preliminaries, The Purpose for the test
"Damn it" Kurama swore as Team 7 entered the living areas in the tower, only to see Gaara and his team. "Why did he have to make it?"
"Oh just stop it already. If he becomes a problem, then we will just have to beat him up a little" Naruto said to Kurama.
Team 7 passed Gaara and the Suna ninja, receiving an evil glare as they did so. They proceeded deeper into the tower, hoping to find Team 8. "About time you guys made it" Kiba said, coming to meet them. "I was afraid we would have to spend all day with that sand guy. Hey speaking of which, have you guys noticed something seriously wrong with that guy's head?" The four of them nodded in agreement. Following that, they explained their encounter to Kiba.
"Woah! You mean you guys ran into him in the forest?" Kiba said. "And you got out alive?"
"Do you mean you saw him to?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, we did. Akamaru noticed him, but then began trembling like I've never seen before. I tell you, something is not right about that guy. We watched him mercilessly kill another team using his sand. We thought we were next on his kill list, but something caught his attention and he left" Kiba explained. Team 7 knew all too well what caught Gaara's attention and looked at Naruto. Apparently the Fox had managed to save a few more of their friends. At that time Shino and Hinata emerged into the room.
"Hello" Shino said, greeting his comrades with as few words as possible. He walked into the common area with Hinata following closely behind him.
"N-naruto, y-you made it" the shy girl said, letting out a blush and trying to avoid eye contact.
"Yep, we sure did!" Naruto said. He had returned completely to his normal self since his team found out about the Fox. "And you made it too! See, I told you Hinata. You would do great. I even understand that you guys were the first ones here?"
"You bet! Guess that makes us the best" Kiba bragged. Sasuke shot him a look, effectively shutting him up. "Geez, can't take a joke can you, Uchiha?"
"There are still a lot of powerful ninja here, so you shouldn't go shooting your mouth off like an idiot. That something I thought only Naruto is dense enough to do" Sasuke said as Naruto yelled back at him. "But seriously, don't underestimate anyone here. Especially that Gaara of the Desert. I heard that the last test is single combat and if anyone here has to face him, you had better be careful." Everyone took Sasuke's warning.
As it got closer to the end of the exam, a few more teams arrived. Amongst them was the trio of Sound ninja, a team of Waterfall ninja, Kabuto's team, Lee's team, and Team 10. As the end of the exam neared, everyone in the tower proceeded to the main hall in the tower, as instructed to meet with the proctors of the exam.
The timer stopped, the second portion of the exam had concluded. All the candidates who passed the exam were now standing in a large room. On a stage in front of them, stood the Hokage, proctor, and the jonin senseis for each team.
"First off, congratulations on passing the second exam" the Hokage announced.
"Wow, 22 participants out of 90. I was expecting to cut them in half, but I was expecting single digits" Anko thought to herself. "I guess Ibiki was right, there are some outstanding ones in this group."
The candidates looked around to see who else was there. Some, like Team 10 looked exhausted, beat up, and in Chouji's case, starving. Others, like Team 8, who had 4 days of rest, looked refreshed and ready to go.
"Hmm, your team looks pretty good, Kakashi" Gai said to his 'eternal rival'. "But as long as my team is around, don't expect them to get any farther. Now, it's all about REAL ability. Well, with youth, there are sweet times and there are sour times, eh Kakashi?"
"Huh?" said Kakashi, completely ignoring anything Gai had just said. "Oh Gai? You say something?"
Gai turned away and tensed up, clutching a fist. "Not bad Kakashi. You're cool in that way and it really gets on my nerves."
The jonin took a look at their students. Baki looked at his team of Sand ninja and noticed that Gaara was unscathed, but there was something unsettling about him. Something had happened in the forest that had Gaara uneased. Kurenai noted that her team looked shaken by something. Gai admired the youthfulness of his team. Kakashi on the other hand, just gave his team the usual smile and wave. To be honest, he had never imagined that his team you make it this far. He had entered them in hopes that they would mature from this experience; however, it seems as if they were well above his expectations.
"No wonder they nominated them" the Hokage thought to himself, looking over the rookies. "For all of them to make it is surprising to say the least."
"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test" Anko announced to everyone. "Please listen carefully."
"I will, but first there is something I would like you to know. It's about the true purpose of these exams" the Hokage said. "Think about it, why do we have many different countries here if each village could hold their own chunin exams for their own ninja?"
Everyone took a few moments to think about what the Hokage was saying. "To promote friendship between countries?" the Hokage asked. "I don't want you to be confused by these exams' true meaning. In reality, this is a replacement for war amongst countries." He received many startled looks from the crowd.
"War?! What does that mean?" Tenten said to her team.
