Naruto ch 23

Another smaller chapter until the fight scenes are fleshed out

 

 

Chapter 23

 

 

 

“Aburame Shino your opponent will be Tannaka Hadori…please come to the arena floor…”

 

Shino put his hands in his pocket and slowly walked down the steps, it seems that the exam was not totally random, so far he had seen matches that pitted equals against each other. It looked like it was designed to make the candidates show more than they had so far to reach for the win. Deciding to go all out from the first, he was not going to hold anything back, glancing at his opponent as they walked to the center of the arena, “No holding back, we need to go all out if we are going to truly showcase our skills.”

 

Grinning Hadori nodded as he fell into the earth recovery stance his family preferred.

 

“Begin…”

 

Shibi stared open mouthed as his son showed he had mastered the body flicker technique before going on the offensive by sending a swarm of Kakkei bugs into the air at the same time he started to rapidly do hand seals. His Son was using a high level Jutsu in the beginning of the fight, along with his colony, it boggled the mind.

 

Seals finished Shino threw his hand out, “Wind: Gust of the Winter Storm…” almost as soon as he had finished the cold arctic blast he flipped through three seals and called his swarm down, “Wind: Summer Nights Breeze…”a gentle gust of wind blew through the swarm of Kakkei bugs and carried them rapidly on the breeze he created, faster than they could have flown on their own.

 

Hadori at the first sign of the attack crouched down so he did present as much of his body to the wind, shivering as the cold hit him he looked up having been distracted. At the first hint of warm hitting his face he knew he was in trouble and quickly used his favorite earth technique and melted into the ground before the swarm of bugs had a chance to hit him. Swimming through the earth to where his opponent was standing a few seconds ago he started to channel chakra in his hands for a lightening attack.

 

A pair of hands broke through the surface of the dirt, grabbing empty air as an electrical arc cascaded between the hands.

 

That could have disabled his ability to use his colony if he had not moved Shino thought as he threw several blunted training Kunai towards the rising figure, he wanted to see if he was skilled enough to move through the earth while rising at the same time. And seeing Hadori move to the right it seems he was.

 

Hadori caught one of the Kunai sent his way and absentmindedly looked at it, it had a blunt edge, smiling in understanding he flashed quickly through several seals as he activated his bloodline limit and created several Kunai of his own from the metals in the soil, and like his opponent he made sure their edges were blunt. Throwing his created weapons rapidly as he finished rising through the soil he grinned as two could play that game. Standing he rapidly thought of a plan and a few seals later, “Fire: Ring of Running Fire…” as the ring of fire surged upwards around his opponent he flashed through eight more seal before twirling in a circle, ending with his arm thrusting towards the ring of fire he had just laid down, “Wind: Tornado combo…Touchdown…”

 

Jumping up out of his seat as the ring of fire and wind joined to become a roaring tornado of Fire Shibi frantically looked around for his son, only to fall back in his seat as his son rose from the ground behind his opponent Kunai in hand as he placed it at the teens throat.

 

The Third shuddered again as he watched yet another one of the Genin candidates for Chuunin combine two Jutsu attacks into a brand new devastating attack, the skill and strength being showcased her today sent the message clearly, and he understood it all too well. Nodding his head he smiled at the thought of how the other countries would react when they saw the Genin candidates Whirlpool was going to send to the exam, as each country only sent their very best.

 

As soon as the fire started to rise, Shino flashed through a set of seals and sank into the ground, he was not as comfortable as his opponent was moving through the earth, but he quickly burrowed to a space behind Hadori and rose Kunai in hand. Placing the kunai against Hadori’s throat he calmly told him, Surrender.” Only to have his target melt into a pile of mud, eyebrow raised he jumped back, a Bunshin, a mud clone.  Mid leap he finished a set of hand seals as he forced the remainder of his colony out as he pushed his chakra into forming a giant pair of flapping wings, “Winged flight of the Butterfly…”

 

Shibi’s heart seemed to stop as he watched his son start flying like some large insect, using his chakra and Kakkei he was actually hovering in the air…impossible.

“You have trained your son well Shibi-san,” the Third smiled as he watched the young Aburame go all out.

“But…But…That’s not one o four techniques,” Shibi stuttered out as he looked over at the box holding the judges and saw a smiling Naruto, “Naruto-sama what have you been teaching our kids.”

