AN: Will be uploading two chapters today!
Chapter 19
Orochimaru watched intently in anticipation. He had specifically planted Yoroi in the Chunin exams so he could fight Sasuke. He wanted him to use his unique ability to absorb chakra and drain Sasuke of his chakra in an attempt to have Sasuke rely on the Curse Mark. Yoroi weaved some hand signs together before his palms lit up in blue. He slowly made his way over to Sasuke who stared intently at Yoroi. Once Yoroi got within 10 feet, Sasuke pulled out his kunai and threw it at Yoroi's chest. Just as Yoroi jumped to the side to dodge, Sasuke used his superior speed and agility to move right underneath him and kicked upwards at Yoroi's chin. He was caught off guard and flew into the air after the kick connected. Sasuke mirrored Lee's Taijutsu move from when they fought in the academy before the first exam. He used the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf technique to appear behind Yoroi in the air before using his own original Taijutsu move he called Lion Combo. That had ended the fight completely as Yoroi was instantly knocked unconscious from Sasuke's barrage of attacks.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes in disappointment and then in astonishment. At that moment he had finally taken note of the pattern around Sasuke's Curse Mark which now had a pattern of a fire ring seal that locked the influence of the Mark in place. He continued to contemplate what the heck happened and who had placed that seal there, but in the end he resumed his normal expression and disappeared from his spot.
Mn. I nodded my head in acknowledgement. In my past life Sasuke struggled a bit against this Yoroi person but this time he finished the fight quickly and flawlessly. Probably because I placed that seal on him and prevented it from flaring up during the fight. Also because in my past life they were the last team to pass the second exam so they were exhausted in their fight. This time they finished early and had a days rest before the start of the preliminaries. Kakashi took Sasuke to the back in seclusion as I had expected.
He's probably going to place on the stronger version of the Evil Suppression Seal I silently thought to myself. I glanced over the room and didn't find Orochimaru meaning he was going to pay Kakashi and Sasuke a visit like I remember. I had to seriously think about what I was going to do about the next set of events. How am I going to respond? How should I deal with it? I sighed to myself. I guess I'll leave Sasuke be. I can't keep treating him and others like they are my pawns on a chess board. Sasuke is a person as well and he'll also develop his own ninja way. He needs to grow stronger but if I keep interfering then it's like I'll end up having to be his teacher, that's too much of a pain. If I remember correctly in my past life even the filler episodes of the anime showed what would've happened if both Naruto and Sasuke's family survived. In the end, Sasuke still ended up going to find Orochimaru and Naruto ended up saving him. And the whole reason is because Sasuke seriously has an inferiority complex. I let out another sigh. Forget it, if Sasuke leaves the village later then I won't stop him, I'll let Naruto handle that. Those two share a powerful bond in a weird way, but a bond that'll somehow work itself out I guess.
"Next match is Aburame Shino versus Karasuma Izaya!" Hayate said.
Oh? It's me. Just before I left for the arena Haku quickly said, "Big brother, your right arm isn't healed yet so be careful."
"Mn." I nodded in agreement. I then jumped down from the balcony to the arena.
Up on the balcony Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji simply said, "Poor Shino." Asuma looked at them confused and said, "Oi? Why did you guys say that? The fight hasn't even started yet."
"Haha...Asuma-sensei, you haven't seen that guy fight before so you don't know, but if I were to be honest I don't think any Genin candidate here right now can beat him. The only ones who might stand a chance are his own teammates since I don't know how strong they are." Shikamaru replied.
"Eh?" Asuma glanced at Izaya seriously. If Shikamaru is the one saying that then there is definitely a reason for him to make such a statement he thought.
"Oh! Yamato it's one of your students that you always brag about. Is he going to be alright? He looks injured." Guy commented.
"Heh. Guy, you'll know soon enough." Yamato replied. Hayate walked to the judging position and said, "Start!"
Shino and I just stared at each other for a moment before he said, "You look like you're injured. Are you sure you don't want to withdraw?" When Neji, Tenten, and Lee heard Shino say that they sighed internally and all thought the same thing, ignorance is bliss. On the other hand Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji started feeling incredibly worried about Shino's life.
"No need." I replied. "Since Hayate-sensei said we can start then lets get it over with." At that moment I flung my left hand out with a speed that Shino couldn't follow with his eyes. I grabbed and crushed a bug that was creeping up on my right side. Shino was instantly shocked at this development. He had secretly commanded one of his bugs to stick itself onto my body so he could prepare his next attack only for it to be found out and crushed in the next moment.
"Oh? Nice try. A secret attack and on my bad side at that. Not bad, not bad." I mused aloud. At that moment Shino became aware of the severity of the situation and commanded thousands of bugs to rush towards me. I jumped up and did a backflip in the air as I weaved the hand signs of Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger with one hand and said, "Fire Style Flame Bullet Jutsu!" A large blast of flame and oil instantly burnt all the bugs to a crisp. Not a single one escaped due to my ability to sense their location. Before Shino could do anything else I arrived behind him with a kunai pointed at his vital artery in his neck. "Your move." I said with indifference. The battle ended anti climatically as everyone had expected, however those who never seen me actually fight before were pleasantly surprised at my ninjutsu ability and one hand weaving skills.
As I made my way back up the balcony Haku and Kimimaro congratulated me on my victory to which I simply nodded. The rest of the battles came and went without much of a hitch and Kakashi also returned. It turns out that Shikamaru was matched against Choji. The outcome was Shikamaru's victory. Another matchup that surprised me was Haku against Kimimaro, but to everyone's disappointment, except Team 11, Kimimaro forfeited the match right away and let Haku take the victory.
