Pre-Chapter AN: Hey, thanks for reading this. It's literally my favourite thing to write these days. Enjoy the chapter, and let me know how it sticks if you enjoy it. If you're feeling a bit impatient, the next three chapters are up on pat-re-on- same username as up here and link in my profile.
While I had been consumed with my progress, Toshiro had gone and become a real threat to be feared, I thought to myself with a smile. He ran at Cee with speed that anyone from our graduating class would have been shocked to see come from him. He ducked under her blade and lashed out with a fist towards her head. His attack came from the left, and she weaved right into its path like she was dodging an attack from the right. Moving right into the attack amplified its force, and she was sent flying from the blow. Sealless genjutsu! I thought with an appreciative gasp.
She took the hit much better than I would have expected from her frame, and she stood before Toshiro could press the advantage. Nay, I corrected myself. He allowed her to stand up and chose not to press his advantage. How chivalrous. She weaved a familiar set of seals, and I smiled to see Toshiro react to the jutsu before she'd even got the chance to complete it. I'd used it on him in a training session before, after all. Her electromagnetic murder tore through the ground that separated them, but only managed to hit a log that erupted in smoke. Smoke that spread across the field much too quickly to be natural. Smoke bombs spread across the field, I deduced. But when?
"There's a rock clone under Meisaigakure no jutsu doing his bidding in the field" Uzume said by my side. I nodded at her. So that was how he'd spread the smoke bombs. Probably set them all to trigger at precisely the right moment. There was a buzzing sound from the smoke covered field, and I noted a single steady flash of light coming from the smoke. Cee was clearly wielding her blade now. Enhancing it with Lightning release chakra flow was likely aimed at using it in figuring out his approach.
I turned to the screen and noted that the view had become black and white as the receptors used a different means to peg down the movement of each party. We could clearly see Toshiro moving slowly across the mist. Creeping, really. While Cee turned here and there, waving her sword to ward off attacks that just weren't coming. A paranoia inducing genjutsu, I suspected, as I noted her walk right out of her previously holdable position and into Toshiro's path.
Toshiro leaned backwards to avoid the first swipe of her blade. She turned to the left to stab at thin air, while Toshiro came in from the right and grabbed a hold of her sword arm before harshly pulling it towards him and snapping it in the same movement. She dropped her blade with a scream we could hear from up here. He wasted no time in following through with the attack and lashed out with a headbutt. Her headband's placement around her neck was a mistake she wouldn't be making again, as she staggered backwards, dazed. She tried to lash out with a lick that he just dodged around before unloading into her midsection with two heavy punches.
Backwards she went again, and he weaved one last set of seals. "Water Release: Water bullet" He spat out a compressed ball of water that sent his opponent into unconsciousness.
Seconds later, Orochimaru weaved a single seal and breathed out a gust of wind that dispersed the smoke in one go. He stared at the Kumo genin's form for a second before pointing right at Toshiro. The entire stadium erupted in applause. I was right there with them, clapping and screaming his praises. I guess it was clear that he hadn't needed my warnings. He'd had things well in hand.
The screen flashed through the list of names once more before it settled on two names: Hyuga Hinori and Aburame Shiba. "But they're on the same team" I heard Omoikane speak out with dread in his voice. I understood where he was coming from, even if I could not understand the surprise in his voice. Fighting one's teammates must have been a much scarier prospect for teams that had real unity between the members, but surely, he should have foreseen the chances of this happening in a random draw.
Both my cousin and her teammate left the tunnel together. It was an impressive display of unity, as they then stood opposite each other and made the seal of confrontation without being prompted. The second they finished, Shiba returned his fingers to their usual position in the deep pockets of his overcoat. I'd been very critical of the clothing choice, especially in the Land of Fire's notoriously hot summers, until Shiba has brought me a jacket made of the same material for my birthday last year. It was so breathable and airy, that it felt like magic. It was also incredibly light, so I'd figured that the overcoat must have been a non-consideration for them.
