YOUTH! Battle of Blondes!

Edited by: Lazy_Cat#6384

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Chapter 97: YOUTH! Battle of Blondes!

Jutsu of the day:

Courtesy of Bushy Brows!

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Continued from Chapter 96

[General]

.

"Winner of the first match, Hyuga Hinata!" Announced Fuse making everyone break out in cheers.

Hinata waved at the crowd with a gentle smile, before shaking hands with Chojuro, who did a small bow.

"You are strong Chojuro-san, with a bit more training, and you will be strong enough to wield Hiramekarei."

"I thank you for your kind words, Hinata-sama." Chojuro bowed before making his way to the Gallery, while Hinata went towards her friends.

"Nice job, Hinata-chan!" Naruto congratulated her warmly.

"Hn." Sasuke gave an approving nod.

"SINCE WHEN CAN YOU BREAK SWORDS, HINATA?" Ino exclaimed loudly.

Hinata giggled at her friend's antics and started explaining her ability to them.

Meanwhile,

Fuse called for the next match, "Rock Lee and Kankuro, please come down to the arena!"

From the gallery, a green spandex-wearing youth shouted, "YOSH! TIME FOR MY YOUTHFUL ENTRANCE!"

He jumped from the railings and landed on the ground doing a swimmer's pose.

Kankuro, on the other hand, was much more subdued, as he easily jumped down and looked at his opponent.

Seeing the boy in front of him spouting idiocies. He decided to play some mental warfare.

"Oi, you got some caterpillars on your face." Kankuro called out.

Lee looked surprised and started touching his face to see if there were any caterpillars on it.

Seeing Lee taking his bait, Kankuro called out, "Oh? That's just your brow? How did you become so ugly? I didn't know Konoha had special programs to turn ugly."

Lee looked stunned, as he didn't understand where these insults were coming from.

'Why is he saying such unyouthful things?' Lee thought.

"And look at your maw! Did you fight a rabid dog to get those scars? Or were you trying to look more ugly on purpose?"

"HEY!" Came a shout from the gallery.

But Kankuro ignored it and gave a mocking smirk to Lee.

Lee subconsciously touched his scar, before furrowing his brows as he said, "NO! This scar is the proof of my youthful battle with my youthful rival! I will bear this scar as proof of our newfound friendship through our fists! I will not let you insult our Youthful Friendship! I will show you my spring-time of YOUTHHH!"

Lee shouted, and there was a new fire burning in his eyes, much to Kankuro's confusion.

'Wasn't he supposed to get mad instead of getting determined?' Kankuro, who had never seen anyone with the level of willpower that Lee possessed, was truly confused.

But, he decided to ignore it, as his distraction tactics had already worked.

Fuse had been watching the whole debacle and noticed Kankuro's spread of poison powder around the arena, as well as switching places with his puppet. But, as he hadn't attacked his opponent yet, he let him be.

Seeing that both fighters were ready, he shouted, "Begin!"

And Lee almost disappeared from his spot as he shot forward to a surprised 'Kankuro'.

…

In the VIP box, A whistled, "That kid is fast! But…"

"He isn't using any chakra to move that fast?" Onoki was intrigued.

Tsunade decided to interject, "Indeed, Rock Lee has a birth defect, which made him unable to mold chakra."

"UNABLE TO MOLD CHAKRA? AND YOU ARE LETTING HIM BE A NINJA?" Onoki literally shouted.

Tsunade gave him an unimpressed look before saying, "Yes, what he doesn't have by birth. He has overcome through sheer hard work. Rock Lee isn't a prodigy. He isn't even a gifted… In the normal sense anyway."

Mei perked up as she asked, "What do you mean by in the normal sense?"

Tsunade smirked as she declared, "He doesn't have talent. But… He is a prodigy… A prodigy of hard work!"

That made everyone look at her in surprise.

She just chuckled and said, "Just watch him!"

And so they did…

…

The whole crowd was stunned to a silence by what they were watching.

Rock Lee, the boy who could not mold chakra, was moving at insane speed as he kept hitting 'Kankuro' from different angles, and the boy on the receiving end was having a hard time even blocking the hits.

Everyone could see that 'Kankuro' was gritting his teeth as he did his best to keep up and block the hits. Which also surprised a lot of Ninjas.

Because from their perspective, being able to take that many hits from someone coming at you with such high momentum was a tall task.

And Kankuro was taking the beating like a champ!

…

In the Gallery,

"You have trained him well, Guy." Asuma complimented.

"Indeed, that's some insane speed for a Genin." Kurenai added. She knew that her own Genin Kiba was faster than that after the training he went through. So she was curious, how Kiba had lost to Lee?

"HAHAHAHA! Thank you, my youthful companions! But that's not even half of Lee's true speed."

Now that, got him a few raised eyebrows.

"I see... Kiba did say your student took off his weights to fight him." Kurenai nodded.