"If you go back in time, current allies were once enemies who fought each other for control" the Hokage explained. In order to prevent fighting, this is the stage these countries chose to do battle on…That is the purpose of these exams."
"What?!" Naruto blurted out. "Isn't this thing for deciding who becomes chunin?"
"It is a fact that this exam decides who has what it takes to become chunin" the Hokage explained. "But this exam has another side…Where each country's shinobi risk their own life to protect their land's prestige. There will be leaders and influential individuals watching the third exam, many of them come from countries that are clients of shinobi. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients, and if seen week, they will lose clients. Not to mention, it will send a message to other villages that 'our village has much power'. The strength of a country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength is born only through life-risking battles."
"But why do you say stuff about being for friendship?" Tenten asked.
"I said in the beginning, I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance, this is the shape of friendship in the world of shinobi" the Hokage stated. "Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing…This is not just a test. This is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and country's prestige on the line. I'd like to explain the third test but…"
"(cough) actually, I apologize Hokage-sama. From here on, as referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate" a sickly looking ninja said, appearing before the Hokage. The Hokage agreed. "Hello everyone, I'm Hayate. Before we begin, there is something I would like you to do. It's a preliminary for the third test. To decide who gets to participate in the main event."
"Preliminary?!" many people questioned in unison. "What do you mean? Why aren't all the people here allowed to participate?" Sakura asked.
"Because the first and second tests may have been too easy this yeay, and we have too many people remaining" Hayate said. "According to the rules, we may have a preliminary to reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Hokage-sama said, there are many important individuals and time is important. Now that that is said, if there is anyone who feels like they cannot participate in a preliminary match now, please step forward now and you will be removed."
"I'm going to quit" Kabuto said. Zaku, who's arm was broken, and one of Kabuto's teammates opted to so the same. One of the Taigakaru ninja did as well. From the Waterfall village, there remained one guy and a girl with mint-green hair.
"What Orochimaru said, should we remove Uchiha due to the curse mark?" Anko whispered to the Hokage.
"I don't think that will be possible" Kakashi said, joining the conversation. "He is an Uchiha after all."
"Besides, I don't exactly want to have to deal with Orochimaru's threats. If the mark does not flare up, then let him compete" the Hokage said, much to Anko's disliking.
Sasuke turned to his team. "I am not backing out. There are too many strong people here that I want to fight" he said. "Naruto, I also want to fight you." Naruto stared at his teammate and smiled.
"Fine, then I want to fight you as well" he responded as their rivalry heated up.
Neji turned to his cousin. "Hinata, you should also back out. I must admit that I am impressed you made it this far, but if you continue, something bad will surely happen to you" said Neji. Naruto, who was within hearing distance of this was a little enraged by Neji's unexplained behavior towards Hinata.
"Bah! What do you know about Hinata? She's strong and she doesn't need to listen to you" responded Naruto.
"Naruto thinks I am strong?" Hinata thought to herself. This gave her the courage to defy her cousin's warnings and remain in the competition.
"Now (cough), if there is no one else, we are going to begin the preliminaries" Hayate announced. "Since there are 22 entries now, we will have 11 matches. Each match will be a one-on-one battle with the match ending when one fighter is dead, unconscious, or admits defeat."
Anko said something into her headset and a screen appeared on the wall behind them. "This electronic scoreboard will show two randomly selected people, who will do battle" she said as names began to flash on the screen. After it stopped, two names remained: Sasuke Uchiha and Yori Akado.
"Hmm, so soon?" Sasuke said, trying to sound surprised.
"Now, these two entrants come forward while the rest of you, please proceed to the balconies above to watch the matches" Hayate announced.
"Sasuke, you better not lose if you want to fight me" Naruto said to his teammate. Sasuke gave him his usual look, indicating that he was planning on winning this quick. Kakashi also walked past Sasuke.
"Sasuke" Kakashi whispered. "Don't use the Sharingan. If that mark acts up, I will have to step in and stop the fight."
"What mark?" Sasuke asked, sending a surprised Kakashi a smile and wondering what was up with everyone thinking he had some sort of mark. Kakashi looked at the back of Sasuke's neck to find that the speculations going around the jonin were false and that Orochimaru had not given Sasuke a curse mark.
"Hmm, we'll talk about this later then. I guess just forget about what I said then" Kakashi responded as he went up to the stairs.
With that, the match began. Yori started off by making a quick hand seal, and a blue chakra aura surrounded his hands. Sasuke activated his Sharingan as Yori sent a few shuriken sailing towards Sasuke, who easily dodged them. Sasuke charged at Yoru, engaging in a quick taijutsu battle. Sasuke had Yori pinned to the ground, but Yori reached and gripped Sasuke's chest, the blue aura appearing around his hand. Sasuke soon felt some chakra being drained from him as he disengaged from Yori. Shocked at Yori's ability to absorb chakra, he knew he would have to fight this battle from ranged, or his movements would have to be quick and precise.