Orochimaru dropped his hand to start off the fight, and Hinori was forced to jump backwards as a swarm of bugs slammed into the area of the ground she'd been standing on. She weaved two seals and Shiba bent at the waist to avoid a blade of cutting blade that she breathed out and directed in his direction. It had no effect beyond slowing him down, and that was all the time my cousin needed to cover the distance between the both of them and stab her fingers in his direction.
After two palms, the body collapsed in a swarm of Kikaichu, and Hinori had the honour of being surrounded by the chakra draining insects. She reacted quickly, activating her Kaiten and sending the bugs flying.
When she left the jutsu, it was to bugs ripping themselves out of the ground and rushing at her. They tore through her body in a gruesome display of flesh and blood that I allowed myself experience for a second before I tore through the genjutsu with ease. It was a rock clone in her place. Shiba himself had not been fooled by the genjutsu, and they stood across from one another in another stand-off.
"I forfeit", Shiba Aburame suddenly said, lifting his hand. Only the close attention I'd been placing on Uraume helped me notice how she did not feel the slightest bit surprised at her teammate's seemingly sudden decision to resign. This was planned. I could see how it must have been concocted. Team training would have told them who was the strongest between them, and so the other would put on a good show to avoid dishonouring their clan and village. Then they'd resign to preserve their team's best candidate's chances of going on to win the whole thing. If this was the kind of Chunin exam that I'd seen in the manga, then this alone might have been enough to cinch his promotion. I looked at both my teammates sitting next to me and chuckled. No way was either of them going to take a deal like that.
The crowd applauded at the Aburame boy, even if most of them were confused as to what had happened. To them, it must have been especially jarring. One second, the Hyuga girl was on the ropes, being eaten to death, and then the next she was perfectly fine, and her opponent was surrendering to her.
"A beautiful performance in the end. Just to clarify what we saw over there, Hyuga Hinori did use an illusion technique to make it look like she'd been caught in the trap. She actually escaped and replaced herself with a mud clone" Jiraiya's voice rang out, and the civilians began whispering to themselves, even more awed by the display of Ninja magic.
"Now, for our next match:" He trailed off as the screen began to flash through a list of names. It took a shorter time to make its choice with fewer options to run through, and came to a stop with two names on the screen; "Kitsuchi of Iwa and Sarutobi Omoikane, please make your way to the field" Jiraiya announced. I smiled at the matchup and leaned forwards.
It was a good chance to see what the Tsuchikage's son was capable of in his teen years. He was also well into his teens, at least 13 years of age. That meant he had a good two years on most of the participants here. The only people here who were close to his age were his teammates. The Bicoloured hair boy from Kumo was even younger than I was, and his teammate was only a year older than me from appearances alone. Their third had been at last 16, but he was apparently gone from the contest already.
Both of the participants were on the field facing each other in no time. I hoped Omoikane would win this and claim victory for Konoha, but Uzume had fought him, and if the look she was giving to the battle was any indication, then Omoikane would stand little chance.
The second Orochimaru began the battle, Omoikane was off. His fingers flew through seals at a rapid pace, and a giant fireball blasted through the space between them. Kitsuchi had wasted no time in weaving his seals. He bent on his knees and dropped his palms on the floor. A wall rose in time to meet the fireball. The explosive power of the powerful fire jutsu was enough to destroy sections of the wall, but Kitsuchi was well and truly covered from the attack. After the fireball came a ton of smoke, however. Smoke that Omoikane disappeared into almost immediately.
A stirring in the smoke was Kitsuchi's only sign that something was coming for him, but he reacted admirable. He turned in time to fire off a stone bullet that tore through Omoikane's jacket and the kunai it was tied to. Omoikane swept in from the other side and slammed Kitsuchi's head against his wall with a powerful kick that was sure to send anyone reeling. He took advantage of the opportunity and reared up to stab down with his kunai.
