Boring. If there was one word to describe Shikamaru's match against Temari, it would be boring. The people of the crowd didn't even have an opinion on Shino's match against Kankuro as the Sand Genin forfeited before they could even get down to the arena. Now, they would have to watch as Temari continues the cycle of barely missing Shikamaru with an attack while the Leaf Genin misses with his own technique, the Shadow Possession.
This would go on for what felt like, and actually was, hours.
X
Naruto sighed in boredom.
"Why is it takin' so long for Shikamaru to do somethin'?"
Sakura walked up next to him with a sigh of her own.
"You know Shikamaru. He's a strategist. He's not gonna do something unless he knows for sure it'll help him. Like the kunai in the ground."
Sakura pointed to two kunai in the arena, making Naruto look over.
"Neji threw those into the ground during your match, remember?"
Naruto nodded.
"They sunk in pretty deep, so Temari can't blow them away with her Wind jutsu. Shikamaru probably knows this and wants to wait until he can use the shadows they make."
Naruto nodded again, this time with a hint of understanding.
"Oh, yeah, his Shadow can extend with other shadows! I forgot about that. But, that isn't gonna help him if he can't get Temari in the range of 'em."
Sakura nodded.
"Which is why he's waiting. He's looking for openings. Or, maybe..."
Naruto looked over at his teammate.
"Or, maybe... what?"
Sakura shook her head with a small grin.
"Just wait and see. I think I might have an idea of what he's trying to do."
Naruto nodded confusedly and went back to spectating.
X
"Come on out, shadow kid! I can do this all day, you know!"
Temari shouted into the trees in the arena and was unsurprised when her only response was a shadow stretching towards her. She jumped back, being careful of the other shadows in the arena, before sending out a wave of bladed win with her giant battle fan.
"Wind Style: Wind Scythe!"
The blade of wind sped towards the treeline, cleaving through and felling many trees before finally dissipating. Temari frowned as she once again failed to hit her target. Her head snapped upwards when she saw Shikamaru high up in the sky, descending towards her.
Temari smirked as she readied her fan.
"It looks like you're not as smart as I thought."
Temari swung her fan with a shout.
"Wind Style: Wind Scythe!"
A blade of wind shot towards Shikamaru. His eyes widened as he was unable to avoid the attack due to being in the air. Temari's smirk died down as the blade of wind passed straight through Shikamaru, his image fading. Her eyes widened when she realized she was unable to move.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu: Success."
Shikamaru held his hand in a half seal as Temari tilted her head down, not of her own volition. He walked towards his opponent, her matching his every step unwillingly. He pulled a kunai from his pouch, which Temari mirrored aside from actually grabbing a kunai. Instead, her hand grabbed onto thin air and raised it towards her opponent. Temari's breath quickened as she found a kunai at her neck.
"Give up or I'll make you walk into my kunai."
Temari glanced between the dead serious expression of her opponent and the kunai at her throat. Not taking any chances, she struggled as she called out to the proctor who had just hopped down from atop the arena wall.
"I-I... f-forfeit..."
Genma nodded and raised his hand.
"Winner, Shikamaru Nara!"
The crowd cheered as they finally got some action, though they were noticeably quiet compared to how they reacted to the first match. Temari breathed out a sigh of relief as she felt the control over her own body return. Shikamaru put his kunai back in its pouch as he walked towards the corridor. Temari followed him after a second of surprise.
"Hey, wait!"
Shikamaru slowed his pace slightly to let Temari catch up.
"That was a clone, wasn't it? It wasn't one of those Shadow Clones that Uzumaki guy used, right?"
Shikamaru gave a small nod.
"Yep. Academy level jutsu. Pretty helpful if you know how to use it."
Temari looked at Shikamaru as if she had been smacked in the face. Though, being beaten by such a low level technique was basically an equivalent of being slapped.
"I made it jump up high so you couldn't see that it didn't have a shadow."
Temari grit her teeth as her face turned red in both embarrassment and anger. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.
"What?"
Temari shook her head as the two continued down the hall.
"I can't believe I was defeated by such a weak jutsu."
She sighed to herself as she shrugged.
