The Uchiha boy was getting far too big an ego by the ass-kissing and the sucking up the Civilian Council was doing, he needed to understand that his actions have consequences. He also made a note to have a discussion with Kakashi.
Not only for allowing his student to be late but also about the revelations about how he 'trains' his team that Jiraiya managed to acquire during his time training young Naruto.
...
"If Uchiha Sasuke does not show up in the next five minute, he will be automatically disqualified, awarding victory to Sabaku no Gaara." Genma announced, causing the crowd to boo and jeer. They clearly wanted to see the so-called Uchiha prodigy in action, but Genma agreed with the decision by the Sandaime.
If the kid couldn't be bothered to show up on time, he should get the boot. He heard stories about what an arrogant little prick Itachi's little brother was, and he was definitely not impressed.
Gaara just stood there, impassive. But for his siblings, who knew him relatively well, they could tell from the minor twitches of his body and facial expressions, that he was annoyed. They only hoped that he didn't snap and go on a rampage…yet.
Sakura and Ino were nervously biting their nails, wondering where their crush was. Sakura had a pretty good idea, given her prolonged exposure to Kakashi, why he might be late. She could only hope that they made it in time.
Though a small part of her wondered if this was a blessing in disguise, having seen what Gaara did to someone as strong as Lee.
Naruto, from his spot in the competitor's box was highly amused at the current happenings. He knew what kind of training Kakashi was putting his golden boy through. He scoffed inwardly though, at Kakashi's naivety or maybe it was arrogance, in thinking a single technique is all that's needed to take down a Jinchuuriki, especially one as unstable as Gaara.
In Naruto's mind, all he was doing was sending Sasuke to his death. He knew they would not make it in time. Kakashi's inability to be punctual and Sasuke's ego would lead them both to believe that his match would be pushed back to accommodate him. Normally that would have happened.
Which was why Naruto was a tad surprised at the Sandaime's decision. It was good to see that the old monkey still had some fight in him after all, instead of letting those peons on the council walk over him.
Maybe it was because of his performance, or maybe the intel the he received a few weeks ago. All that Naruto cared about though, is that he is finally becoming somewhat proactive in his duties instead of sitting back and hoping for the best.
Maybe he could finally fix some of the damage done to the village by those power-hungry morons. He did hide a little smirk though, as he put quite a bit of money on some of the matches. He already made a killing from his first match, and with Gaara looking set to win the second by default, it puts a pretty sum in his coffer.
On the field, Genma looked at his watch once more before nodding to himself.
"This is the last call. Uchiha Sasuke, present yourself for the start of the match." Genma declared. When he didn't get a response, he looked to the Hokage who nodded to him.
"Due to his inability to show up for his match on time, Uchiha Sasuke has been disqualified. The winner of the second match is Sabaku no Gaara."
There was a wave of hostility directed towards Genma, who just stood calmly and let it wash over him. The booing and jeering amplified around the arena, mainly from the civilians who came to watch the last Uchiha compete. It was not a popular decision.
Gaara just stood still for a moment, before using his sand Shunshin to appear next to his siblings. His bloodlust was leaking out to a dangerous level. He was on a hair trigger, a tiny push was all he needed to snap.
Ignoring the colourful opinions that the crowd were sending his way, Genma proceeded to announce the next match.
"Aburame Shino VS Kankuro. Competitors, please enter the arena."
"I forfeit!" Kankuro cried out. He knew he had to save his abilities for what was to come, he couldn't afford to take a chance of having his match.
Naruto looked at him and raised a single eyebrow in his direction, looking amused. Kankuro started sweating a little at the knowing gaze the blonde trickster was sending him. Even Shikamaru was starting to get a little suspicious.
Shino gave no outward reaction, though his body did twitch in annoyance at the result.
"Winner by forfeit, Aburame Shino."
The displeasure from the crowd just increased even more with that announcement. So far they were only treated to a single match, it wasn't what they paid to see.
"Next match, Temari VS Nara Shikamaru."
Temari snapped her fan open and glided down to the arena. She knew that she needed to do something to at least buy some time for Gaara to calm down a little. She also needed to put on a display of power for her village. When she reached the ground, she planted her fan and looked imperiously toward Shikamaru, challenging him to face her.