From the screen, I could see Kitsuchi's hands touch the ground and go deeper. Into the ground. By the time Omoikane's kunai was about to hit, he must have felt shocked to feel his body fold around Kitsuchi's fist. The boy was fast. Especially at that size. Omoikane spat out a wad of blood before Kitsuchi pushed further with his fist and sent the boy flying. He rose from his knees, still unsteady, but his opponent was not in any place to take advantage of that.
Kitsuchi scowled at Omoikane. A savage, bloody smile that showed that he'd had a few teeth knocked loose by that kick into the wall. He weaved seals and then spat out a single mud bullet. It crashed into Omoikane's form and sent him flying back further, but no other reaction. The boy was clearly unconscious already. "Winner: Kitsuchi of Iwagakure" Orochimaru said. That message didn't seem to get into Kitsuchi's rock-hard skull because he began weaving seals for another mud bullet.
I made to jump down but felt a hand on my own. I looked down to see Toshiro holding on to me with a warning look on his face. I heard a commotion and turned to see that Izuku had made it out of his seat, but Kizuru was holding him back while Uzume blocked his path so he couldn't jump down. In the end, our intervention was unnecessary. Orochimaru would not let his sensei's clansman be killed in front of him. The next mud bullet was slapped aside with a flick of his hand as he appeared between Kitsuchi and his target.
"I declared you the winner already, in case you are hard of hearing. Move again and lose your hands" The snake sannin hissed with menace in his voice. The threat was clear there. Kitsuchi, finally finding his wits, nodded and walked away from the field.
He turned to his teammate and whispered "Good luck" to her as she stood from her seat to walk towards the battlefield. The fact that her chosen opponent was Inuzuka Inukuro must have brought no small amount of joy to her. She'd enjoyed kicking his arse back in the academy, and she was probably going to love doing it even more now that she had an audience here. At least more of an audience than she was used to from the academy matches.
He watched the two of them face off at the centre of the field, and already the Inuzuka boy had opened his mouth to say something. He couldn't quite catch the words, but he could catch the way Uzume's smile lightened in the close up of her face on the screen. The screen panned out from that view to show both candidates facing each other and making the seal of confrontation. As Orochimaru dropped his hand, there was no movement from either party before Inukuro suddenly began screaming while scratching at his ears, and nose, and even eyes. The idiot had looked Uzume right in her eyes. What a fool. Always assume that your opponent has got stronger. The fact that she hadn't been able to use Sharingan genjutsu back in the academy shouldn't have been enough to make him let his guard down like that.
By his side, Shiro leaped up and nipped at his ear with a harsh bark. He snapped out of the genjutsu instantly, scowling at her and barking something to his companion. He clearly wasn't pleased with the public humiliation, especially since Uzume had not bothered to even take advantage of the time he'd been incapacitated for.
Shiro barked back, and both man and beast assumed similar positions, staring down Uzume. She merely stretched out one hand and made a 'come here' gesture that they were all too happy to heed. They covered the space between them and her with impressive speed, and she acted just as quickly. The first claw that was sent at her throat was dodged with a quick backwards lean. Shiro jumped at her, but was too slow, as she'd been able to correct her stance and place her gunbai between her and the dog. He slammed into the War Fan just as she pushed out with it. Both the dog and his human companion were sent flying by the wind release imbued into the weapon.
Inukuro was quick enough on his feet to flip with the wind's momentum and then stop himself by planting his claws in the ground. He came to a skidding stop a few minutes later. His canine competition did the same thong by his side and they both snarled at their opponent who was still smirking at them.
She tossed her fan into the air with one movement while bringing both hands together in a ram seal and breathing in. Almost as if to prove a point, she used the same jutsu Omoikane had used in his fight, but with only a single seal, and to far greater effect. The fireball that flew for the man and dog duo was at least the size of a small house and moved as quickly as a train. They moved to dodge immediately, but the difference between man and beast showed itself. Kuro was able to make it out of the attack's path, but his friend was not. The attack slammed into the dog and exploded, sending him flying into the stadium's wall. He collapsed, unmoving.
