Chapter 19 Preliminaries
HIRUZEN SARUTOBI
Hiruzen felt elated as he saw so many of leaf's genin in the preliminaries. This was a good sign for the future of the village. He walked forwards and began his speech.
"Congratulations to all those who have made it thus far. Your presence here is a testament to your skill and perseverance. In the life of a shinobi, the greatest gift he has is his perseverance and the bonds he shares with his comrades. They are a shinobi's true treasure. I hope that in the face of all these tribulations you must have forged deep bonds."
He scanned the participants once more and spoke once more.
"You must treasure these bonds. For in the darkest night, they will guide you towards the light."
The genin all stood straight.
Then the announcement for the preliminary matches was made and matches were displayed on the ground. The first match was
Sasuke vs Karin
KAKASHI HATAKE
Kakashi gave a sigh of relief as he saw the first pairing on the screen. Sasuke's injury was yet to heal completely. But this was a good match. While the the Uzumaki girl was a solid genin. Sasuke was hailed as a genius.
Sasuke looked to his side towards a certain genin from team eight and nodded at him. The genin in question just seemed a little surprised at that. He couldn't be that clueless, thought Kakashi. Sasuke then jumped to the field. He landed a bit awkwardly, trying not to exasperate his injury.
The girl came down and she seemed a little nervous. The proctor gave them a look and shouted
"Start."
The red-haired girl immediately rushed towards Sasuke who began making hand seals. He spat a huge ball of fire at the running girl who had to jump to the side to avoid it. Sasuke did not give her time to recover and was in front of her instantly, putting her on the back foot.
The match lasted less than five minutes when Sasuke gained an advantage and held a kunai to her neck. The girl resigned and Sasuke returned to the balcony. There was dread on the face of the girl as she felt her loss. Though that dread is from other reasons, perhaps Lord Hokage will have a plan.
The next two matches were not interesting.
Hinata Hyuga vs Kabuto.
The veteran genin just resigned at the start citing an injury he had received in the test. The Hyuga girl seemed a little putout but happily joined her team on the balcony. Though her prodigious teammate was giving the veteran Kabuto a very scrutinizing stare.
Neji vs Yoroi
This fight was simply a slaughter. Gai's student was ruthless. His opponent was incapacitated within a minute by the barrage from the young Hyuga. Kakashi was highly impressed by the taijutsu of the boy. Another prodigy. He thought.
KURENAI YUHI
Lee vs Gaara
Kurenai was speechless as she saw Gai's student vanish from her vision. Such speed and power, from a genin. She looked towards her team who like everyone else were enthralled by the match. Though Shinso seemed a little worried and then she remembered that he was friends with Gai's student.
While Lee was impressive. Subaku no Gaara's manipulation of sand reminded her of the tales about the Kazekage. A monster born to a monster. The boy was amongst the strongest people in the hall. Despite Lee's usage of a kinjutsu, the Sand defense did not let up and the attacks failed to comment.
She heard Shinso kun speak.
"Do you know they called him weak? They said he would never become a shinobi. Yet he has proven everyone wrong. And he has achieved all this through hard work. Sheer perseverance and hard work."
Though the match would last longer than all the previous matches combined it would end in a loss for Lee. Though Gai had to step in to save the life of his student who was disqualified because of the interference.
Ino vs Kankuro
The daughter of the head of intelligence struggled against the puppet master. Every attempt at closing the distance would be rebuffed by the puppets and a barrage of weapons would be continuously aimed at her as she would attempt to make handseals.
In the end, she would, try and use her clan's signature technique but would fail, as the path would get interrupted by a puppet. She would fall unconscious and the match would be won by Kankuro the puppet master.
Naruto vs Ten-Ten
Naruto jumped off the railing with a huge smile on his face. Ten Ten, one of Lee's teammates would come down with a highly determined look on her face. As soon as the signal to start is sounded she would rush toward Naruto and engage him in a taijutsu contest.
Naruto would make shadow clones to make up for the difference in skill but Ten Ten's masterful use of weaponry would keep him on the back foot. After a lengthy exchange, he would get thrown into the wall.
The weapon mistress would use summoning scrolls and aim a horde of weapons toward him. Shinso Kun just shook his head at that. But Naruto Kun would not try and avoid them but make Shadow clones who would make hand seals and with a wind jutsu escape them all.
Then he would rush towards her propelled by the wind style: great breakthrough and deliver a hard blow knocking her out. Despite the loss, Ten Ten's skillset had impressed her. She was a highly trained genin.
ASUMA SARUTOBI
Shinso vs Temari
Finally, it was time for Kurnai's wonder kid. The kid looked toward his opponent and jumped down after he saw her expression. The girl had an air of overconfidence. Well, she is in for a treat.