"But, you are a Nara after all. I can't fault someone for being smart."
Shikamaru nodded.
"Growing up I was taught to use everything I know as an advantage. Kinda like this."
Temari looked at Shikamaru in confusion before her eyes widened, another kunai being placed at her throat as she was pushed against the wall of the corridor.
"What are you and your village planning?"
Temari stared at the younger teen in surprise before she remembered the blade poking at her neck.
"What are you talking about?"
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. Temari flinched in pain as the kunai drew a drop of blood.
"You said it yourself, I'm a Nara. I know for a fact the Hidden Sand is planning something. What is it? An invasion?"
Temari's eyes widened slightly more, giving Shikamaru all of the input he needed.
"Let me guess, it has something to do with that Gaara guy, doesn't it? He's way too much of a loose cannon to let participate in the Chunin Exams."
Temari's frightened expression changed to one of anger.
"Even if you get to your Hokage, you won't be able to stop it."
Shikamaru stared at Temari for a few more seconds before he withdrew his kunai. Temari coughed slightly as she rubbed at her neck, wiping off the few drops of blood that had accumulated.
"Then, it's a good thing I don't need to."
Temari looked at the teen in confusion as he turned away to continue down the hall.
"Just... Get somewhere safe when it all starts. I have a feeling things aren't gonna go the way you think."
Temari continues to stare confusedly as Shikamaru rounded the corner, heading back up to the participants' booth. She stayed still as she tried to think of what to do. Unfortunately, she couldn't come up with anything other than killing Shikamaru, but he was likely already out in the open and it might not even solve anything. But she couldn't get what the teen said out of her mind. What did he mean it might not go how she expected it to?
X
Genma sighed as Sasuke Uchiha still hadn't arrived. He began to wonder if Kakashi's self training had actually done anything or if it was all just an act.
"Very well. Could participants Sakura Haruno and Choji Akimichi please come down to the arena?"
At the very least, this should be an interesting match. He was told how the pink haired genin had nearly instantly won her preliminary match by Hayate shortly after he recovered and was eager to see just how much stronger she could have gotten in a month. Choji as well, he supposed. The heir of the Akimichi Clan was bound to put on a good show.
X
"Begin!"
Sakura jumped back as Choji enlarged his hand with his Clan's special jutsu, the Partial Expansion Jutsu, and slammed it down onto the ground where his target once was.
Choji chased Sakura down, each of his hands enlarging to nearly a dozen times their original size, continuing his onslaught of punches and palm strikes. Sakura, however, dodged each one with apparent ease, leaping away and into the forested area of the arena.
Sakura pulled out three senbon after dodging another slam, throwing them at Choji's enlarged fists. Choji narrowly retracted his hands while shrinking them back down in time to avoid the needles. The large teen flinched when he had to re-enlarge his hands again to defend against the stone bullets shot his way.
Choji put his hands down and his eyes narrowed as Sakura had disappeared. On pure instinct alone, he brought his hand up to his right to catch three Mud Bullets. He brought up his left hand facing the opposite direction to deflect more Mud Bullets.
Choji's eyes widened as the ground erupted in front of him and out came Sakura. She threw down another volley of senbon, this time throwing well over twenty. Thinking fast, Choji brought his right hand back and swatted the senbon away as best as he could. He was unable to avoid when two of the needles got stuck in the back of his hand, though, and quickly pulled them out.
When Choji looked back up, he immediately realized what was happening. He could feel his chakra draining more than it usually would for keeping his jutsu up, and he couldn't sense Sakura anywhere. He looked down and raised both of his enlarged hands above his head. He slammed his fists down into the ground as hard as he could, causing miniature fissures to run throughout the area.
Sakura popped out of the ground, looking surprised, before Choji hit her with a palm strike that covered her entire body. She brought her hands up in time so that her arms took much of the damage, but she was still launched far away.
Sakura flew back from the treeline and landed in a pained crouch. Looking down, her arms were visibly shaking from the force of Choji's hit, even when she used her enhanced strength.
Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up at the treeline only to see a large ball rolling towards her.
"Human Boulder!"