My heart stalled in my chest. Uzume wouldn't dare. No. Not with the Clanhead's son. She wouldn't be so stupid. It was almost like the entire stadium let out a breath it didn't know it had been holding when the dog's chest began to move.
"You bitch" Kuro snarled at Uzume. His voice was so loud that even this far away, I could hear him.
"You'll pay for that. Gatsuga!" He screamed and then began to spin. He covered the space between them with even greater speed than the first time. She dodged out of the way of that attack, but he would not be deterred. It was like a game of whack-a-mole, as Uzume moved quickly to make sure she wasn't in the path of the dangerous spinning attacks. He was like a whirlwind of grinding movement that was sure to rip apart anything he came in contact with.
I could see a few ways for Uzume to get out of this situation. The fireball she sent simply washed across his spinning form, doing nothing to stop or even deflect his momentum. The most obvious solution was the sitting duck, laying at the edge of the battlefield. Threaten the dog, and the Inuzuka would surrender almost instantly. Of course, it wasn't going top make her very popular with the watching crowd. She dodged out of the way of another attempt by the Inuzuka, and then turned to meet him as he came sweeping around again. This time, in her hand was a quickly condensing ball of spinning chakra. She wouldn't. Fuck. She did.
Rasengan and Spinning Inuzuka met mid-air, and only one spinning motion could win. He was sent flying away as the rasengan overpowered his jutsu and exploded right in his face.
"Winner: Uzume Uchiha" Orochimaru said with a tone in his voice that I did not quite like. I also did not like the look he was giving her as she was walking away from the field. I calmed myself with the knowledge that we still had decades before he'd turn traitor. He was still a teenager now. A teenager that was loyal to Konoha. He'd never do anything to hurt Uzume. I contented myself with that information and made sure to scowl down at Uzume when she looked up at me. The smile she sent back reeked of smugness. Of course, she'd launch my own jutsu before me on the global stage. I wanted to glare at Sakumo for making me teach it to her in the first place, but he was nowhere to be found. The fucking bastard haggled better than a fisherman's wife.
The fifth fight was nothing like the four that preceded it. Instead of a battle of taijutsu, or even ninjutsu to awe the spectators, we instead got to see something arguably even more impressive, but only to the discerning. Kizuru Kurama had been drawn against a kunoichi from Iwa that went by the name Shiki. She was the one who had the brilliant idea of trying to trap an Uchiha with a fly matured Sharingan in genjutsu. Something of a genjutsu specialist, but Uzume hadn't been particularly kind when she referred to her abilities as middling. At least, she hadn't meant to be kind, but at the end of the day, even that much recognition from Uzume might as well have been high praise.
My team was well accustomed to genjutsu, both in detection and usage. Sakumo-sensei had a habit of weaving powerful genjutsu into his taijutsu and kenjutsu, in much the same way Toshiro had done in his fight with that Cee girl, but with loads more finesse and skill. Needless to say, even with our natural abilities, both Uzume and I had been forced to do a lot of work to be able to largely ignore his plethora of genjutsu in combat. Toshiro, even without those talents, was still the most skilled non-clan genjutsu user I knew of. That changed today, however. Uzume had undersold things.
On getting to the battlefield, Kizuru had wasted no time in taking out his flute. The same flute I'd bought him all those years ago and began to play. The sound waves weren't travelling so far as to catch us in the genjutsu as well, but I could tell that it was one of his stronger variants from the sheer chakra expenditure. On the other hand, the girl weaved seal after seal as she transitioned from one genjutsu to another.
