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this chapter is more than 3,700 word, it took me a lot of time I didn't want to rush things.
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This electronic bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will display the names for the first match."
The display lit up, before randomly generating names, before settling on two.
Aburame Shino VS Abumi Zaku
...
"Heh, who's the other weakling?" Zaku asked arrogantly. It seems that he didn't learn his lesson from the forest. He had both of his arms in slings. Shino silently bristled at the comment. Kurenai sent an icy stare to the Oto Jounin.
As Naruto made his way to the balcony for viewing, he stopped next to Shino.
"Good Luck." He whispered. Shino, who heard it, nodded in acceptance. When the floor was clear and all the participants, along with their Jounin sensei were on the balcony, Hayate addressed the two fighters.
"Fighter, step up. We will now begin the first match." He ordered. Once they were ready, he took a step back. "Begin."
The match started with words being exchanged. Shino advised Zaku to retire if he ever wanted to fight again. Zaku made a show of being able to move one of his broken arms. After attacking Shino with one arm and unleashing his unique wind jutsu, which Shino dodged, Zaku noticed the bugs being released from Shino's body.
After once again advising Zaku to retire, which he ignored and made a show of demonstrating that he actually had both arms being fully functional, he made to eradicate Shino's bugs with his wind jutsu, only for his arms to explode in a bloody gore. Most Genin looked a little sick at the display.
Shino revealed that he had his bugs block the pipes in Zaku's body that allowed him to use his technique, causing the jutsu to implode when used. Shino finished the fight with a vicious backhanded punch that, coupled with the pain of losing his arms, rendered Zaku unconscious. Shino was declared the winner.
Shino was congratulated by his team when he returned, although, it looked like Kiba was a bit pissed at how cool he made it look. Kurenai was looking a little smug.
"I would like to begin the next match." Hayate announced. Everyone looked to the board once more.
Uzumaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba
"Hell yeah! We got lucky!" Shouted Kiba as he jumped to the arena floor. "We can win against him for sure, Akamaru."
Naruto, on the other hand was languidly making his way down to the arena floor, without a care in the world. Kiba became impatient at seeing this.
"Oi dobe! Could hurry down here so I can administer you regular ass-kicking. I have things to do you know." He mocked. Some found it amusing, like Ino, others didn't have any reaction.
"I'm sorry to say Kakashi, but your student doesn't stand a chance against Kiba." Kurenai declared smugly. Kakashi just looked at her and eye-smiled, making her twitch in annoyance.
Naruto, heard the comments from the others, stating how Kiba got lucky to face him. He just chuckled to himself at how ridiculous some of them were. They really expected the same results from the academy to happen.
He had thought Kurenai was a little hot, but that last comment from her totally turned him off from her. Oh well, he doesn't really have to prove anything to the sheep, he would just do what he does best. He finally reached the arena floor and stood opposite Kiba.
"I'll beat you in one hit out of pity." Kiba declared cockily. Naruto just smiled tranquilly at him.
"Then….second match…begin." Declared Hayate, as he jumped back.
"Heh, I won't even need Akamaru to wipe the floor with you." Kiba declared arrogantly.
"Gijyuu Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu"
He got down on all fours in a crouched position as chakra began to circulate around him. His nails lengthened and now resembled claws.
He disappeared in a blur and rushed at Naruto, who barely had any time to react, as Kiba's hit connected, a large plume of dust kicked up, obscuring the view of the spectators for a few seconds, before Naruto flew out of the dust cloud, his back hitting the wall and a trickle of blood leaking down the side of his mouth.
"As expected from the dead-last." Taunted Kiba. Naruto groggily got to his feet, wiping the blood with the back of his hand. He reached into his yukata and drew a kunai before recklessly charging at Kiba, who just smirked at him.
They engaged in a furious brawl in the middle of the arena, with Naruto taking a serious beating, his lack of style hindered him against the Inuzuka Taijutsu style. He did get a few hits against Kiba and even managed to slash him a few times thanks to his sporadic movements.
"He doesn't seem to have a clear Taijutsu style. His movements are sluggish and unplanned. He's basically fighting like a brawler." Gai pointed out. A few of the Genin just scoffed at Naruto. They didn't really expect much from him.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"
At least 20 more Naruto's appeared, and they all rushed Kiba.
"Making more of yourself isn't going to help loser. Any number times zero, is still zero!" He punctuated by dispelling most of the clones with well-timed hits. Naruto made another group of 20 clones, annoying Kiba.
