Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Three Demons of Konoha ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: ArchangelBloodraven 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.11.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 740 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.11.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 740 | Status: Work In Progress
The Three Demons Of Konoha
Chapter 2 "All right everyone, pencils down," Iruka called, starting down the aisles to collect the tests. "I'll grade these over lunch. For now, let's head outside for the weapons portion of the test." "How'd you do?" Hinata asked. "Aced it!" her two companions said in unison. "Tch, like Naruto could really ace a test," Sakura snorted. Yamanaka Ino grinned cheekily. "We never thought Naruto would raise a hand against his beloved Sakura, but I'm sure you remember how that turned out." "Technically speaking," Naruto interjected. "that was a foot I raised." "Humph!" Sakura turned up her nose. "You're just jealous because Sasuke's gonna be mine!" A thin smile played across Ino's lips. "Perhaps," She said, conveniently neglecting to the fact that she was already good friends with the trio thanks initially to her friendship with Shikamaru and Choji- and later through the group's exercises in chakra control. "Anyway, the weapons test is next," Naruto grinned, producing a small orange book from the inner pocket of his jumpsuit. "but at least we get a short break." "You know Yuriko-kaasan doesn't like you reading those," Sasuke deadpanned, as Naruto flipped the book open and began skimming lines to find his place giving an occasional perverted giggle. "What you gonna do about it?" The blonde asked nonchalantly. "Only one thing I can do," the Uchiha murmured rolling up his sleeves. "That's right, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered. "Show that pervert who's strongest!" "Can I borrow it when you're done?" Sasuke asked, checking over his weapons. "You tell him, Sas- WHAT?" Sakura screamed. "Quiet, banshee," Hinata grumbled, slamming her elbow into the pink haired girl's gut, winding and silencing her in a single motion. "As for the new book, Sasuke, the line starts here." "Hn." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just because you got him started on those things, you're the expert now." "Perverted and proud," Hinata smiled, as they arrived at the field where a number of targets were set up. "All right class, listen up," Iruka called stepping up to the starter mark. "I'll call you up in groups of four. You are to sink 10 kunai into the 'heart' of our poor dumb victims, as indicated by the bulls eye. I'll be scoring and retrieving your kunai after your attempts." Naruto was seemingly engrossed in his perverted reading material arching an eyebrow and smiling a thin, sly smile even as he listened to his sensei calling off names. So it seems he's taking two from the top of the class roster and two from the middle. Naruto tipped his head to one side as he envisioned the roster in his mind, four columns of neatly printed text running it's length. At this rate, sensei should call me... "Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward and ready your weapons." Iruka called as the four students stepped to the mark. "Oi, Naruto," Sasuke called dispassionately as the blonde knelt slightly to draw three kunai from his hip . "Hn," the blonde grunted in response, briefly scanning his target before he returning to his book. "Just remember if we miss, we have to deal with Panda sensei." Naruto paled at the reference to Higurashi Tenten, the bun-haired, weapon-happy genin who had given the three extensive training before their entry into the academy. She believed that her students' performance reflected on her, and anything less than 100 percent accuracy was grounds for punishment. In other words, if you missed the target, you became the target. "Then I won't miss," The whisker-faced student murmured grimly, gripping three kunai as he waited for Iruka to start the exercise. After a bit of a wait, he returned to his book calling in the young teacher's direction. "I'm just going to keep reading until we get started, eh, sensei?" Iruka sighed. "Begin!" "Three!" Naruto cried letting his first trio fly as his right hand dropped back to his hip, the three fresh kunai going airborne even as he counted off "Six!" With a blur of motion the blonde's hand passed down his left bicep to send another triplet streaking into his target. "Nine!" he called out even as his right hand streaked into the small of his back to find... Nothing. Naruto frowned as he dropped to one knee drawing a kunai from a concealed sheath on his ankle and flicking it forward in a high arc. Hearing a satisfying 'thunk', the last Uzumaki rose and finished his count in a subdued murmur of "Ten." "The results are as follows: Uchiha