I could only imagine what was going on between the two of them. What each of them was seeing as the other ensnared them in their genjutsu, and then held them there while they tried to break out to ensnare the other. It must have been like a dance. Tov dance with mental techniques like that must have been an experience for the memories. I knew I'd never have something so beautiful happen to me. I could cast genjutsu at Chunin level, but people like Toshiro, Uzume, Izuku, and most definitely Kizuru had me beat in that aspect of them shinobi arts. Despite having Tsunade as a Cousin, my chakra control wasn't necessarily anything to write a tale about. Certainly, not good enough to overcome the advantages my peers had, either by nature or by hard work. I could admit it. Toshiro worked harder than me when it came to genjutsu. He didn't have much in the way of ninjutsu to rely on, so it was perhaps unavailable for him to dedicate most of his energy to the art.
I left my thoughts to return to the fight before me as I saw the Iwa girl drop to her knees with blood streaming from her nostrils. Her black hair fell around her in ringlets that frames her face and added something truly savage to her appearance. Despite the problems, however, she still maintained her grasp on her handseal as she desperately tried to maintain her contest with Kizuru in the battle for genjutsu supremacy.
On the other hand, Kizuru, had an almost relaxed look on his face as he played the flute with an adeptness that only a true master of their craft would. I'd heard Kizuru play for entertainment at many a gathering, and I knew what it must have sounded like to the Iwa Kunoichi in the thrall of his genjutsu. He had a preference for slow, haunting tunes when he added genjutsu to his music, but his range was not limited to that. No, there was an interesting one that had a frenzied upbeat tone that drove all who listened to it into a wild frenzy, allegedly. I'd never got the chance to see that one in person, but Izuku had a talent for description. There was also a fast, but soothing tone that somehow induced paranoia in all who heard it. Izuku had narrated the tale of how they'd used only that genjutsu to perform a bandit extermination mission. The bandits had begun to fight amongst themselves, under the sway of Kizuru's genjutsu, and then eventually slaughtered each other down to a man. The light in Izuku's eyes as he described the gory scene would have made me worried if I didn't feel much the same excitement at the thought of such effective genjutsu.
Kizuru lived up to all the hype that had been made of his abilities, and systematically disabled Shiki of Iwa with an ease that belied the complexity of the art. He maintained his playing, until he switched his tone suddenly. His movements became much slower. Slow and methodical. His fingers moved across the flute at an almost languid pace. The effects on his opponent were immediately apparent. She formed the release seal multiple times with an unmistakable look of panic etched on her face. It didn't work. One of her fingers dropped uselessly to the ground. She formed the seal with one hand. Began to scream "release". The fact that I could hear it from here spoke to how she loudly she must have been screaming it. She suddenly coughed out blood. And then began to scream. But this time, not any discernible words. Just screams of terror. Screams that got so loud that I feared she'd tear her vocal cords from exertion, until it all came to a sudden, abrupt stop. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
Orochimaru declared Kizuru the winner, but he did not acknowledge it, and merely continued to play the piece until he reached its end. The chakra flowing from him had cut off after she'd collapsed, so it was clear there was no genjutsu involved here. Just an artist wanting to complete his craft. It was all the best that he did not stop. The end to the fight had been jarring enough that the civilians, and even the shinobi in the stands, merely stared at the field. Jiraiya's attempts to stir some excitement for Kizuru's victory fell flat.
No one would be forgetting the sight of the pale Iwa girl lying on the floor with blood running from her nose and mouth anytime soon. The image was practically seared in all our memories.
"Shorirama Senju vs Izuku Uchiha" Jiraiya proclaimed, and I turned to my best friend with a feeling in my chest that I couldn't quite place. I wanted to fight Izuku. Of course, I did. But I would rather not fight him as my first fight of the third stage. For some reason, a delusional part of me had been hooping to face him in the finals. My ideal route there had been to face one jinchuriki after the other, and then Uzume, before fighting my best friend on the biggest stage we'd ever get. We'd have written our names in the history books, and now one of us would be forced to be relegated as nothing but a footnote.