Both reached the floor and Shinso Ken summoned his sword. An incredibly special sword if one looked closely. Many would consider the purple sheen as a design, but it was anything but that.
And the match began but the kid did not rush toward her. He simply stood there. He goaded the Suna girl into attacking him. Temari from Suna opened her tessen and blasted him with a wind Jutsu.
Shinso was pushed back but sustained no injury. He then smiled and said something to anger the girl. The girl grits her teeth and opened her tessen to the fullest. Her next attack would leave gnashes on the walls and leave her huffing. Debris would cover the whole other side, yet the match was over.
Shinso Ken was right behind her, his sword on her neck. Such speed, Asuma thought. And the kid had not even used his special sword. After some time the girl reigns and leaves the floor. The boy just return to the balcony joining the Uzumaki girl once more.
Choji vs Shino
The match would start with Choji using the expansion jutsu to attack but, instead of attacking Shino all of his attacks would fail to connect. Choji would identify the genjutsu placed on him and disrupt his chakra flow to escape it.
Yet his next attacks would fail to connect as well. Few would come close but the Aburame kid would simply avoid them. The attacks would take a toll on Choji who has been using chakra continuously.
"Tch. It's a bug?" Shikamaru figures it out.
Kurenai was able to teach her specialty to one of her students. The Aburame kid was using his insects to maintain a continuous chakra connection with Choji's chakra network and was using it to cast genjutsu constantly.
The solution was simple, Choji just had to expel some chakra through his skin and disrupt the connection, yet he could not figure it out. The match ended when the Aburame kid engaged Choji in a taijutsu battle and knocked him out.
Shikamaru vs Sakura
Shikamaru just sighed and lazily walked towards the arena floor. Kakashi's student had been injured very severely. The match started and she immediately jumped back while making hand seals.
Earth style: Earth spike.
And the ground around Shikamaru sprouted several spikes. Shikamaru jumped to avoid them, he tried to make hand seals but was stopped by a flurry of shuriken.
Then the pink-haired kunoichi rushed towards him and tried to engage him in taijutsu but Shikamaru just used several smoke bombs. And when the smoke cleared
Shadow possession Jutsu.
And with that, the match was over.
SHINSO KEN
The matches were finally over. The results and the matchups were quite different. I was quite sure there was a match between Hinata and Neji yet it did not happen. Lord Hokage rose from his seat.
"Congratulation to all the victors. The Final matches will take place in a month's time. You are to rest and recuperate in that time. I am very impressed by the skills shown by everyone."
There was slight applause at that. But then he continued speaking.
"For all those who have been eliminated. Konoha would welcome you to stay and enjoy the finals. We would be grateful to have you among us."
And I could feel that he was staring at me when he said those words. I could see Karin relax a bit after his words. She had been quite distraught since she had lost her match. After a few more lines, we were all dismissed. Then the next pairings were displayed.
Hinata Hyuga vs Neji Hyuga
Shinso Ken vs Subaku no Gaara
Naruto Uzumaki vs Kankuro
Shino Aburame vs Sasuke Uchiha
Shikamaru Nara vs Inose Satsuki ( A genin from hidden stone)
All three of us had passed. Among the teams we were the only team to pass the exam. We moved to our rooms once more, to collect our belongings. Kurenai sensei, had a proud smile on her face as she addressed us all.
"I am immensely proud of each and every one of you. All three of you will have two days to rest and then we will discuss preparing for the finals."
All three of us nodded at that. Too exhausted to reply. I just collected my stuff, sealed it into the scrolls, and came out. Karin came out of her room as well. She smiled slightly when she saw me. Both of us were now moving back towards the village when I asked her something I had just thought up.
"Where are you going to stay? Has the village provided you with any funds?" my questions startled her a bit. But I continued.
"And you would also need new clothes." Her face grew a bit red at that. I had a small understanding of how things were progressing. Karin Uzumaki had been an anomaly for me. I still had trouble believing in the reality I was in. She had somehow become my anchor to reality.
She had suffered greatly, and experienced tragedy and vicious horrors yet she refused to lose her innocence. It was refreshing naivety. Though I hated the same kind of naivety as my blonde classmate.
"I do have some funds, but most of them were spent by my team." She said replying to my earlier question, though she started panicking immediately afterward.
"But you don't have to worry. I will figure something out." She started saying. Though I just shook my head at that.
"Do not sweat it, princess. I have just the solution to your problem. Princesses do not worry about their living expenses do they. So, just leave it all to me."
I said giving her a toothy grin. She just looked away at that. Muttering in a very hushed voice.
"When did I become a princess!"
And I just chuckled beside her as my team joined me at the exit gate.
There was a month before phase three. I could relax for a while.
0000
Part two of the chunin exams are done. Now it is time for the final part. And Orochimaru's plot. But will the consequences of Shinso's action damn the whole village? But he is going to relax and take care of a princess before that.
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