Sasuke, ten out of ten in fifteen seconds. Uzumaki Naruto, ten out of ten in seventeen seconds. Hyuga Hinata, ten out of ten in twenty seconds. Haruno Sakura, eight out of ten in thirty seconds," Iruka reported returning the kunai to their owners "Hah! I knew Sasuke-kun was better than you, idiot!" Sakura crowed triumphantly. "You really don't know when you're outclassed, do you. Sakura?" Hinata glared daggers at her classmate, before cutting off her response. "If you weren't so obsessed with Sasuke, maybe you'd realized that you got the worst score out of the four of us." "So?" Sakura huffed. "I still passed." "So it took you thirty seconds to throw ten kunai twenty feet into a stationary target and you missed twice. Do you have any comprehension of what a jounin or ANBU level ninja can do to you from twenty feet away? 'Cause I've fought both, and was lucky enough to just end up in the hospital." Naruto pointedly ignored the pink-haired shrew as he stashed his book away and started counting his kunai. "Eleven," he murmured. "Why the hell do I have eleven?" Sasuke looked at the handful of kunai that Iruka had returned to his left hand and the unthrown weapon in his right. "Sensei, I did put ten kunai into the target, didn't I?" "Yes, Sasuke," Iruka confirmed. "Ten kunai, same as everyone else. Is there a problem?" "I only carry ten kunai, and yet I have eleven in my hands," Sasuke frowned "You gotta have one of mine," Naruto said. "I keep six on my hip, three on my bicep, two on my ankle-" "And one in the small of your back," the brunette murmured, flipping the extra kunai over and holding it out to his classmate. "And just so you know, Sakura, if Naruto had that kunai, he would most likely have tied with me -even though he was throwing one-handed." "All right, moving on to the shuriken portion of the test. We'll be putting ten shuriken into the same dummies, but for this exercise we leave the targeting to your discretion." "Are there any factors we need to consider in our attack?" Naruto asked. "Are we aiming to kill or disable? Will there be an interrogation afterwards? Is the enemy aware of us or not?" Iruka smiled. "Again, I leave all that up to your discretion." "Right..." Naruto grumbled, tensing as he quickly scanned the target, palming five shuriken into each hand. "I think we're all ready, Iruka sensei." "Then-" Iruka couldn't help but grin as four of the most promising students in this year's class stood tense and ready- "BEGIN!" The first syllable had no sooner left the elder ninja's mouth before eight of the orphans's ten shurikens were tossed straight into the air. The two he held flew straight into the targets simulated eyes, even as another pair settled in his hands. These flew into the dummy's wrists as another pair whistled through the air, parting as one sank into the victim's throat and the other slid deeply into its thigh. Throwing the last four with all his not inconsiderable might, Naruto sank one at odd angle into the dummy's chest as the remaining three arced into the back of the dummy's head and knees. Iruka arched an eyebrow at his student's handiwork. "Some of these are self explanatory, like the eyes and throat, but the others are..." "Nontraditional?" Naruto grinned. "The two in his wrists most likely severed the nerves and musculature controlling fine motor coordination in the hands. In short, I disabled his ability to use hand seals. The one in his thigh is in the general area of the femoral artery. Slow painful bleed out, good for on-site interrogations. The two in the back of the knees should, in theory, have cut through the muscles needed to keep him standing." "And the last two?" Iruka murmured, a little shaken by Naruto's knowledge of human physiology and its exploitable vulnerabilities. "Trick shots. Nothing I'd try in combat. The one in the back of the head was meant to sever the spinal column where it connects with the base of the skull. Easier to do with a kunai, and safer, too. The one in the chest was meant to slide through the enemy's ribs and puncture a lung. A slow death with too many opportunities to counterattack, only really useful for field interrogations." "How do know so much about a human body?" Sakura asked in genuine awe. "We three train together," Sasuke spoke up. "It's how we grow stronger." "The anatomy lessons were primarily for me," Hinata chimed in. "But why?" Sakura asked, sincerely interested in someone other than Sasuke for once. "I have a healing talent," Hinata shrugged. "But all the talent in the world does you no good if you don't know how to use it." "Well," Iruka paused to examine the targets. "It looks like Sasuke was aiming for a silent kill?" "I was assuming he was a guard unaware of my presence, so yes," The dark-haired boy responded. "And Hinata! This display of anatomical accuracy is definitely impressive," Iruka gushed. "Did you use your byakugan for