"I'm sorry Maro. It doesn't seem fair that I won like that." Haku said apologetically. Kimimaro shook his head, "No, it's okay. Remember my health is not great so it would be best if I just end my part in the competition here. Plus there's no need for the two of us to fight. I feel my condition is starting to worsen. I can always take the exam again when I am cured."
I walked over and placed my good arm around Kimimaro's neck and said, "That's right. I don't want Kimimaro and you to fight since there's no benefit in the preliminaries. And I'm also getting worried about your condition Kimimaro. For now I think it's best for you to refrain from doing any Taijutsu or Ninjutsu."
"Mn." He nodded.
"Well, seems the results are out. The ones who advance to the final and third exam are Sasuke, Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Gaara, Haku, and I. And the final part of the exam will be held a month from now." I commented. Lord Third soon announced the rules and the bracket of the tournament for the final part of the Chunin exam. Naruto vs. Neji, Gaara vs. Sasuke, Izaya vs. Kankuro, Haku vs. Temari, and whoever won that fight would fight Shikamaru.
"Alright, let's go. There's nothing else to do here." I said. Yamato-sensei walked over to us and said, "My precious students, I'm so proud of you guys. Let's go get some barbecue meat at Yakiniku Q. to celebrate!"
"Mn." We all nodded and agreed.
Two weeks have passed since the end of the preliminaries and everyone has been training hard. I looked down at my right arm and slowly took off the cast testing it out by moving and stretching it. Mn, feels much better. Pretty much all healed up.
Knock Knock.
"Eh? Don't tell me it is who I think it is?" I whispered aloud to myself. For the past two weeks I've barely had time to myself since Sakura and Lee kept coming over asking me to help them train in some techniques. I've also spent my time passing on the theories and techniques of the Taijutsu Nine Dragons Breathing Technique to Kimimaro and Haku. In order to help Kimimaro increase his chances of recovery if and when we are able to meet Tsunade, this is the only technique I allowed him to use to help him reinvigorate the cells in his body, albeit it can only be used once every week.
Knock Knock. I heard again.
I sighed to myself and got up off my bed before walking over to the door and opening it. I stared unsurprised at the guests outside my door. "Oh, Sakura, Lee, you both are here. Again. What can I do for you?" They both quickly bowed and said, "Please help me with my training again!" I stopped myself from letting out a sigh so I would stop sounding like an old man. I simply looked at them for a moment and said, "Sakura. Haku is in the room next door. I've taught you some basic Taijutsu movements already to help you better defend yourself. I've also taught you some simple Genjutsu techniques. You only need to continue practicing those so you can build a stable foundation. If you try to take on too many tasks before you are prepared it'll do the opposite of growing your strength. Stick to what you already learnt and if you really want, go see Haku next door. He can help you learn some medical ninjutsu."
"Mn." She nodded her head obediently.
I shook my head as she walked away. Honestly what the heck is Kakashi-sensei doing I mentally thought. Spending all his time only on Sasuke, he should at least say one or two things to Sakura and Naruto. I then turned my attention to Lee who was still bowing. Now I let out a long sigh. "Come in." I said as I walked back inside my room.
"Yes!" Lee replied respectfully. He walked in and closed the door as he awaited further instructions. I mused to myself at his obedience and demeanor since it reminded me of my past life when I was also undergoing strict training. I looked at his battered up form and splintered leg thoughtfully before saying, "Lee. I've decided I will teach you a technique to help reinvigorate your body's regenerative properties. Success will vary amongst individuals, but you are a Taijutsu type so maybe you'll be able to master it. I call it the Taijutsu Nine Dragons Breathing Technique.
The principle of this technique is to slowly take in and absorb the surrounding energy into your body by assimilating it with your chakra. Because it is energy from the surrounding environment it is much richer in many elements than your natural chakra in your body is used to. Once assimilated with your chakra you direct the extra energy you took in and expel it into your surrounding cells, tissues, muscles, and bones allowing them to fill up with life again. After they've been bathed in that energy you pull that energy back into your chakra channels and force the impurities back out with every exhalation. Currently I have only successfully developed the first breath of the nine total breaths so I can only teach you this. Do not under any circumstances try to attempt more than one breath or I promise you, you will ruin your future. Also, you cannot use this technique more than once a week. Remember that. Your injuries are too serious for this technique to completely heal you, however it will increase your chances of a full recovery in the future. If you cannot swear on your life as a shinobi to adhere to the conditions I just spoke of, then leave this room and don't seek me out again for help."
Lee stared at me as if he had seen hope once more as a tear fell from his eye. Sniff. He quickly wiped away his tears and said with great conviction, "I swear on my pride and life as a shinobi that I will adhere to the rules you spoke of!" I nodded my head and said, "If you swear then repeat the conditions I spoke of." He placed his only good hand over his heart and said, "I swear on my pride and life as a shinobi that I will only use the first breath and never attempt the other breaths unless you, Izaya give me permission. I also swear that I will only use this technique once a week and no sooner."
"Mn. Very well. Remember the words that you have spoken here today. I will now impart to you the first breath of the Nine Dragons Breathing Technique." I said. The days came and passed as everyone was immersed in their training and awaited for the finals to begin until finally, the day of the final Chunin exams arrived!