His whisper carried over to the Hokage who choked as he tried to swallow. Turning his head as he looked at Naruto with a calculating stare, it had become vital now to have a formal firm alliance with Whirlpool, for more than the reason of Naruto being the Yondaime’s legacy.

 

Sensing movement under the earth Shino quickly threw four kunai so the embedded themselves halfway into the soil as he started to go through another set of seals, this time forty eight were required, two more than normal, but after all he did not want to fry his opponent only stun him. As Hadori rose through the ground he waited as the teen looked around carefully, trying to spot him. He finished the forty eight seal just as Hadori walked inside the box the four Kunai created, “Lightening: Strike of the Gods…” his partially powered Jutsu crashed down from his hands as he clapped them together, pointing the clasped hands at the ground a bolt of lightning crashed down and hit one of the Kunai, electricity arcing between the four handles sending jolts of stunning electricity into the ground and from the ground into Hadori.

 

Shino smiled as he lowered himself to the ground, his Kakkei flowing back into his body as the Chakra wings furled up behind him until the Jutsu was cancelled.

 

“Winner…Aburame Shino…”

 

Closing his eyes and releasing the breath he had been holding Shibi collapsed in the chair, his son had exceeded all expectations, and once again one of the Kohona Genin who he had heard from Kurenai called Naruto Senpai used what would be considered an Elite Jounin level technique or it would be once he convinced his son to write it out in detail. Standing up he bowed to the Hokage as he stepped into the aisle, “please excuse me Hokage-sama, Kurenai-chan, I….I need to have a talk with my son now that he has completed the exam.”

 

Nodding without taking his eyes off of Naruto and his knowing smile he resigned himself to accepting the fact Konoha would soon have three new Chuunin, after all Naruto would not leave one of his friends out of the special training. ‘Minato, I don’t know who is prouder of your son at he moment, you and your beautiful spitfire of a wife or this old man’.

 

“The Hokage is still starring at you Naruto-kun,” Haku smiled as he watched the next candidates take the field, he remembered these two from when he filled in for Naruto after the Kyuubi was killed, they had impressive records, both from the academy and the past year of service since making Genin.

 

“I know,” Naruto sighed as he watched the fight start, “after I give out the rank pins would you escort him to my office. I think it is past time for the two of us to have a talk.”

 

“Of course,” Haku smiled as he faced Naruto, “how do you feel Hinata-chan’s chances are now?”

 

“After hearing them discussing strategy over the scrolls I lent Sasuke on combining Jutsu’s I think she has more than a chance to pass, as long as she acts confidently.”

 

 

Stopping in front of the proctor guarding the door to the waiting area for those who had finished the exam Shibi bowed politely, “I am Aburame Shibi, father…clan head to Aburame Shino; may I have a word with him now that his exam is complete?”

 

Glancing at the copy of paperwork on his clipboard that had gone up to Uzumaki-sama the proctor smiled slyly before he nodded, “You may clan leader, though you may not tell him he has been promoted.”

 

Pleased and full of pride Shibi nodded his acceptance, “I shall do as you ask proctor-san.”

 

Walking through the now open door Shibi looked around; there were several other clan heads he had met during his walks around town talking to their children or members of their clan. Finally spotting Shino over in the corner talking to the Uchiha while eating he smiled as he made his way over. “Hello you two,” Shibi interrupted their discussion by letting them know he was here. “The two of you did Konoha proud today, truthfully during the whole exam. Enough so that Hokage-sama was very impressed with your skills,” glancing at Sasuke he saw the small smile, a smile that was matched on his sons face. Seeing if his suspicions were right he added, “I was also watching Naruto-sama and he looked proud of your achievements.” Seeing the smiles brighten up and transform into full grins, including the change of both their postures to a more assured and pride filled one he knew he was right.

 

Pulling one of the chairs over so he could sit facing his son and his friend he watched them for a moment, “Both of you showed everyone new skills and techniques unheard of before, techniques that you should not be ready for yet at the level of chakra reserves or control that you are supposed to have.” Seeing their traded looks he interrupted before they could say anything, “by the time you reach Jounin, or until Naruto-sama sneaks the skill to Sasuke who passes it to you,” Got you Shibi thought as he smiled. “All of us, your senseis, the clan leaders and the Hokage could tell all of you so far are working at high Chuunin levels with your reserves. And maybe we have not checked in a while, but you are still considered fresh Genin so I find it intriguing how you’ve advanced so quickly.”