this?" "No sensei," the heiress growled. "I haven't managed to activate my family's bloodline limit yet." That was always a sore spot for both Hinata and Sasuke, both of whom had failed so far to awaken their special eyes. "Anyway, Sakura seems to have taken a more textbook approach to the targeting," Iruka sounded pleased as he responded, "you four pass the weapons portion!" "As if Panda sensei would allow us anything less," Hinata murmured, reclaiming her shuriken from the Academy teacher before stepping aside to allow the remaining students to approach for their test. "All right class, onto Taijutsu. Mizuki sensei will be administering this portion of the exam as I grade the written exam. All you have to do is land one solid blow or knock Mizuki sensei out of the ring within five minutes. If you fail to land a blow or are still outside the ring at the end of that time, you fail this portion of the exam. You can use any techniques or items you'd use in a real shinobi battle. Any questions?" The students shook their heads, and Iruka nodded to Mizuki who turned to start the test only to find Choji, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura hovering around the timer. "Is there a problem?" Mizuki asked. "We just wanted to make sure all the students got fair and equal treatment," Ino said brightly. "It would be troublesome if someone was to fail because the instructor shorted their time by a minute or two," Shikamaru grumbled. "It doesn't matter how you feel about someone personally," Sakura added. "In a test of skill,they should pass or fail on their own merits. Damn kids are too perceptive. Mizuki hid his ire under a smile. But then again, this is for the best. The demon couldn't tell who slipped the Jounin exam into the stack, so he's not going to trust Iruka or myself for the duration of the exam, and cheating here would only put him more on guard. So we'll play by their rules... for now. "Well, it's highly unorthodox, but I think it will work just fine. First up, Akimichi Choji."
"So what are you gonna do?" Hinata asked as Sasuke spun around Mizuki to sweep his legs from under him. "Oh, this can't end well." "Up he goes," Naruto agreed. "As for Mizuki, I guess I'm gonna have to ring him out hard." "Good idea," the pale eyed girl said, grimacing as Sasuke appeared above the bewildered instructor, an instant before the youth buried his elbow in the silver haired man's gut. "Want any help?" "Nah," the youth murmured, palming a vial of dark red liquid. "This should be all I need." Hinata arched an eyebrow. "I remember everything I make so I know exactly what that does. Is it what you want?" Naruto leaned back and closed his eyes, listening to Mizuki wheeze as the teens reset the timer. "It'll be just fine, and you'll have a chance to see my new style." Yawning, the youth pushed to his feet and ambled towards the testing area. "We still want to meet your new sensei, and don't think that you're off the hook for going off to train on your own, either." Sasuke glared at the passing shinobi hopeful before settling down and resting his eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto, ready?" Mizuki asked. Naruto nodded and dropped back into a graceful stance, his left leg bent slightly forward at the knee as he leaned back on the ball of his right foot. He braced his right arm at his side parallel to his waist with his fist clenched and his knuckles down as he raised his left arm in a horizontal guard position. "Begin!" The blonde dashed towards the older teacher as the silver-haired man closed the distance only to run into a thick cloud of choking red mist. Naruto met him with a brief taijutsu exchange before both shot back several feet. "My eyes!" Mizuki roared vehemently, scrubbing his effected optics with the back of one hand even as he took a defensive stance and Naruto dropped back to the same stance he started in. "You little brat! What did you do to my eyes?" "Interesting," Hinata commented. "See something?" Sasuke asked as the pair leaned closer to watch the fight. "His style balances his body on a central pivot. With a slight shift, he can use his dominant side for attack or he can shift back and use his opposite side for defense," Hinata explained. "And I get the feeling we haven't seen everything yet." "What's the matter, Mizuki?" Naruto taunted, unraveling a silk sash from up his sleeve and wrapping it twice around his head, covering his own blinded eyes. "Don't tell me you're gonna be beat by an academy student." "I. Will. Kill. YOU!" Mizuki growled, lunging towards Naruto's voice only to have the young man dance gracefully to one side. His foot touched down only to serve as a pivot as he threw a kick at the back of Mizuki's head. The teacher caught Naruto's leg and cranked up and around hard. The preteen spun through the air and landed remarkably lightly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "No sound." Hinata arched an eyebrow. "I think he's constantly channeling chakra into a cushion under his feet, so he's literally not hitting the floor. It must be part of his style, but without my byakugan to confirm it, it's only a hunch." Naruto and Mizuki clashed back and forth, strike meeting parry, kick meeting block, grapples attempted only to be reversed. This stalemate continued for three long minutes, and Sasuke and Hinata sucked in a pair of worried breaths as the exchange ate away his time. "Naruto!" Hinata cried out. "you're gonna fail soon!" "Funny thing about anger, if you let it consume you-" Naruto spun to a stop, back to back with Mizuki. "and soon enough, you lose sight of everything." The silver haired teacher growled darkly as he started to turn, swinging for Naruto. Unfortunately for him thejinchuuriki was already in motion, dropping low and sweeping Mizuki's legs from beneath him an instant before going into a forward roll that transferred his momentum into a handspring that slammed both his feet into Mizuki's chest, propelling the instructor high into the air as he dropped his old abused wristwatch into the dust of the ring. The next stage of the combo had the blonde student grasping the older man's arm before throwing him as far from the ring as he could. Mizuki grabbed the youth with his opposite arm and dragged him to his ultimate failure, even as he shot a small bolt of chakra at the timer. Naruto did a single hand seal performing a kawarmi technique, swapping himself with the nonfunctional watch he had dropped earlier. The youth bounced off the ground and Mizuki skidded back along the outside of the ring as the shrill scream of the alarm fell silent. Naruto pulled himself off the ground as Hinata rushed into the ring with a small vial of clear eyedrops. "Did I do it?" he asked breathlessly. "Looks like you did, but it's Mizuki-sensei's call." she answered, carefully flushing away the blinding compound. "I'm sorry, Naruto," The silver-haired instructor said, applying the drops Sasuke had provided. "But since you were still in the air when time ran out, I'm going to have mark you as a failure." "Two passes, one failure. Then it all comes down to the ninjutsu exam." Naruto soothed Hinata as the pair exited the ring. "That's funny." Choji murmured, shaking his partial bag of chips. "Can't you finish one of those bags in five minutes?" Shikamaru asked looking from the expired timer to the bag of chips. "Yeah," the bigger boy confirmed. "And I started this bag at the start of Naruto's test. So if Naruto used up all his time, Shikamaru thought with a frown, why are there still chips in that bag?
Chapter 2 "All right everyone, pencils down," Iruka called, starting down the aisles to collect the tests. "I'll grade these over lunch. For now, let's head outside for the weapons portion of the test." "How'd you do?" Hinata asked. "Aced it!" her two companions said in unison. "Tch, like Naruto could really ace a test," Sakura snorted. Yamanaka Ino grinned cheekily. "We never thought Naruto would raise a hand against his beloved Sakura, but I'm sure you remember how that turned out." "Technically speaking," Naruto interjected. "that was a foot I raised." "Humph!" Sakura turned up her nose. "You're just jealous because Sasuke's gonna be mine!" A thin smile played across Ino's lips. "Perhaps," She said, conveniently neglecting to the fact that she was already good friends with the trio thanks initially to her friendship with Shikamaru and Choji- and later through the group's exercises in chakra control. "Anyway, the weapons test is next," Naruto grinned, producing a small orange book from the inner pocket of his jumpsuit. "but at least we get a short break." "You know Yuriko-kaasan doesn't like you reading those," Sasuke deadpanned, as Naruto flipped the book open and began skimming lines to find his place giving an occasional perverted giggle. "What you gonna do about it?" The blonde asked nonchalantly. "Only one thing I can do," the Uchiha murmured rolling up his sleeves. "That's right, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered. "Show that pervert who's strongest!" "Can I borrow it when you're done?" Sasuke asked, checking over his weapons. "You tell him, Sas- WHAT?" Sakura screamed. "Quiet, banshee," Hinata grumbled, slamming her elbow into the pink haired girl's gut, winding and silencing her in a single motion. "As for the new book, Sasuke, the line starts here." "Hn." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just because you got him started on those things, you're the expert now." "Perverted and proud," Hinata smiled, as they arrived at the field where a number of targets were set up. "All right class, listen up," Iruka called stepping up to the starter mark. "I'll call you up in groups of four. You are to sink 10 kunai into the 'heart' of our poor dumb victims, as indicated by the bulls eye. I'll be scoring and retrieving your kunai after your attempts." Naruto was seemingly engrossed in his perverted reading material arching an eyebrow and smiling a thin, sly smile even as he listened to his sensei calling off names. So it seems he's taking two from the top of the class roster and two from the middle. Naruto tipped his head to one side as he envisioned the roster in his mind, four columns of neatly printed text running it's length. At this rate, sensei should call me... "Haruno Sakura, Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward and ready your weapons." Iruka called as the four students stepped to the mark. "Oi, Naruto," Sasuke called dispassionately as the blonde knelt slightly to draw three kunai from his hip . "Hn," the blonde grunted in response, briefly scanning his target before he returning to his book. "Just remember if we miss, we have to deal with Panda sensei." Naruto paled at the reference to Higurashi Tenten, the bun-haired, weapon-happy genin who had given the three extensive training before their entry into the academy. She believed that her students' performance reflected on her, and anything less than 100 percent accuracy was grounds for punishment. In other words, if you missed the target, you became the target. "Then I won't miss," The whisker-faced student murmured grimly, gripping three kunai as he waited for Iruka to start the exercise. After a bit of a wait, he returned to his book calling in the young teacher's direction. "I'm just going to keep reading until we get started, eh, sensei?" Iruka sighed. "Begin!" "Three!" Naruto cried letting his first trio fly as his right hand dropped back to his hip, the three fresh kunai going airborne even as he counted off "Six!" With a blur of motion the blonde's hand passed down his left bicep to send another triplet streaking into his target. "Nine!" he called out even as his right hand streaked into the small of his back to find... Nothing. Naruto frowned as he dropped to one knee drawing a kunai from a concealed sheath on his ankle and flicking it forward in a high arc. Hearing a satisfying 'thunk', the last Uzumaki rose and finished his count in a subdued murmur of "Ten." "The results are as follows: Uchiha Sasuke, ten out of ten in fifteen seconds. Uzumaki Naruto, ten out of ten in seventeen seconds. Hyuga Hinata, ten out of ten in twenty seconds. Haruno Sakura, eight out of ten in thirty seconds," Iruka reported returning the kunai to their owners "Hah! I knew Sasuke-kun was better than you, idiot!" Sakura crowed triumphantly. "You really don't know when you're outclassed, do you. Sakura?" Hinata glared daggers at her classmate, before cutting off her response. "If you weren't so obsessed with Sasuke, maybe you'd realized that you got the worst score out of the four of us." "So?" Sakura huffed. "I still passed." "So it took you thirty seconds to throw ten kunai twenty feet into a stationary target and you missed twice. Do you have any comprehension of what a jounin or ANBU level ninja can do to you from twenty feet away? 'Cause I've fought both, and was lucky enough to just end up in the hospital." Naruto pointedly ignored the pink-haired shrew as he stashed his book away and started counting his kunai. "Eleven," he murmured. "Why the hell do I have eleven?" Sasuke looked at the handful of kunai that Iruka had returned to his left hand and the unthrown weapon in his right. "Sensei, I did put ten kunai into the target, didn't I?" "Yes, Sasuke," Iruka confirmed. "Ten kunai, same as everyone else. Is there a problem?" "I only carry ten kunai, and yet I have eleven in my hands," Sasuke frowned "You gotta have one of mine," Naruto said. "I keep six on my hip, three on my bicep, two on my ankle-" "And one in the small of your back," the brunette murmured, flipping the extra kunai over and holding it out to his classmate. "And just so you know, Sakura, if Naruto had that kunai, he would most likely have tied with me -even though he was throwing one-handed." "All right, moving on to the shuriken portion of the test. We'll be putting ten shuriken into the same dummies, but for this exercise we leave the targeting to your discretion." "Are there any factors we need to consider in our attack?" Naruto asked. "Are we aiming to kill or disable? Will there be an interrogation afterwards? Is the enemy aware of us or not?" Iruka smiled. "Again, I leave all that up to your discretion." "Right..." Naruto grumbled, tensing as he quickly scanned the target, palming five shuriken into each hand. "I think we're all ready, Iruka sensei." "Then-" Iruka couldn't help but grin as four of the most promising students in this year's class stood tense and ready- "BEGIN!" The first syllable had no sooner left the elder ninja's mouth before eight of the orphans's ten shurikens were tossed straight into the air. The two he held flew straight into the