They were slowly wearing his stamina down by the sheer numbers. He was taking more and more hits as time went by. He decided that he needed to use Akamaru, before Naruto wears him down with his clones.
"Let's go, Akamaru!" He called out, before throwing a soldier pill at him, which he devoured. His fur started turning red. Akamaru climbed onto his head.
"Ginjyuu Ninpou: Jyuujin Bunshin!"
After a burst of chakra and a cloud of smoke, it was revealed that Akamaru transformed into a perfect copy of Kiba. They both immediately rushed at Naruto, who just created even more clones in retaliation. Kiba and Akamaru tore through most of them with ease. Naruto pulled out a handful of shuriken and threw it in their direction.
They dodged swiftly before taking a heavy punch to the face from two Naruto clones that managed to get into their guard, they both staggered a bit before going back on the offensive. This continued for a few minutes, Naruto making a wall of clones that stood between him and his opponents, before throwing kunai and shuriken at them, forcing them to dodge, allowing one of the clones to land a hit.
Kiba was starting to get frustrated at Naruto's tactics. It was becoming a battle of attrition. He decided that he needed to end this fast. He could already feel himself reaching his limit. Taking out all those clones and expelling so much chakra really drained him.
"Gatsuuga"
Kiba called out before he started rotating along with Akamaru, forming what looked like two drills that demolished his clones. Naruto skipped back and dodged to get out of the way of the attack. The created a few more clones and started putting as much distance between them as possible. He could feel himself running low on chakra. He needed to find a way to end this fast.
The match turned into a game of cat and mouse, with Kiba and Akamaru using Gatsuuga to chase down Naruto while simultaneously destroying his clones. Suddenly, as Naruto was trying to make another set of clones, he stumbled, and was forced to his knees, seemingly running out of chakra.
Kiba, never one to let an opportunity to pass by, attacked full on with his Gatsuuga. The sound of Naruto's screams and his clothing and skin being shredded rang through the arena. Some of the rookies had to turn away from the brutal sight. Akamaru's transformation was dispelled from his lack of chakra, and Kiba himself looked ragged, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.
"Not bad dobe…but in the end, not good enough." He said.
"Sorry Kakashi, looks like this one will make two in a row for my team." Kurenai taunted playfully. Kakashi just looked at her blandly, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm just wondering who you had to sleep with to get your promotion." He commented, not taking his eye of his book. Most of the people there choked on their spit and sent incredulous looks at Kakashi. Kurenai's face turned red from anger at his insinuation. He gave her a sidelong glance.
"Just watch and you might learn something, rookie.' He said, emphasising the word 'rookie'. Kurenai's temper was threatening to spill, but she turned her attention back to the match for now. She would deal with Kakashi later.
"Call the match proctor, this one is over." Kiba breathed out, as he tried to collect himself. He really looked like he was on his last legs from exhaustion.
Suddenly Naruto started chuckling, before evolving into full blown laughter.
"What the hell are you laughing at dobe? Are you a fucking masochist?" Kiba asked incredulously. Naruto just looked him directly in the eye from his position on the floor.
"Idiot." He said in a condescending tone before disappearing in a puff of smoke, shocking most people in the area.
"What?!" Was the collective cry of most of the Genin and some of the Jounin. Kakashi looked at Kurenai in a patronising manner that infuriated her. Most of the Genin were looking around the room in confusion before Neji activated his Byakugan, his eyes were immediately drawn to the ceiling.
"Up there!" He announced. Almost as one, most of the occupants turned to the ceiling, to see Naruto casually standing on the ceiling, upside down of course, looking lazily at Kiba. What shocked them the most though, was that he looked completely fine.
His clothes were untouched, there were no bruises on his and he didn't even have a drop of sweat on him. Realisation began to dawn on many people present.
"What?! How long have you been there?!" Shouted Kiba in desperation. Naruto just looked at him pityingly.
"Since the beginning." He said calmly. The spectators began to realise that Kiba was fighting some clone this entire time. He could barely stand whereas Naruto was as fresh as a daisy. It was quite the strategy from his part.
Naruto extended his arm, which was holding a kunai, and let it drop. It landed right at Kiba's feet, causing him to laugh, despite his situation.
"Ha! You can't even throw a kunai properly, idiot!" He taunted. Naruto continued to look at him coolly before vanishing from his spot on the ceiling and appearing before Kiba in a semi crouched position, without even a whisper of a sound.