Sakura quickly made a few hand seals and slammed her hands on the ground. Choji, who had used his Expansion Jutsu to turn into a large ball shape, was quickly gaining speed as he rolled.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
A large wall of mud formed and quickly hardened into stone in front of Sakura. Right as Choji approached the wall, Sakura moved as quickly as she could to get directly behind her opponent.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
As Choji bounced off of the first Mud Wall, he immediately began rolling towards the next wall directly behind him. Sakura created two more Mud Walls on Choji's left and right, boxing him in like a human pinball. The large teen groaned as he was beginning to feel dizzy from rolling so much.
Quickly releasing his jutsu, Choji rolled along the ground, noticeably more skinny than when the match started. He got up painfully and looked around. Four more Mud walls had been created by the time he got to his feet, making sure there were only a few human sized gaps between each one. Feeling the effects of whatever poison had been put on the senbon Sakura hit him with, Choji enlarged his hands once again. Just like his current size, his hands were smaller compared to before, though not by as much.
Choji flicked his eyes over as he saw a shadow dip behind one of the walls. He ran over to the wall the Shadow went behind and threw a punch at it. Before it could land, he was hit away back towards the center of the circle made by the Mud Walls. He landed in a crouch and looked towards the walls again. He concentrated as he tried to keep track of the fast moving shadow.
Choji's eyes narrowed when he realized there was more than one shadow at a time. He slammed a fist into the ground, sending out fissures again, but it didn't seem to do anything.
"Surrender, Choji. You can't escape my technique, and that poison will drain your chakra until you end up in the hospital."
Choji began to sweat as he still felt his chakra levels slowly draining. He took a step back as he looked around, waiting for one of the shadows to appear again. He breathed in deeply and breathed back out. He instinctively began to run in the opposite direction he was facing, slamming a hand onto the ground to propel himself high up into the air. His eyes widened when Sakura appeared above him. The pink haired teen was confused, however, when her opponent's surprised expression changed into a confident smirk.
Before she could think, Choji grabbed Sakura with his enlarged hand and began falling back to the ground. He raised his hand holding his opponent up high before slamming her down into the ground as he landed, kicking up dust everywhere.
Choji coughed as his hands shrank back down. He waved his hands to clear the dust in the air and looked down. He was slightly worried when he saw Sakura lying in the crater she made in the ground, unconscious. His worry turned to shock when Sakura disappeared in a puff of white smoke.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall Cage, Giant Domino!"
Choji looked around as he heard Sakura shout from somewhere. His eyes widened when he was overshadowed by the eight Mud Walls now falling straight down onto him. The only thing he could do as the rock walls fell was enlarge his hands with the last bits of chakra he had left and hope he didn't get crushed too badly.
X
Sakura watched solemnly from further away as the dust began to settle. Genma hopped down into the arena and jogged over to the rubble of the Mud Walls. Sakura did the same, hoping Choji wasn't injured too badly.
Both she and the proctor stopped when the rubble at the top of the pile shook. After a few seconds of waiting, a large hand moved over an equally large rock from on top of it. Choji popped up from the hole, dazed and about out of chakra. Both Sakura and Genma sighed in relief before hurrying towards the large teen.
Sakura crouched next to Choji as he sat up to the best of his abilities against the pile of rocks. She pulled out a small vial from the pouch on her left hip and held it out.
"This will cure the draining poison."
Choji went to grab the vial before Sakura pulled it out of his reach with a small smirk.
"But, only after you admit defeat."
Choji stared at Sakura for a second before sighing and hanging his head low.
"Ugh... Alright, you win..."
Genma put his hand up towards Sakura.
"Winner, Sakura Haruno!"
The crowd cheered as they were given their most exciting match in the past... three hours. Sakura gave the vial to Choji, which he quickly chugged, before she put his arm over her shoulder to help support him as they walked. Sakura waved at the crowd, earning more cheers at the show of good sportsmanship. She helped Choji over to where two medical ninjas were waiting with a stretcher. Choji held up a peace sign as he got carried away.
"Have fun in the later matches, Sakura."
Sakura nodded proudly as she had only just realized. She had made it to the quarter final round of the third part of the Chunin Exams. That alone would probably make her a candidate for chunin. Now, she just had to wait to see who her opponents would be. Well, if nothing happens before that, anyways.
