Chapter 20
As all the participants stood there at the center of the open stage countless cheers from the crowd could be heard. In a line from left to right stood Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Haku, and Izaya. I turned and gave a quick glance at Sasuke in surprise. In my past life he arrived incredibly late against his fight with Gaara but this time he's actually here with the rest of us. I'm a little impressed. It seems the small details of fate are changing bit by bit. That also means predicting the future might be a bit more iffy now.
Oh? I turned my attention to the highest balcony where Lord Hokage was seated. The Kazekage, or rather Orochimaru in disguise probably, was walking to his seat near Lord Third. I took a glance at Lord Third and breathed a sigh of relief. He was wearing the necklace I gave him. I then inwardly sneered at Orochimaru but turned my attention to Gaara when I felt his rage flare up. Right...he would be feeling hatred, after all he thinks it's his father Rasa, and Rasa that bastard attempted to kill him on multiple occasions for incredibly stupid reasons. I then pondered quietly to myself whether or not Kishimoto, the story's creator secretly had a rough childhood.
Soon after Lord Third announced the start of the final round. The first to battle was Haku versus Temari. I turned to Haku and placed my hands on his shoulder before saying, "Good luck." Even though I knew he didn't need any. Haku nodded in acknowledgement. Everyone left the field leaving only Haku and Temari. Temari blushed a little before resuming a composed look and said, "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're easy on the eyes." Haku nodded his head with an unreadable expression and got in a battle stance. The proctor named Genma then said, "Start!"
Temari immediately took out her giant fan and charged at Haku. She jumped in the air and just as she slammed down with her fan Haku dashed forward underneath her throwing a senbon needle aimed at her left knee joint. It was so fast that she didn't have the time and enough maneuverability to dodge or block while in the air. The needle struck its mark and Temari instantly lost feeling in her left leg. As her body fell she quickly landed with her right leg and balanced herself with her giant fan. Haku stood 10 feet opposite her and threw three more senbon needles at her. Just as Temari turned around to face him the three senbon needles expertly met their mark disabling the muscle in her right arm, left arm, and right knee joint. Without any strength in her arms she instantly let go of the giant fan and dropped to the ground. Before she could do anything else Haku arrived before her and pressed a senbon needle to her throat before saying, "Last chance." In that moment she instantly had a look of disbelief and fear flash in her eyes before conceding defeat.
"What the hell. I knew Izaya's other teammates were some sort of monsters. Do I really have to face that guy?" Shikamaru instantly complained and lamented. With the end of the first round Haku arrived next to me while I congratulated him. We turned our heads to look at the crowd and noticed Kimimaro sitting in his seat as he waved to us, so we waved back. The next round was Naruto vs. Neji in which, after a heated battle Naruto came out the victor. I was pitted against Kankuro next, however he forfeited before we could start. I simply sneered inside. Even though some details have changed, it seems the main course of events remain set in stone. Kankuro forfeited his match in my last life as well. It seems the attack will begin soon.
Since my match was forfeited I walked over to Kimimaro in the crowd's seating area and whispered to his ear, "Kimimaro, there isn't any need to watch the matches any further. My senses are telling me that there is a plot brewing. The Anbu stationed at these stadiums are giving off weird signatures."
Uh? Kimimaro immediately placed his guard up and put on a serious face. He whispered back, "What do you need me to do Izaya?"
"I need you to go to my room. I have a lot of my special kunai laying around there. I need you to take some and place them at certain points throughout the village, just in case. Also, keep one on your person at all times so I can reach you if I need to. After that I need you to promise me you'll stay out of battle unless you are forced to. Go find Yamato-sensei and inform him of what I told you. If you can't find him, try your best to warn the other Chunin or Jonin like Iruka Sensei and Kotetsu-sensei."
"If a battle does breakout, what about you and Haku?" He asked with concern. I looked Kimimaro straight in the eyes with unwavering confidence and said, "Not being in any danger is the best way for you to help Haku and I. If you are caught up in a fight and your sickness acts up, Haku and I will lose our focus. If we know you're safe away from the battlefield we can fight to our hearts content. We won't lose then. I promise."