Seeing her expectant look made Shikamaru cringe.
'Hey hey, what is she getting so excited about. Actually, why do I have to be the one who gets his match-ups changed so frequently? Damn it, I should just copy the other guy and forfeit...' Were his thoughts.
Naruto, having known Shikamaru for a long time, recognised the signs he was seeing from his former classmate. Knowing he would need to give him a little motivation, Naruto grabbed Shikamaru by the waist of his pants and hauled him over the railing, leaving him to fall to the arena below.
Shikamaru looked up to his previous position, only to see a serenely smiling Naruto waving at him for good luck. He cursed the enigmatic blonde for putting him in this situation. It would have been so much easier if he just surrendered without having to fight his opponent, who was clearly fired up for some reason.
As he lay on his back, on the edge of the arena, the audience started throwing all sorts of trash onto the field. Whether it was in protest of the last Uchiha being disqualified or as the fact that they held no interest or expectation for the current match was anyone's guess.
Shikamaru ignored it completely and just lay there, gazing at the clouds.
"It looks like they were looking forward to Sasuke's match, and now they have to watch some no-names match…" He hypothesised. "There's no point in fighting this match when nobody expects anything from it."
"What's this…You're going to give up as well?" Temari taunted. When she realised that he was ignoring her, she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "If you're not going to attack, then I will!" She shouted as she charged at him, ignoring Genma's warning about the match not having officially started.
"She seems really excited about this." Shikamaru lazily commented at he searched his pockets and pulling out two kunai.
He didn't have a lot of time though as Temari arrived at his position before jumping into the air before bringing her fan down like a hammer that demolished the small portion of the ground he was lying in. When the dust cleared, she was shocked to see that he disappeared. When she looked up, she saw him leaning against the wall, using the two kunai he pulled out as a foothold as they were imbedded into the wall.
"I don't care if I can't become a Chuunin…But a man can't lose to a woman. I guess I'll fight." Shikamaru declared.
Temari, upon hearing his comment, adopted a look of pure fury. Her face was turning red in both anger and hatred.
You could almost hear the impact of Naruto's palm meeting his face. He quietly groaned to himself as he lamented the stupidity of Shikamaru. He had to be the dumbest smart guy around to make a comment like that to a woman, especially a kunoichi as powerful as Temari proved to be.
He basically signed his death warrant. It didn't help that Naruto had the most powerful being in existence, who just happened to be a woman and a proud one at that, thrashing around in his head, screaming obscenities at Shikamaru for his sexist comments.
[ That limp dick little fucker! Let me out boy! I'll rip his dick out and force it down his throat…that sexist motherfucker! ] She raged.
There was a lot more colourful language being thrown around but Naruto tuned her out, for the sake of his sanity and his innocence.
He looked around the arena and noticed a lot of the women in the crowd looking dangerously at Shikamaru, clearly having grievous bodily harm on their mind.
He even caught Anko licking a kunai, but seeing as though she does that a lot, he exactly wasn't sure if it was because of Shikamaru's comments or because she just liked licking kunai's. It was clear Shikamaru lost a lot of points with the ladies, heck, most of them were actually cheering for Temari to kick his ass.
Naruto just chuckled to himself at his 'friend' and his troubles with the fairer sex. It would be amusing to watch him try to worm his way out of this.
What followed was, for a lack of better term, a game of cat and mouse. Temari bombarded Shikamaru with a full frontal assault, displaying her masterful knowledge and application of Fuuton Ninjutsu, while Shikamaru did his best to not get shredded to pieces.
He constantly put her in situations that forced her to stop and take stock of her surroundings as well as her situation. The crowd, who were at first booing, were quickly becoming enthralled by the strategic brilliance on display from both competitors.
Many of the Jounin and Chuunin who were watching were impressed with Shikamaru's strategic planning. When, after a long build up, he finally ensnared a shocked Temari with his family's signature jutsu, the Kagemane no Jutsu, everyone assumed he had everything in the bag.
They were then treated to an even more bewildering scene when Shikamaru surrendered. He cited his waning chakra reserves as the reason. Many were outraged at the ending of the match. None more so than Temari, who was glaring daggers at Shikamaru for his humiliation of her in front of so many nobles.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had some serious bodily harm in mind for him with the way she glowered at him.