targets simulated eyes, even as another pair settled in his hands. These flew into the dummy's wrists as another pair whistled through the air, parting as one sank into the victim's throat and the other slid deeply into its thigh. Throwing the last four with all his not inconsiderable might, Naruto sank one at odd angle into the dummy's chest as the remaining three arced into the back of the dummy's head and knees. Iruka arched an eyebrow at his student's handiwork. "Some of these are self explanatory, like the eyes and throat, but the others are..." "Nontraditional?" Naruto grinned. "The two in his wrists most likely severed the nerves and musculature controlling fine motor coordination in the hands. In short, I disabled his ability to use hand seals. The one in his thigh is in the general area of the femoral artery. Slow painful bleed out, good for on-site interrogations. The two in the back of the knees should, in theory, have cut through the muscles needed to keep him standing." "And the last two?" Iruka murmured, a little shaken by Naruto's knowledge of human physiology and its exploitable vulnerabilities. "Trick shots. Nothing I'd try in combat. The one in the back of the head was meant to sever the spinal column where it connects with the base of the skull. Easier to do with a kunai, and safer, too. The one in the chest was meant to slide through the enemy's ribs and puncture a lung. A slow death with too many opportunities to counterattack, only really useful for field interrogations." "How do know so much about a human body?" Sakura asked in genuine awe. "We three train together," Sasuke spoke up. "It's how we grow stronger." "The anatomy lessons were primarily for me," Hinata chimed in. "But why?" Sakura asked, sincerely interested in someone other than Sasuke for once. "I have a healing talent," Hinata shrugged. "But all the talent in the world does you no good if you don't know how to use it." "Well," Iruka paused to examine the targets. "It looks like Sasuke was aiming for a silent kill?" "I was assuming he was a guard unaware of my presence, so yes," The dark-haired boy responded. "And Hinata! This display of anatomical accuracy is definitely impressive," Iruka gushed. "Did you use your byakugan for this?" "No sensei," the heiress growled. "I haven't managed to activate my family's bloodline limit yet." That was always a sore spot for both Hinata and Sasuke, both of whom had failed so far to awaken their special eyes. "Anyway, Sakura seems to have taken a more textbook approach to the targeting," Iruka sounded pleased as he responded, "you four pass the weapons portion!" "As if Panda sensei would allow us anything less," Hinata murmured, reclaiming her shuriken from the Academy teacher before stepping aside to allow the remaining students to approach for their test. "All right class, onto Taijutsu. Mizuki sensei will be administering this portion of the exam as I grade the written exam. All you have to do is land one solid blow or knock Mizuki sensei out of the ring within five minutes. If you fail to land a blow or are still outside the ring at the end of that time, you fail this portion of the exam. You can use any techniques or items you'd use in a real shinobi battle. Any questions?" The students shook their heads, and Iruka nodded to Mizuki who turned to start the test only to find Choji, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura hovering around the timer. "Is there a problem?" Mizuki asked. "We just wanted to make sure all the students got fair and equal treatment," Ino said brightly. "It would be troublesome if someone was to fail because the instructor shorted their time by a minute or two," Shikamaru grumbled. "It doesn't matter how you feel about someone personally," Sakura added. "In a test of skill,they should pass or fail on their own merits. Damn kids are too perceptive. Mizuki hid his ire under a smile. But then again, this is for the best. The demon couldn't tell who slipped the Jounin exam into the stack, so he's not going to trust Iruka or myself for the duration of the exam, and cheating here would only put him more on guard. So we'll play by their rules... for now. "Well, it's highly unorthodox, but I think it will work just fine. First up, Akimichi Choji."