"Ah! Yes, Young Lee did say that even with his weights off, it was the hardest fight he had with Young Kiba! SUCH YOUTH!" He exclaimed, before he turned to Kakashi and asked,

"SO KAKASHI! What do you think of my youthful student? Can your students beat him?" Guy looked smug.

"What? Did you say something, Guy?"

On the other hand… Kakashi didn't even listen to what Guy had said… Making the dazzling Green Beast of Konoha cry tears of unyouthfulness…

…

Back in the arena, Lee and Kankuro were still in a deadlock.

Lee kept on attacking, and Kankuro kept on taking hits somehow.

But after 2 minutes of such assault, the older and more experienced Ninjas started seeing a difference.

"Is he… Slowing down? Getting tired?" A Jonin asked his partner.

"Does seem like it… And is that a crack on the Sand Boy?" Another Jonin interjected.

More and more people started noticing the strangeness.

Till one moment.

*Clang* *Thud*

One of Lee's kicks directly bust open the head of 'Kankuro.'

Much to his and a lot of civilians panic.

Screams could be heard from the gallery, but soon they realized that something wasn't right.

Even Lee, who was panicking and apologizing, saw that there was no blood or anything from his opponent, and instead, they looked like… metal and wood?

"Wh-wh-what? DID I TURN MY YOUTHFUL OPPONENT INTO AN UNYOUTHFUL PUPPET? WHAAAA! WHAT SHOULD I DO!!!! GUY SENSEIIIIIII!" Lee shouted in panic.

Only to be hit with a few poison needles to his legs and arms from behind.

Lee could feel his strength draining from him as he slowly turned around to find his opponent smirking at him.

"I see you were able to break Karasu so easily. Color me impressed." He stated smugly.

Lee was panting, but there was a smile on his face.

"I see that you are alright, my YOUTHFUL opponent! Though, why am I feeling so unyouthful?" Lee stated while taking a few mouthfuls of air.

…

In the gallery, Guy stated gravely, "Poison…"

Asuma and Kurenai nodded.

…

"That's the stamina and muscle relaxing poison from your village, Kazekage-dono?" Tsunade asked, analyzing the poison.

"Indeed. But I have to say, I am impressed with your Genin. He was able to endure that poison for almost 3 minutes. That's a testament to his physical conditioning and discipline. Usually, a Genin would drop paralyzed in 10 seconds if they inhale that much poison." Rasa stated.

…

"HAHAHA! You still haven't noticed? Then let me spell it out for ya. You have been poisoned!" Kankuro declared with a smirk.

"Poisoned? Who would do something so unyouthful to me?" Lee looked alarmed.

Kankuro facepalmed hearing him…

'Was this kid serious?' He thought.

It was then that they heard a shout from the gallery, "LEE!! MY MOST YOUTHFUL STUDENT! YOU NEED TO END THIS FAST! TAKE OFF YOUR WEIGHT! YOUTHHH!"

Hearing that voice, Kankuro scoffed, "So what if he takes off some measly weights? As if that will make a difference in his current state."

But to his surprise, his opponent had tears streaming down his face as he shouted back, "GUY SENSEI! I WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!"

Before he started taking off some weight from his leg band.

"Ahh~ That feels much better!" Lee exclaimed.

Kankuro laughed at that and said, "Let's see, what you can do after shedding those measly wei-?"

Kankuro couldn't complete his words, as 3 things happened in that instant.

First, Rock Lee dropped the weights from his hand.

Second, Rock Lee disappeared.

Third…

*THUUUUUUUUUUUD*

A dust cloud rose due to the heavy weight falling to the ground.

But soon the dust settled, and when everyone looked at the stadium, they were left agape.

There was a small crater in the arena.

Just outside the crater stood a boy wearing green spandex as he was panting hard.

Everyone looked for a sign of the boy's opponent, only to hear another thud.

*thud*

Glancing in that direction, everyone saw Kankuro laying down unconscious on the ground near the wall.

And a wall indent similar to Kankuro's silhouette formed onto the wall itself.

This made many people take a deep breath.

Only for the silence to be broken by Fuse's no-nonsense announcement, "Winner of the second match! Rock Lee! Medical Ninjas will be taking a look at you both."

And with his cue, the dam broke.

*CHEEERS*

Everyone started shouting and cheering for Rock Lee. Because Rock Lee just did something truly incredible!

…

"That was insane speed! Almost Jonin Level Speed." Onoki exclaimed.

"Yes, that boy sure knows how to surprise people." Exclaimed Tsunade.

"Indeed. But I don't think he is ready to be a Chunin." Stated Onoki.

"Agreed." said Tsunade with a sad sigh.

"Agreed." Said A with a grunt.

"He has very low awareness… He needs a lot more experience to be a Chunin." Mei added.

"But, the Kazekage's son was very good. I vote for his promotion. Very nice use of the environment, poison, and puppet. Though he was caught off guard due to the speed of young Lee. There was nothing he could do against Jonin Level speed and momentum." Onoki declared.

"Second it." Tsunade agreed.

"Hn."

"Thank you for the compliments, but the boy needs a lot more physical training, it seems." Rasa said with a small smile.