Naruto just laughed lightly at the predictable move from the lazy Shikamaru. The Kyuubi wasn't happy, and she was letting Naruto know it, as she raged about how well that chauvinistic peon did in the match.
"Now that the first round matches have been concluded, we will get under way with the second round. Will Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara please make their way to the field." He announced. Many in the crowd were a little tense in anticipation.
While many were there to witness Uchiha Sasuke fight, Naruto's performance against a prodigy like Neji made many people sit up and take notice. Some more fearfully than others, considering his brutal display as well as their past treatment of Naruto.
Gaara immediately appeared in the arena in a whirl of sand, while Naruto decided to take the scenic route. As he casually walked to the arena floor, he spoke with his tenant/friend.
'Any last minute advice Kyu-chan?'
[ Hmph ... don't act as though you didn't plan out this battle from the moment you laid eyes on the container of that insufferable tanuki. I'm honestly impressed by your plan for once, but that isn't really saying much considering your annoying personality.
It was inevitable that you would channel it in ways that would inconvenience others.]She said exasperatedly. Naruto, being the mature and level headed guy that he is, responded in an apt fashion, that is, by sticking his tongue out at her.
'I know that you love me Kyu-chan, and that those poisonous barbs are just your own way to express your latent feelings for me.
I know how tsundere you can be, so don't worry, I never take you seriously.' He said pleasantly, which did nothing except piss her off even more than she normally is.
'As for our wayward sandy friend, well, I can't say that I feel too guilty for what I'm about to do to him. Then again, maybe spending so much time with you has caused me to develop some sadistic tendencies. Ahh how I have strayed from the path of the light.
My dear Haku-chan, please forgive the degenerate I have become. Then again, knowing how submissive my Haku-chan was, she might have enjoyed my tender mercies…Guhehehe' Naruto giggled perversely as blood trickled slowly from his nose and a trail of drool escaped the side of his mouth as he lost himself in his perverted fantasy involving his dead lover, fuzzy handcuffs, a ball gag, as well as some honey, a riding crop and a rubber duck.
The Kyuubi started blushing profusely at the depraved images her container was conjuring up in his mind.
[ O...Oi! Get your head out of the gutter and on the match. You can think up those filthy thoughts later, when you have some privacy! ] She shouted at him. Snapping out of his delicious daydream, Naruto smirked mischievously at his friend/tenant.
'Why, if I didn't know any better Kyu-chan, I would think that you were looking forward to perving on me while I relieve my urges. I didn't take you for a shota-con…ero-kitsune.' Naruto teased, causing the titanic fox demon to splutter indignantly.
[Sho…shota-con! I'm not a shota-con you insufferable bastard! How dare you insinuate such a thing about me, the mighty Kyuubi-no-Youko! If I wasn't trapped in this seal.
I would eviscerate you ... slowly and methodically ... till you beg me for a swift death. ] She said with a menacing tone, and a cruel expression on her face…Which did absolutely nothing to detract Naruto.
'You are always saying that you are a millennia old entity, which implies that everyone around you is younger, by centuries, so technically you are a shota-con. Also, I didn't hear you denying that you are a pervert.' He pointed out smugly, causing her to fume in pure unbridled anger at her container.
He just had this talent of pissing her off majorly. 'As much as I would love to continue teasing you Kyu-chan, we're almost there. Get your game face on, it's time the world knew that Uzumaki Naruto is not someone you want to fuck with.' Naruto said with a cold smile on his face as he entered the arena and took his place form across Gaara.
The Kyuubi smiled giddily to herself. Even though her Jinchuuriki was an annoying bastard who took some sadistic joy in teasing her, she never doubted his ability to cause chaos and mayhem on a wide scale.
It was a joy watching him inflict pain and instil fear into his enemies. She would never say it out loud, but he was her favourite person in the whole world. Even his teasing became something she looked forward to as he treated her as a friend and companion instead of a tool or a monster.
It was a breath of fresh air for her, not that she would ever admit it to him. He would be far too smug for her to bear. For now though, she would sit back and watch her partner do what he does best, fuck up the plans of meddling assholes while causing anarchy all around him.
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read ahead of the public release in p@treon :
p@atreon.com/MoonLight18