X
"Alright! Great going, Sakura!"
Naruto put a thumbs up towards his pink haired teammate as she entered the participants' booth. She returned the smile with a grin as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. Shikamaru nodded to her with a small smirk and Shino adjusted his sunglasses, which was probably a sign of respect or something.
"Thanks, you guys. You make those Shadow Clones look a lot easier to use than they are, Naruto."
Naruto raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Who taught you my Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
Sakura shrugged.
"I might've... copied it... with Zabuza Sensei helping me..."
Naruto stared at Sakura in surprise.
"Huh?! What'd you go an' do that for?! You could've just asked me, y'know!"
Sakura put her hands up in a praying motion.
"I know, and I wanna say I'm sorry! Listen, I just figured you were busy with training and I didn't wanna bother you too much after what you promised Hinata back in the preliminaries! I mean, I almost passed out trying to make a few on my first attempt, and just making the two I used in the fight took up a fifth of my entire chakra reserves..."
Naruto sighed as he crossed his arms.
"Yeah, yeah. Listen, just ask when you wanna learn somethin'. I can make time."
Sakura sighed in relief before nodding with a small grin, to which Naruto returned. Shikamaru looked across the room at the two's interaction with a raised eyebrow.
"I know they were pretty chummy during the preliminaries. Hell, Sasuke even congratulated Naruto after he won against Kiba, but I guess I never thought about it until now. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura have gotten a lot closer since we all graduated."
Shino gave a small nod as he pushed his shades up on the bridge of his nose slightly.
"There are a myriad of possible factors. Perhaps it was even coincidence that they became that way. People change, and that is something I cannot deny."
Shikamaru nodded, glancing at Shino out of the corner of his eye.
The entire time, Gaara was sitting back staring at nothing. He couldn't decide what was worse, hearing people get along like old pals, or having to wait for his opponent for even another minute longer. Sasuke Uchiha was taking up valuable time that he could have spent on killing those more worthy.
X
"That was a rather intriguing match. I could be wrong, but there is no Haruno ninja clan, correct?"
The Hokage shook his head to the Kazekage, to which the man nodded.
"It is impressive for one of civilian status to be able to overpower a clan heir. Her sensei must have trained her hard during the last month."
The Hokage nodded.
"Indeed. But, I believe part of that comes from Miss Haruno herself. She is strong willed and is rather intelligent, perhaps even comparable to a Nara. I would not be against making her a chunin, if you feel the same way, Lord Kazekage."
The Kazekage nodded.
"Perhaps. While I would be willing, I do hope there is more for her to show in the final match."
The Hokage nodded back. Adrik couldn't help but agree. Sakura had showed just about every quality he could think of in a chunin, not that he would influence such a decision, mind you.
X
"Sasuke Uchiha, are you here?! This is your final call before you are disqualified!"
Gaara stared across the arena at where his opponent should've been standing by this point. He narrowed his eyes in frustration as his bloodlust was the furthest from sated it had been in a long time. While he was growing more comfortable with the idea of automatically moving on to more valuable prey, he was in dire need of his fix of bloodshed.
"Then, as Sasuke Uchiha has not arrived, Gaara of the Sand moves on-"
Genma was cut off by a puff of white smoke that appeared directly in front of him and said Sand Genin.
"Sorry for being late. We overslept."
Sasuke half-heartedly punched Kakashi on the shoulder indignantly. The dark haired teen was wearing his usual attire except his high collar shirt and shorts were both dark grey.
"You were the one who overslept. I was ready to go an hour before the matches were set to start."
Kakashi nodded along with a blank expression as he stared into his incredibly mesmerizing book, which Naruto had come to learn was basically porn without pictures written by his own teacher and godfather, Jiraiya. Kakashi let out a perverted giggle as he flipped a page. Sasuke facepalmed as Genma, Gaara, and most of the spectators stared blankly at the silver haired jonin. Genma cleared his throat, which got Kakashi's attention.
"Kakashi, if you would please head to the stands, I have a match to start."
Kakashi looked around blankly.
"Oh... Right."