Before Kiba's mind could process what was happening, Naruto lashed out with a brutal standing kick that launched Kiba at high velocity into the wall of the arena.
The crunch that sounded throughout the arena when his back made impact with the wall, made most of them cringe. Kiba coughed up a lungful of blood before slumping unconscious. Naruto, who still had his leg extended, calmly swivelled, and returned it to the ground in a proper standing position.
He held his right hand out to the side with a single finger extended, allowing it to go through the hole of the same kunai he dropped earlier which now fell from the ceiling, his previous position.
There was absolute silence in the arena. Most were too shocked to fully comprehend what just happened.
Kurenai was left gaping at the scene. Her pride taking a major hit after all the trash talking that she did. Kakashi's comments cut even deeper, especially around the younger generation, who would probably question her ability now.
The Hokage smiled brightly at the display of his surrogate grandson. It was a masterful deception and siege tactics to wear down his opponent, without him having to lift a finger, before swooping down to finish him off. Just like a true shinobi. He could already promote Naruto on this basis alone. He was looking forward to seeing what he would do in his next match.
Hinata was inwardly squealing in joy for her crush. While she was sad that her teammate lost, her adoration for Naruto won out in the end. She couldn't stop her blush either, at how cool he looked at the end.
Anko was laughing her ass off at how sneaky that gaki was. She didn't feel so bad now, considering the fast one he pulled on her before. She would keep an eye on him in the future.
Sasuke was seething once again, at what he perceived was the dead-last showing him up.
Naruto turned to look at Hayate with a single eyebrow raised, snapping him out of his daze.
"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." He announced.
Naruto nodded to him in acknowledgement before calmly walking back to his spot next to his team. As he passed Kurenai, he made a show of stopping before her and yawning loudly, before making his way to his spot next to Kakashi, leaning up against the wall next to him.
"Good job Naruto." He congratulated without taking his eye off his book.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." He replied gratefully.
"So, how did you manage to get your clone to take that many hits without dispelling?" Kakashi inquired, catching the attention of most of the people there, who were also curious about that.
"Oi oi Kakashi-sensei, do I look like some cliché Shounen Jump protagonist that describes all of his moves to you?" Naruto questioned incredulously, causing most of the people there to sweat-drop, wondering what the fuck the blonde enigma was talking about.
Once everyone settled down, the rest of the matches went off without a hitch, in Naruto's opinion. He had already collected Intel on the Genin in the room, so there was very little he didn't already know about their fighting styles. He tuned the fights out for the most part, only focusing on the result or if anything fun happens.
Sasuke defeated Akadou Yoroi, who had the ability to suck chakra from his opponents, with a modified Kage Buyō that he totally ripped off from Lee. Naruto, to his amusement, had to endure Kyu-chan's dirty jokes throughout the match, about how Yoroi was trying to 'suck' Sasuke. Honestly, he has never met a girl with a filthier mouth than his favourite vixen.
*Somewhere in Otogakure, Tayuya sneezes viciously.*
Kakashi took Sasuke away after the match to do goodness knows what.
Ino VS Sakura, was honestly an embarrassment to watch. While Naruto didn't really care much about Sakura or Ino, watching them bitch-slap each other over Sasuke was awkward to watch. They slapped, scratch and pulled each other's hair.
Instead of a fight between two kunoichi, it looked more like a school yard fight between two jilted lovers. It was definitely a black mark against Konoha. Thankfully, it was a double knock-out, so those two idiots wouldn't get the chance to embarrass Konoha in front of the many dignitaries that were expected to come.
The make-up wearing weirdo, Kankuro, easily defeated Tsurugi Misumi. Misumi had the strange ability to take his joints off its hinges and loosen his body. It was honestly a little disgusting to Naruto. First the dude who could suck chakra and now this guy who could bend his body in the most inhuman way.
He didn't even want to know what the guy used that ability for. They were a team of sick perverts. It turns out that Kankuro was a puppeteer, a common art in Sunagakura, and he was quite skilled as well.
Shikamaru knocked off the female member of the Oto team, Tsuchi Kin. She used senbon, ninja wire and bells to create a sound based Genjutsu. Unfortunately for her, Shikamaru was too smart, as he used the thin shadow created by her ninja wire to trap her and knock her out with his Kage Mane no Jutsu.
Temari from Suna brutally dispatched Tenten from Maito Gai's team with relative ease. Tenten is a weapons specialist while Temari is a Ninjutsu user, Fuuton in particular, coupled with her battle fan, Tenten never stood a chance.