We stared at each other for a moment longer confirming each of our resolve before Kimimaro nodded and said, "Very well. I will trust you and Haku." He then stood up and quickly left the crowd. At this point Sasuke had began his fight with Gaara. I walked over to where Guy-sensei and Kakashi-sensei were standing and watching the fight. "Kakashi-sensei, have you noticed that there are too few Anbu stationed here?" I said. He raised his eyes with surprise at what I said because he too had noticed this. "Oh. I thought so as well, why did you bring this up?" He asked inquisitively.
"Kakashi-sensei. You know that I'm a sensor type ninja. I don't like to boast but my sensory skills are pretty good. The one's dressed as Anbu are giving off strange chakra signatures. I doubt they're from the Leaf." I whispered.
"Eh? I was suspicious as well, but are you sure?" He asked in seriousness.
"Mn." I nodded my head. Kakashi furrowed his brow before saying, "Mmm...Alright, we'll be careful and monitor the situation. You join the others and be prepared for the unexpected. If anything happens we may be counting on you to help out."
I nodded my head in consent before returning to Haku's side. He looked over when I returned and said, "Big brother, how come Maro left?" I whispered back to Haku and said, "I'm sensing a sinister plot. The Anbu stationed in the crowd stands are giving off weird signatures. I asked Kimimaro to place some of my special kunai around certain strategic points in the village just incase and to inform Yamato-sensei of the situation."
Eh? Haku put on a serious face and said, "Then, is there anything I should do?"
I shook my head and said, "If a battle breaks out, do your best to help out the village and protect the others. I'll do the same. I already told Kimimaro to find someplace safe to rest and not to engage in battle unless he's forced to. We don't have to worry about his sickness acting up this way. One more thing Haku, if a battle breaks out and Lord Hokage seems to be in trouble or is outnumbered, immediately signal for my return with a paper bomb in the sky."
"Mn." Haku nodded in consent.
Oh? Just as I returned my attention back to the battle between Sasuke and Gaara I noticed that Gaara covered himself in a dome of sand and Sasuke performed the hand signs of Chidori gathering up chakra in his hand. I suppose I could have tried to master this technique earlier if I wanted to, but seeing it with my Sharingan and sensing the flow of how Sasuke gathers the chakra sure makes it easy for me to learn. I guess I should start getting ready for the next flow of events. I turned to Haku and said, "Haku, do you still have my special kunai I gave you during the second exam?"
He looked at me inquisitively but answered, "Yes big brother, I still have it."
"Mn. Keep it with you at all times. I told Kimimaro to keep one with him as well. I'll leave this area to you for a bit. I'm going to scope out the situation around the village really quick." I walked over to a wall in the shadow and left a Flying Thunder God mark just in case before dashing off from the spectating stands. The darn giant snake summon that destroyed a lot of Konoha's buildings will probably be summoned soon along with a bunch of other foreign ninja mounting an attack. I'll go help put some suppressing fire down first to try and reduce any casualties that might occur to the citizens. In the past Yamato-sensei was still an Anbu under Lord Third's command. I didn't see him in the spectating stands which means it's possible he took up a mission for Lord Third before the start of the finals. If he is gone then Kimimaro won't be able to give him my message so he'll have to find a safe place on his own.
As long as I help keep the giant snake and foreign shinobi at bay for a bit, that'll limit the damage they do to the village and most likely Kimimaro won't have to fight it out with anyone. I can also buy time for Jiraiya to make it. Then I'll head back to the stadium and help Lord Third escape Orochimaru. Although I might have to return sooner if Haku gives the signal. I don't know if the timing and sequence of events will be similar or not this time. I'll let Naruto and Sasuke deal with Gaara and the One-Tails. It wasn't long after I left the stadium that a Genjutsu was cast over the stadium. All the Leaf shinobi in the area instantly released themselves from its influence.