Someone who lost in the first round would have no chance of being remembered. Virtually no chance of being anything more than an aside. No matter how strong they were or how well they fought, it would all end up coming for naught in the end. It pained me that this would be the fate I'd have to sentence Izuku to. But that was the way of this world. I stood from my seat, and didn't bother taking the stairs down to use the tunnel to get to the battlefield. I simply stared over the ledge for a second and then jumped. I prepped my feet and knees with chakra before I landed, and did so with barely a whisper. The crowd burst into whispers at my entrance. Whispers that intensified as Izuku copied my exact movements a second later. "Well, you can tell they're excited to get things going. This is going to be a doozy, ladies and gentlemen."
In no time, we were standing on the field and facing each other. Orochimaru's hand dropped, and I crushed the tendrils of chakra that reached out to my chakra system with a savagery that I didn't quite feel. I ran at him, and he mirrored my movements. My eyes met his, but my chakra denied every attempt he made to place me under genjutsu. Hyuga genes for the win. Normally, I'd let myself be ensnared by the genjutsu for a second or so out of pure curiosity, but that urge had been beaten out of me by Sensei, and Izuku was not an opponent I could take risks with regarded.
I made the first attack as custom. Two fingers lashed out for his forehead, aiming to scramble his brain and send him into unconsciousness. With a single movement, he forced his forehead protector down from its position as a hairband to his forehead. My fingers hit the cold metal, and he took advantage with a kick aimed at my midsection. I leaned around the limb, flexibility from years of dance training coming in clutch. I rushed in again. One finger moving for his shoulder in a feint that he ignored, while the real attack aimed at his solar plexus was dodged. He'd fought me enough times to know that blocking me was a terrible idea. It irritated me how he danced around every attack aimed at him, while preventing me from getting into a real groove by forcing me to have to deal with his counterattacks.
I weaved past a quick 1,2, and poked at his eyes with my fingers. He leaned backwards, but not in the same way as before. Most would not have caught it. But there was a flash of panic in his movements. A one-second loss of composure. But one that I would punish. It had left him full of holes. "Two palm. Four palm. Eight palms. Sixteen…" I only got so far before he managed to throw himself out of the way of my attacks. I scowled at the failure. It was only my lack of the byakugan that prevented that from being a fight-ending combo. I was sure that I'd probably got no less than eight or so tenketsu, but a full Hyuga would have got all sixteen that they aimed for.
"That has to hurt" I said, burying the frustration at having victory torn from my grasp so abruptly.
"It does" He said with a smile. And then he formed the tiger seal. I smiled and clapped my palms together.
"Fire Release: Phoenix flower jutsu" he said, sending a barrage of basketball sized fireballs my way. I smiled and took a deep breath before kneading my chakra, just as Tobirama had taught me to. "Water Release: Great Water Mass Bullet" Using only my affinity for water releaser and my large chakra capacity, I created five massive water bullets that tore through his fireballs without so much as a stutter before converging on his position. He jumped backwards before running across the field to dodge out of the way of the bullets. The first bullet landed right at is heels, failing to meet him by just a hair's breadth. The second hit nothing but air as he bent his knees before jumping right over the bullet heading for him. The third tore through his body, but there were only wood splinters left at the impact site. I tracked him to the small field of trees at the edge of the battlefield and commanded the remaining two to curve to his position in a pincer. They did, but he was more than content to dodge at the last second and allow both to crash into each other.
I reached out to the water created by my chakra, and commanded it to harden. The water droplets that fell turned into a series of needles that tore through the rock clone he'd substituted with. I cursed myself for getting openhanded and teaching everyone that jutsu. But thankfully, I hadn't thought them this one. I formed a ram seal and moulded my chakra. All around the battlefield, the water puddles created by my jutsu stirred before rising and taking my shape. Water release: Water clone jutsu complete.
Each of them ran at Izuku's position in the forest, acting as a distraction while I completed the final stage of my plan.
A/N; That's the chappy. The fight continues in the next one. Experimenting with a Wednesday upload because that seems to be when everyone else does. I wonder why. The next three chapters are up on the place of pa –trons- same username as up here so feel free to check it out if you want to support my journey, but don't stress if you can't. Everything will come up here in its own time.