 

“I am not asking for your secrets,” Shibi was quick to add as they looked tongue tied, “why I am bringing this up now is because I think it would be wise for both of you to start documenting what you’ve learned so far for you contribution to your clan scrolls. The things you have created or discovered and learned will be important for your futures, and you should get in the habit of documenting your skills.” Looking at Sasuke he pointed out something, “Sasuke I know for a fact your family documented every new Jutsu and technique they copied by using their Sharingan while on missions and coming across enemy Ninja. They kept a vault of them and the ones they did not release to Konoha to be used by anyone who needed them.”

Seeing the shocked look on the teen’s face he nodded, “Somewhere on your family’s estate there is a veritable gold mine of information, especially if the traitor that killed your clan did not steal it, but somehow I doubt very much he took it with him.”

 

Mind racing with the possibilities he became worried thinking about Itachi getting his hands on that vault, Naruto-senpai proved to him that the way to beat his brother was not by following the path he was on, but somewhere in that vault might be the path he needed, and with Naruto-senpai’s help it went from maybe surviving the encounter to definitely surviving the encounter.

 

“The scroll he developed the new techniques off of is borrowed, and I’m not sure how well any of the techniques we document would make sense,” Shino stared at his father for a moment before shifting his eyes towards Sasuke to see if he would comment on it.

 

“I’ll talk to Naruto-senpai to see if he will allow us to copy it,” Sasuke frowned as he tried to remember what it said, Shino’s father was right, “We need to start carrying blank scrolls around with us to document things as soon as we develop them or like Hadori did to copy the contents of our target scroll without having to resort to taking it and thus tipping off the enemy that their plans have been taken and change them.” Shaking his head he looked up, “I sat here trying to remember what the scroll we studied said and to tell you the truth I don’t remember enough of it to be able to copy it,” turning to look at Shino he frowned, “We need to work on our memory skills too.”

 

Task done Shibi smiled as he stood up, “I will see both of you after the exam is complete and you’ve been released, I’ll even treat you to supper as congratulations for completing the exam.”

 

Walking down the aisle towards the seats they had been given Shibi saw that Hinata was fighting, and quite well from what little he was seeing. Deciding to sit next to the Hokage he whispered to him as Hinata defended against her attacker successfully with a wind Jutsu, “Just as a heads up Hokage-sama, I talked to the proctor who was guarding the door and just happened to see his clipboard with the exam results on it. Both Sasuke and Shino passed and will be promoted. Will you allow the promotion to carry over outside whirlpool?”

Dipping his head so his hat covered most of his face, hiding his smile, “Yes…how could I not when they passed what is essentially a Jounin level exam for any other nation.”

Going over the words in his mind Shibi stared at eh Hyuuga heir as he pondered what exactly he Hokage was not saying.

 

Hinata was getting tired, so far she had defended against everything thrown against her and her attacks while blocked for the most part were tiring her out. One last attempt was all she felt she was good for so it had to be a good one, thinking back to what she knew and how her opponent had countered everything she had attempted so far she sighed. She would have to rely on the new one she had yet to master, maybe it would distract him long enough to think of something else. Sliding into a stance she was not comfortable with yet she prepared as she watched the steady flow of chakra through her opponents body, she had to time this just right if she did not want to seriously maim him.

 

Furious over seeing his daughter’s sloppy work and mixing in non family techniques Hiashi growled lo win his throat as Hinata slid into some strange stance, wasn’t it enough that she had embarrassed her family by using inferior techniques. “She should have just lost the damn exam instead of lowering herself to learning this type of trash.”

 

The Third sighed; he knew very well that Hiashi did not mean to say that out loud, “Maybe because she wanted to prove she could pass the Chuunin exam which is on the same level of difficulty of our Jounin exam.” The Thirds disapproving tone left no doubt to those gathered how he felt about the man’s comments just then.

 

Taidachi sighed as he glared at the Hyuuga fool, “Do I need to remind you fool that your daughter is no longer your problem, or do you wish to go against your agreement with the main family to allow your clan official recognition, now shut up and watch in silence”.

 

Another interesting thing to talk to Naruto about, the Third thought as he noticed how quickly the proud Hyuuga cringed and wilted into silence, so unlike him.