The fight between Hinata and Neji was a difficult one for Naruto to watch. He did wish the shy girl good luck before the match, which caused her to light up like a Christmas tree. That's where the fun ended though.
Despite Hinata being a talented kunoichi, she was far too soft hearted. Something that asshole Neji exploited to the fullest. He brutalised her to the point which she could barely stand any longer. And even then, she got up, showing amazing fortitude and strength of will.
It seemed to upset Neji that she looked at him with such pity. Naruto though agreed with her assessment. Neji was just a pitiful creature throwing a temper tantrum. If Hinata wanted to, all she had to do was activate that seal on his forehead and this match would have been over. But he didn't see that, all he wanted to do was beat on a kind girl to boost his own ego.
Naruto, while he didn't know Hinata well, liked her well enough for her kindness, not to mention her massive crush on him. He was definitely going to fuck Neji up badly, if he ever met him in battle. But first, he decided he needed to work on Hinata. He could see that beneath that gentle exterior, was a lioness, waiting to be unleashed.
Even though a little manipulative, he would use her crush on him to push her to be more ruthless. It seemed, even after 8 months, Kurenai made no effort to break her out of her shell. Probably spent too much time making googly eyes at Asuma and coddling Hinata to make any difference. Naruto would take it into his own hand, to make sure her potential doesn't go to waste.
The match between Lee and Gaara was probably the most exciting one. Gaara's sand provided an automatic defence against anything. Lee, however, proved why he was one of the strongest Genin. After removing his weights, which cratered the ground beneath him, moved at speeds that was almost untraceable.
He was slowly breaking through Gaara's defence before actually landing a hit on him. After using the Kage Buyō as a set up, he delivered the Omote Renge to Gaara. However, Gaara showed that he had more tricks up his sleeve when he used a Suna Bunshin to escape the move. Because of the strain of using the Omote Renge, Lee was left at the mercy of Gaara for a few minutes till he could recover.
After getting his second wind, Lee did something unbelievable. He showed that he actually had the ability to open the Hatchimon. Naruto was blown away by this. He knew just how difficult that was meant to be. It made him twitch in anticipation. He really wanted to pit himself against an opponent like Lee. Lee opened 5 gates and smacked Gaara all around the arena.
But the strain it put on his body was too much to bear. Even after performing the Ura Renge, Gaara was still conscious enough to crush Lee's left arm and leg. Luckily Gai intervened before any more damage could be done to Lee.
The final match of the preliminaries saw Chouji take on Dosu. While he put up a good fight, Dosu was too string for Chouji in the end.
After the preliminaries were done, all fighters were called down to the arena to be addressed by the Hokage.
"To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exam's third test…All but one are here, so congratulations. I will now begin the explanation for the main matches. Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore the main matches will begin in one month.
The one month is a time to conduct appropriate preparations. In other words, we are going to announce to the Daimyo's and Head Shinobi of the individual countries that the preliminary matches have ended. And time is needed to gather those people for the main matches. This is also preparation time for you candidates.
This time is used so you can know your enemy and yourself better. It is a time to analyse the information you have gathered during the preliminary matches. The battles we had were just like real combat situations.
It was done when both parties knew nothing of the other. But the main matches will not be like that. There are those who have revealed everything to their rivals. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourself in the next month.
So I want to let you go, but…There is something important we must do before the main matches." The Hokage explained. There was a lot of grumbling from the finalists who just wanted to finally relax.
"Don't be so hasty. Take a piece of paper from the box Anko is holding." He said. Anko had a little box with a hole on the top. Each participant took a single piece of paper from the box.
"Everybody got one? Now tell me what number you got, starting from the left." Said Ibiki, as he held a clipboard. The Genin, starting from the left were Dosu, Naruto, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino, called out their numbers.
"Eight."
"One."
"Seven."
"Five."
"Three."
"Nine."
"Two."
"Six."
"So the missing participant will be assigned number 4." Ibiki said.
"We will now tell you the match-ups for the tournament." The Hokake said.
"What?! That's what we drew for?" An incredulous Shikamaru asked.
"Ibiki, show the match-ups." The Hokage ordered.
Match 1: Uzumaki Naruto VS Hyuuga Neji
Match 2: Sabaku no Gaara VS Uchiha Sasuke
Match 3: Kankurou VS Aburame Shino
Match 4: Temari VS Winner (Dosu VS Shikamaru)