"So what are you gonna do?" Hinata asked as Sasuke spun around Mizuki to sweep his legs from under him. "Oh, this can't end well." "Up he goes," Naruto agreed. "As for Mizuki, I guess I'm gonna have to ring him out hard." "Good idea," the pale eyed girl said, grimacing as Sasuke appeared above the bewildered instructor, an instant before the youth buried his elbow in the silver haired man's gut. "Want any help?" "Nah," the youth murmured, palming a vial of dark red liquid. "This should be all I need." Hinata arched an eyebrow. "I remember everything I make so I know exactly what that does. Is it what you want?" Naruto leaned back and closed his eyes, listening to Mizuki wheeze as the teens reset the timer. "It'll be just fine, and you'll have a chance to see my new style." Yawning, the youth pushed to his feet and ambled towards the testing area. "We still want to meet your new sensei, and don't think that you're off the hook for going off to train on your own, either." Sasuke glared at the passing shinobi hopeful before settling down and resting his eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto, ready?" Mizuki asked. Naruto nodded and dropped back into a graceful stance, his left leg bent slightly forward at the knee as he leaned back on the ball of his right foot. He braced his right arm at his side parallel to his waist with his fist clenched and his knuckles down as he raised his left arm in a horizontal guard position. "Begin!" The blonde dashed towards the older teacher as the silver-haired man closed the distance only to run into a thick cloud of choking red mist. Naruto met him with a brief taijutsu exchange before both shot back several feet. "My eyes!" Mizuki roared vehemently, scrubbing his effected optics with the back of one hand even as he took a defensive stance and Naruto dropped back to the same stance he started in. "You little brat! What did you do to my eyes?" "Interesting," Hinata commented. "See something?" Sasuke asked as the pair leaned closer to watch the fight. "His style balances his body on a central pivot. With a slight shift, he can use his dominant side for attack or he can shift back and use his opposite side for defense," Hinata explained. "And I get the feeling we haven't seen everything yet." "What's the matter, Mizuki?" Naruto taunted, unraveling a silk sash from up his sleeve and wrapping it twice around his head, covering his own blinded eyes. "Don't tell me you're gonna be beat by an academy student." "I. Will. Kill. YOU!" Mizuki growled, lunging towards Naruto's voice only to have the young man dance gracefully to one side. His foot touched down only to serve as a pivot as he threw a kick at the back of Mizuki's head. The teacher caught Naruto's leg and cranked up and around hard. The preteen spun through the air and landed remarkably lightly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "No sound." Hinata arched an eyebrow. "I think he's constantly channeling chakra into a cushion under his feet, so he's literally not hitting the floor. It must be part of his style, but without my byakugan to confirm it, it's only a hunch." Naruto and Mizuki clashed back and forth, strike meeting parry, kick meeting block, grapples attempted only to be reversed. This stalemate continued for three long minutes, and Sasuke and Hinata sucked in a pair of worried breaths as the exchange ate away his time. "Naruto!" Hinata cried out. "you're gonna fail soon!" "Funny thing about anger, if you let it consume you-" Naruto spun to a stop, back to back with Mizuki. "and soon enough, you lose sight of everything." The silver haired teacher growled darkly as he started to turn, swinging for Naruto. Unfortunately for him thejinchuuriki was already in motion, dropping low and sweeping Mizuki's legs from beneath him an instant before going into a forward roll that transferred his momentum into a handspring that slammed both his feet into Mizuki's chest, propelling the instructor high into the air as he dropped his old abused wristwatch into the dust of the ring. The next stage of the combo had the blonde student grasping the older man's arm before throwing him as far from the ring as he could. Mizuki grabbed the youth with his opposite arm and dragged him to his ultimate failure, even as he shot a small bolt of chakra at the timer. Naruto did a single hand seal performing a kawarmi technique, swapping himself with the nonfunctional watch he had dropped earlier. The youth bounced off the ground and Mizuki skidded back along the outside of the ring as the shrill scream of the alarm fell silent. Naruto pulled himself off the ground as Hinata rushed into the ring with a small vial of clear eyedrops. "Did I do it?" he asked breathlessly. "Looks like you did, but it's Mizuki-sensei's call." she answered, carefully flushing away the blinding compound. "I'm sorry, Naruto," The silver-haired instructor said, applying the drops Sasuke had provided. "But since you were still in the air when time ran out, I'm going to have mark you as a failure." "Two passes, one failure. Then it all comes down to the ninjutsu exam." Naruto soothed Hinata as the pair exited the ring. "That's funny." Choji murmured, shaking his partial bag of chips. "Can't you finish one of those bags in five minutes?" Shikamaru asked looking from the expired timer to the bag of chips. "Yeah," the bigger boy confirmed. "And I started this bag at the start of Naruto's test. So if Naruto used up all his time, Shikamaru thought with a frown, why are there still chips in that bag?