 

Now Hinata thought as she moved to strike, hands rapidly going through seals as she ran…until she sunk out of sight as she performed the only earth technique she knew, swimming rapidly through the earth she popped up next to the proctor, lungs heaving as she tried to catch her breath, “Proctor I must retreat, if this was a real fight I could not win and would be killed or injured…” not bothering to look up she felt like heaving. “I’m sorry but I must resign.”

 

Nodding the proctor smiled as he whispered to low for the crowds to pick up, “Smart move, if your reserves were larger than you would have held out long enough for Dassin Keechi to lose; you receive a passing mark for being smart enough to know your limitations.” Stepping forward he nodded before looking up at Uzumaki-sama, “Winner Dassin Keechi…”

 

Nodding Naruto smiled at Hinata, “Smart move, if she had continued she would have failed the test, and it would have been the third mark against her.” Glancing at the furious look trying to be hidden from Hinata’s father he noticed Taidachi had moved over to sit near him and left it to him to deal with as an internal clan matter.

 

An hour later Naruto stood in the center of the arena as the candidates that had passed walked calmly not the arena, the new training his Shinobi Jounin instructors put their Genin through during the year of constant training proved to be the wisest thing he could have done. And just in time, he was adding another sixteen Chuunin teams to the roster, teams they desperately needed. Seeing the single file of Genin stop and turn to face him he smiled, “Today all of you have proved to me, your teachers, your parent’s and even your Jounin sensei’s just what you are capable of.”

 

Smiling as the line of Genin seemed to stand just a little bit taller, a little bit prouder of themselves, “Except for two teams being pulled in the beginning because of freak accidental injuries all of you have passed.” Stopping and pulling himself up to his full height Naruto stopped smiling and barked out, “GENIN REMOVE YOUR RANK PINS AND STAND AT ATTENTION…”

 

Moving to the first person in line Naruto nodded as he handed over his rank pin. Taking the pin and slipping it into the bag attached to his belt Naruto accepted the Chuunin rank pin from Haku and pinned it to the new Chuunin’s chest before moving down the line. Finally thirty three pins later Naruto stopped in front of Sasuke with a bemused smile when he saw Sasuke offering a Konoha rank pin, the only thought going through his mind was where the hell did that come from and why he never got one as he saw both Shino and Hinata holding one of their own. Hiding his sigh he smiled his public smile, just one more thing denied him back in Konoha.

 

Taking the pin Naruto’s smile turned in to a grin, well Sasuke I’m glad you passed, when I had these pins made the craftsman thought I was being overconfident.” Taking the new pin from Haku he pinned it to Sasuke’s shirt, “Well done apprentice, as your teacher and friend I am proud to call you mine.” Moving to Shino Naruto took the pin from him and wondered if this was a clan heir thing or was he really that despised that they would also sabotage this simple acknowledgement, “Well Shino I would like to have said I was surprised, but as I saw you plan your training when you found out all that was involved in the exam I knew unless something drastic happened I would be standing here to give you this.” Pinning the slightly different pin to Shino’s jacket he nodded, it looked good on him.

 

Moving to the last person in line Naruto's grin got larger if possible, “Congratulations Hinata. I think this proves that your father was wrong about you,” pinning the new rank pin to her jacket he nodded, “We’ll talk later just stick to Shino for now.”

 

Moving back to the center of the arena Naruto waved his hands, “Okay relax now, I just have a few announcements to make before you break up to celebrate.” Seeing the grins return as teammates looked at each other he glanced up at the section with the Konoha contingent in it, Haku was talking to the Hokage so he knew he had to wrap it up and get back to the office. “First off, during the next month before you are released from your Jounin-sensei’s oversight they will work hard with you to correct any small problems the proctors noticed. Use these four weeks well because at the end of them you will be taking more and more missions that are hitting my desk by yourselves and with your team.”

 

Seeing the serious looks on their faces Naruto nodded, happy they were taking their new duties seriously, “And finally before I give you the next two days off from training,” laughing at the sudden yelling of yes from the middle of the line. “As I did when I first stood here all those years ago and congratulated those who passed and were promoted…” drawing it out slightly, “Supper is on me. Now get out of here, there is a lot of people waiting up there to celebrate your victory,” Naruto waved his arm towards the crowd sitting above them.