The jonin disappeared in a puff of white smoke, reappearing in the spectators' area, coincidentally next to Might Guy.
"Ah, Kakashi! My old rival! Still as hip as ever, I see! And with your own youthful student to boot! Say, you aren't copying the ways of myself and my youthful students Lee and Adrik, are you?!"
Kakashi blinked before looking over at Guy.
"Oh, hey, Guy. When did you get here?"
Guy looked away with tears running down his face as he muttered to himself.
"Ah, that hip and cool attitude of yours always drives me to tears!"
X
"Begin!"
Genma jumped back as a wave of sand immediately rushed towards Sasuke. The dark haired teen frowned as he activated his three tomoe Sharingan and jumped away, easily avoiding the sand.
Sasuke jumped back further and further until he got up against the arena wall. He jumped straight up as the sand nearly reached him and began running on the wall. Gaara stared blankly as he motionlessly commanded his sand to chase down his prey.
Sasuke wordlessly drew his tanto and bounced off of the wall as the blade became coated in Lightning natured chakra. As the tide of sand approached from behind and now in front of him, Sasuke smirked.
"Lightning Style Kenjutsu: Dancing Bolt!"
Sasuke dropped low before spinning dozens of times in a circle, vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, in just a few moments. The sand that nearly encased him was shredded and crystalized by the lightning, making it useless and immediately causing Gaara to lose control of it. The Sand Genin's eyes widened as Sasuke sped forward, reaching him in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke slashed with his tanto, easily cleaving through the sand barrier between him and his opponent. He frowned when the tip of his blade barely cut the fabric of Gaara's sash holding up his gourd. Sasuke jumped back as a pillar of sand come up from below.
Sasuke readied his blade as six tendrils of sand stared him down. They charged forward and he matched their pace. He sliced through one tendril, severing and crystalizing it, before slicing through three more. Gaara scowled as he formed eight more tendrils alongside the remaining two. They all darted straight towards Sasuke from all angles. The dark haired teen didn't even flinch as he called out his attack.
"Lightning Style Kenjutsu: Dancing Bolt!"
Just like he did earlier, Sasuke sliced through all of the tendrils at once, turning them crystalline before he vanished in a burst of speed.
Gaara's eyes widened as he was kicked in the stomach, sending him skidding back before getting caught by his sand. He coughed slightly before putting his hand up. Sasuke glanced to his right and left to see two hands made of sand rushing towards him from either side to crush him.
Gaara clamped his hand down as the hands made of sand collided. He narrowed his eyes when he neither saw or felt his prey in his grasp. He grunted in pain as he was kicked in the back, straight down into the ground. Sasuke brought his lightning covered tanto up high before stabbing it downward.
A moment before his blade would've pierced Gaara's shoulder, Sasuke twitched and jumped away, narrowly avoided a giant pillar of sand. Sasuke then watched as Gaara glanced at him murderously before disappearing behind a protective dome of sand. Sasuke looked up as an orb appeared above the dome in the shape on an eye. It stared at him and the sand in the area rushed towards its target.
Sasuke jumped away before springing towards the arena wall. He crouched down slightly as he made hands seals, sheathing his tanto beforehand. As waves of sand approached from either side of him, Sasuke's right hand became engulfed in lightning, the appearance accompanied by what sounded like thousands of birds chirping.
X
"Kakashi, don't tell me you-"
"Taught Sasuke the Chidori?"
Guy looked over at his proclaimed rival in surprise and concern. Kakashi shook his head as he continued watching.
"You taught your student the Eight Inner Gates. You would be a hypocrite to reprimand me for teaching my student something that could end up saving his life in the future."
Guy kept his mouth shut as he knew Kakashi was right. Though, did he really have to teach Sasuke such a deadly jutsu at such a young age?
X
"Chidori!"
Sasuke vanished in a burst of speed once again, the sand nearing him being blown away by the force of his leap.
Gaara flinched as something pierced through his dome of sand with ease. He looked over as pain erupted in his shoulder and the sparking, blue object retracted itself. Gaara's eyes widened as he held his left shoulder painfully. He pulled his hand away slowly as he stared at the fresh, red liquid now in his palm.
"Is this... my... blood?"