Eh? Genjutsu? Looks like big brother was right about some sort of underlying plot. Haku placed his hands together and said, "Release." The feathers that were falling down instantly flew away from Haku leaving him unaffected. Smoke instantly appeared where Lord Third and the Kazekage were sitting. Before long Lord Third and the Kazekage, who revealed himself as Orochimaru, were trapped in the Four Violet Flames Formation Barrier created by the Sound Four ninja Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon, and Tayuya. The other foreign ninja disguised as Leaf Anbu began their attack against Kakashi and the others. Haku also dashed out to fend off the attackers.
Just as he made his way over to Kakashi and Guy one of the Sound Ninja jumped over to attack him only to quickly be disposed of by Haku. At this point Haku fought to kill the foreign enemy leaving him as an extremely deadly weapon.
"What the hell? Isn't he only one of those Genin candidate kids?" A Sound ninja exclaimed. "Shut up and focus!" Another one said as the chaos ensued.
At this moment a giant snake had appeared by the village walls and smashed through creating an opening and attacking some of the guards to let foreign ninja into the village. I placed a special barrier sealing tag down on a well hidden rock and quickly raised my right hand into the seal of confrontation and said, "Flying Thunder God Jutsu!" I instantly appeared in another area of the village and placed another barrier sealing tag down. I did this two more times totaling four tags before I returned to where the giant snake was causing chaos. "Alright, the four barrier sealing tags are placed just before the giant snake. I only need to put down this last tag within the encirclement of the other four and activate the barrier. It will then force the snake to take an incredibly long way around the village if it wants to continue moving forward. Since the other Leaf shinobi are also attacking it, it probably won't get far. It looks like Kimimaro did a good job informing other Chunin or Jonin of the potential situation. When I sensed for living signatures there weren't too many civilians around." I said to myself.
I quickly placed the last tag in a well hidden area inside the encirclement of the barrier tags and placed my hands together saying, "Five Seal Barrier activate!" My chakra immediately connected to all five barrier seals and created a special field where all damage to materials inside the encirclement of the barrier tags were forbidden. Mn. I nodded my head as I felt the power of the barrier. Now all the buildings in this area and whatnot won't be affected during the battle. With my sensory perception I can activate the Five Seal Barrier Pass technique and allow any reinforcements to enter. Hopefully Jiraiya won't take too long. To keep up this barrier, I'll have to be careful about how much chakra I spend.
Right before a Leaf shinobi was going to be stabbed with a kunai from a Sand ninja I threw my kunai to deflect it. That Leaf shinobi quickly made his way over to me and was about to thank me when he noticed how young I was.
"Eh? Aren't you a Genin? Why aren't you at the Chunin exam site?" He asked.
"I noticed something was wrong and came to help." I said matter of factly.
"Hn. I appreciate it. You're a student of Yamato correct?" He said with a serious face.
"I am." I replied.
"From here on it's life or death. You can't hesitate to kill. Thank you for earlier but these guys are either Chunin level or Jonin level already. And that giant snake summon over there is extremely dangerous. I'll take it from here. I don't want you to die for nothing here." He said. I simply shook my head and said, "Allow me to help. I understand the situation clearly. Besides, haven't you noticed. That snake has been attacking the buildings but nothing is broken. I've already placed a barrier around this area. Nothing material-wise will be damaged so we can fight without holding back."
"AH?" He exclaimed in surprise. He took a quick sweep around and noticed what I said was true. He was extremely shocked but composed himself and simply said, "I never knew Yamato's student was so skilled. I guess all those times he bragged weren't for nothing. Very well, I'll be counting on you."
"Mn." I consented. I also inwardly scolded Yamato-sensei in my head for his big mouth as I thought, just how many people is Yamato-sensei going to reveal our strength to? I then stared at the Sand ninja grouped together before saying, "Heh. Alright then, let's do some light stretching. You guys can be my warm-up."