…

"Next Match, Temari vs Yamanaka Ino. Please come to the stage!"

Hearing the call, both ladies jumped to the arena. Both smirked at each other.

On the stands, Shikamaru felt a chill, "Two blonde girls… Twice the troublesome…" He muttered.

…

Madam Shijimi asked Haku, "Haku-chan, isn't that your good friend?"

"She is, Madam. Her name is Ino. She is from the Yamanaka Clan." Haku answered.

"I see! She is quite adorable. Will she be okay in this fight? The sand girl looks much more… experienced?" Madam Shijimi asked slightly unsure.

"She will be fine Madam. Master and I trained her for a month before the exams. She should be even stronger now." Haku answered.

"Ohahaha! Is that so? Then I am hoping for a good show."

…

The fight between Temari and Ino was interesting.

Temari was faster than Ino, and was better at ninjutsu than her using her Fan. But Ino's affinity overruled hers.

Ino's ability to use poisons was a disadvantage against Temari, as she was from Suna, and had experience with poisons herself, making her immune to most normal ones.

So, the fight ended up being,

Temari doing her best to close the distance for close combat.

While Ino doing her best to keep her distance to get a chance to use her family technique.

Neither could get an upper hand, as their skill level was similar.

In terms of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, Temari was closer to the experienced Chunin level. While Ino was ahead of her in terms of speed, use of traps, and planning.

Though Ino couldn't use her family's jutsu either, as Temari gave her no chance to do so.

The fight was quite entertaining for the audience, as the opponents were almost evenly matched.

So, the crowd kept cheering on the 2 cute girls duking it out.

…

"I can't believe… Ino is so strong…" Sakura murmured.

"I don't want to be harsh Sakura… But, you were given the same chance. Now, look at Ino and see the difference yourself." Kiba said in a soft voice.

Sakura could only nod…

…

"I don't know whether I should be impressed or jealous at your Genins…" Onoki grumbled.

"Konoha has an exceptional batch of Genins this year…" A said through gritted teeth.

"Do we? HAHHAHAHA! I didn't even notice!" Tsunade was having a blast.

She was happy with all the Genins from her village.

'Mitsu sure is an amazing teacher… Maybe I should guilt-trip him into teaching some other Genins?' Tsunade thought giddily.

"I can honestly say… No matter who wins… Both of them deserve a promotion. My daughter was already Chunin level as she is almost 16, I admit. But the Yamanaka girl is truly impressive." Rasa interjected.

The other Kage's agreed.

…

The battle continued for 30 minutes, neither of the girls giving the other a chance.

They beautifully displayed their skills, their mindset, and their will. Earning looks of approvals from all the Ninjas present.

But…

The fight would have to end.

And it ended with Ino giving up.

"*pant* I give up *Pant*" Ino raised a hand to surrender as she started panting hard.

Temari was panting as well, but she wasn't as bad as Ino.

Fuse arrived in between them as he declared, "Winner of the third match! Temari!"

…

Ino and Temari shook hands and exchanged some words. Both recognized each other's strengths and were impressed.

Ino then arrived at the stands and sat near her team with a thud.

"You alright Ino?" Naruto asked with a voice of concern, making the girl smile through her tiredness.

"Yeah… Don't worry…"

"See? You should eat more. You troublesome woman." Shikamaru interjected with a huff.

"Hahaha! I know Shika… I do eat more… Now… But that won't make up for all the unnecessary dieting... I had done before…" Ino said in a sad voice.

"Don't worry, Mitsu said that you will slowly recover completely in a few more months." Choji assured his friend.

"Yeah… I do feel stupid for dieting for him… Only for him to scold me for dieting though." She chuckled awkwardly, making the others smile.

"We are just glad you stopped being that annoying fan girl." Shika added.

"HEY! I wasn't a fangirl! I genuinely like Mitsu-Kun" Ino glared.

Making everyone laugh.

"Well whatever, you troublesome woman… I guess it's my turn…" Shikamaru stood up and stretched looking bored.

Everyone looked at the screen and saw the next matchup, "Tenten vs Shikamaru."

"Next contestants, please come to the stage!" Fuse announced.

"Good luck Shikamaru!" All his friends wished him luck, as he slowly got down to the arena, much to many people's displeasure, including Tenten's.

She watched her opponent coming down to the arena with a lazy look, while slouching and muttering something.

With a tick mark on her forehead, she said menacingly, "Were you too scared to come down? Afraid to get your ass kicked by a girl?"

"Sigh… So troublesome… Only if I could just forfeit… But then mother and Ino will keep nagging… And Mitsu…"

He shuddered at the last thought.

"Never mind. Let's get this troublesome fight over with." Shika declared.

The way he said it made it sound like he didn't even think of Tenten as an opponent.

With her anger boiling, Tenten glared at Shikamaru and declared, "Oh! You are so ON!"

.

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[A/N: Hey there, beautiful people!

If you want to join the discord! The link is on the synopsis!]