you trying to say?”

“He thinks his point in life is to kill people. Don’t you see?! If this continues, Sasuke will die!” Naruto exclaims again as he looks away from the Yamanaka and to his teacher once more. “You’ve gotta believe me!”

Kakashi turns away from his student and looks down to the ongoing fight below. He stays silent for a moment before finally speaking. “Relax. No need to panic.”

Those around him stare at him curiously as Naruto lets out an incredulous, “Huh?”

“You know, Sasuke and I weren’t just goofing around. There’s a reason we were so late getting here.” Kakashi informs, prompting everyone to turn and watch the fight below as Sasuke attempts to find weak spots in the dome of sand Gaara had formed around himself - only to retreat each time as large, sharp spikes would form on its surface.

Sakura’s brows furrow and she turns back to her teacher. “Sensei?” She calls, only continuing to speak when he turns to her. “You said there was a good reason you were late. What were you doing?”

Kakashi hums thoughtfully as everyone focuses on him once more. “Well, it’s kind of a long story...”

Naruto growls as the Jounin trails off and stomps his feet angrily. “Oh, come on! Will you please do something?! This is no time for talking!”

“You’re right, so shut up and watch.” Kakashi snarks back in response.

Amaya feels her face flush in anger at his somewhat rude dismissal of the blond and decides to cut into the conversation with a bitting tone of her own. “I hate to remove those rose-colored glasses of yours, Sensei, but it’s gonna take a lot more than a month on nonstop Taijutsu training and a fancy new jutsu to go toe-to-toe with this guy. Please take it and us a little more seriously when we tell you there’s something off with him!”

“Amaya!” Sakura hisses and sends the girl a scolding look, her eyes pleading for the brunette to not cause a scene right in the middle of the stands.

Kakashi sighs. “Keep your eye on Sasuke. He’s about to surprise you.”

Amaya keeps her gaze locked with his for a moment longer before huffing. She rolls her eyes and trudges down the first few steps, passing both Kakashi and Gai as she moves to stand next to Lee, her eyes now focused fully on the match below.

***

The atmosphere of the arena is tense as everyone watched with baited breath as Sasuke climbed to the top of the wall.

Falling into a low crouch, he makes a few hand-signs and angles his dominate hand downwards, steadying it with the other. Suddenly, chakra taking the form of lightning appears in his hand, growing brighter the longer he stays there.

“It can’t be...” Gai murmurs in slight awe.

Kakashi chuckles and addresses all those around him. “You always wondered why I insisted on training Sasuke myself. Now you know... It’s because he’s like me.”

They all watch as Sasuke swings his arm back, the force of his chakra cracking the stone at his feet. He then begins running down the wall and the loud sound of chirping birds follow after him, resonating throughout the arena.

Gai gasps. “A physical activation! I see... That’s what you were doing all this time... You were building his speed up to the level required.”

“Exactly.” Kakashi replies, smiling underneath his mask.

‘So, that’s what they were working on...’ Amaya muses to herself, thinking back to when she met up with the duo a month prior.

Sasuke eventually reaches the ground and the force of the contact splits the soil, sending a plume of dust into the air. However, he keeps running forward, never slowing his pace.

“Whoa, I’ve never seen him do that before!” Naruto exclaims.

Sakura leans forward in her seat. “That bizarre noise— What sort of technique is it?”

“It’s a jab...” Gai replies and at their collective confusion, he continues to explain. “But this jab is a jab like no other. It’s the only weapon in Kakashi’s arsenal he didn’t copy from someone else... It’s the collective weapon of choice for assassinations. The secret of the jab is in the speed with which it is delivered and the ninja’s ability to focus his chakra at the point of impact. Once these two elements, speed and focus, have attained a certain level, the chakra actually becomes visible and gives off the distinctive sound that you hear— Like birds chirping. It is the sound that gives the technique its name— Chidori, One-Thousand Birds also known as Lightning Blade.”

“Why’s that?” Sakura asks.

“It got that name because Kakashi once used it to cut a bolt of lightning in half before it could touch the ground.” Gai answers, though he didn’t give the small group of Genin any time to dwell on their disbelieving thoughts as he continued to elaborate. “But whether called Thousand Birds or Lightning Blade, its a technique of unimaginable power, requiring almost inhuman levels of speed and chakra... But once perfected, it transforms a ninja’s arm into an indestructible and invincible sword. A dangerous technique, not to be taught lightly.”

Kakashi meets Gai’s gaze, unimpressed. “Yeah, you’re one to talk.” He replies before crouching so that he was eye level with Amaya and Lee, laughing as he asks, “Right, Lee?”

Sakura shakes her head at her teachers antics and looks back to the fight. “Well, whatever. I don’t understand a word of it... All I know is, it looks awesome!”

By this point, Sasuke reaches the dome and once again, the spikes appear. However, this time the Uchiha ignores them and slams his hand into the barriers side, immediately and easily piercing through it’s hard shell.

A moment of silence passes before it’s broken by Gaara’s loud, panic-filled wail. “BLOOD...! IT’S MY BLOOD!”

Sasuke jolts in surprise and attempts to pull his arm free. Unable to do so easily, he recreates the Chidori a second time, forcing his hand out with a loud yell of his own. Once free, he backs away, going wide-eyed as a large, clawed hand follows after him.

“What is that…?!” Gai questions, shocked.

Amaya brings a hand up to rest on her stomach, feeling queasy as she sensed a dark, menacing chakra. “It’s just like that time...” She mumbles, thinking back to their mission to the Land of Waves.

The large hand slams onto the ground before slowly retreating back into the hole Sasuke made. As this happens, the arena goes deathly silent as everyone waits for something else to happen.

Suddenly, a low growl emits from the dome followed by an inhuman roar.

Genma briefly looks around, tense. ‘I sense something, something bad.’

It’s then the dome cracks, splitting off into huge chunks before eventually caving in on itself, forming a pile of sand that pools at Gaara’s feet. The redhead, clutching his bloody shoulder tightly, looks up and meets Sasuke’s gaze with a crazed one of his own.

Sasuke, taken aback by the redheads expression, tenses and watches him closely with narrowed eyes. ‘Somethings different. That’s not the same look in his eyes that I saw before.’

Amaya turns her head in Kakashi’s direction, though her eyes remain locked on the duo below. “Sensei, did you feel that cha—“ She begins only to loses focus as a large, white feather floats past her face, becoming transfixed as more make their appearance. Some ways behind her, she can hear Naruto ask something but she can’t make out what it was as a sudden bout of drowsiness sets in.

“Kakashi, do you feel it?” Gai asks as he and his fellow Jounin look around at the feathers.

“Yeah, it’s a Genjutsu.” Kakashi replies and both men automatically make a hand-sign, speaking in tandem. “Release!”

Amaya, who had turned to them curiously, jolts in realization and quickly does the same, immediately feeling her head clear as the lethargic feeling slowly faded away. “What’s going on...?” She questions, looking around at all of the sleeping spectators that filled the once lively arena. Her gaze then moves up to the two teachers next to her, who were now nearly standing back to back as they scanned the area suspiciously.

As soon as the words leave her lips, however, a large explosion erupts from the Kage viewing-box, sending everything and everyone into chaos.