"Hehe, how's that curse mark feeling, Sasuke?" Yori thought to himself. "You are going to have to engage me in close combat." It was then that Yori noticed the Sharingan. "What?! How does he have the Sharingan activated? He shouldn't be able to without the curse mark flaring up?" Apparently Orochimaru never mentioned that he had failed to give Sasuke the curse mark, thanks to the demon-powered Naruto. Sasuke hated to admit it, but he owed Naruto big time for saving him back there.
Yori knew he was in trouble if Sasuke could use his Sharningan. He made a desperate attempt to end the fight by charging at Sasuke with his jutsu active. Suddenly, he felt a foot make contact with the bottom of his haw, knocking him into the air. Copying Lee's technique, Sasuke appeared behind Yori in his shadow. Sasuke kicked Yori a few times, making him fall faster towards the ground with each blow. Finally, Sasuke flipped around so that he was on top of Yori and drove his knee into his opponent's gut as Yori and the ground met. "Lion's Barrage!" Sasuke called out as his final strike knocked Yori unconscious and out of the exam.
"Ah, Sasuke. You may have avoided me in the forest, but you will become mine soon enough" Orochimaru said, disguised as the Sound team's sensei. "However, I need to make sure that next time the demon brat won't be in my way."
Kakashi appeared next to the Hokage and Anko. "I looked at Sasuke's neck before the match and there doesn't appear to be a curse mark. I'm going to take him for a further examination to be sure, but it appears that Sasuke has avoided that fate for the time being." Anko looked at Kakashi out of surprise and the Hokage nodded in agreement.
"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha" Hayate announced as medics came to collect Yori.
Kakashi went to meet Sasuke. "Come with me, the Hokage just wants to be sure" he said to Sasuke as the Uchiha victor followed him out of the room.
"Where's Sasuke going?" Sakura asked out of curiosity. Naruto and Haku shrugged.
"Next match, Chouji Akamichi vs Dosu Kinta" Hayate announced.
Chouji stepped forward, revealing some of his nerves to his opponent. "Heh, I have to fight this nervous fatty?" Dosu taunted his opponent.
"What did you just say?!" Chouji growled in anger. Dosu had just said the taboo word for Chouji. "I AM NOT FAT! Human Boulder!" Chouji did one of his family's jutsu, inflating himself into a large ball and rolling at high speeds towards Dosu. Dosu sidestepped Chouji as the human boulder slammed into the wall. Wanting to end it quick, Dosu revealed some apparatus on his forearm and slammed it into Chouji. With a flick of his finger, he sent a shockwave of sound through Chouji's body, effectively knocking him out.
"Winner, Dosu Kinta" Hayate announced as Team 10 let their spirits drop. "Next match, Haku Yuki vs. Tenten."
"Hmm, this will be an interesting fight" Tenten said as she faced Haku. The battle between the weapons expert and senbon specialist was about to begin.
"Begin!" Hayate announced as Tenten took a step backwards, throwing a few shuriken to test the waters. Haku quickly knocked them out of the way with his senbon and sent a few more towards Tenten, who dodged them rather easily.
"You're not going to beat me with senbon. I know about all types of weapons and yours is not powerful enough." Tenten stated.
"Tenten! Show him the power of your youth!" Lee said, cheering for his teammates from the stands. Not caring about anyone else's ears, Lee did so, deafening anyone standing within 10 feet of him.
"Lee! Cheer harder!" Gai instructed.
"Yes Gai-sensei! I will pour all of my youth into this cheer!" shouted Lee. Now, no one was safe from Lee's shouts.
"Hmm, this match is practically over" Sasuke said, returning to the stands.
"Is Kakashi-sensei with you?" Naruto asked.
"No, he stayed behind, saying he had something to check up on, typical." Sasuke shrugged.
"Hehe, long time no see, Kakashi" the Sound sensei said to Kakashi. "You should consider your student lucky. However, he won't escape me next time."
"Orochimaru" Kakashi growled out. "Why are you here? Why are you after Sasuke?"
"Heh, you're lucky. You've already got your hands on it" Orochimaru hissed. Kakashi realized what Orochimaru was referring to. "Yes, it's the Sharingan. Just like the one in your left eye. I want it!"
"Hmm, what are your goals?" Kakashi said, trying to squeeze as much out of the snake before it slithered away.
"The newly created Sound village…that's MY village. You should be able to figure out just from that" Orochimaru said. "For that purpose, I need a lot of pieces."
Kakashi activated his Raikiri, ready to take down Orochimaru if he must. However, Orochimaru just turned and left into the darkness. "I will get my hands on Sasuke and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh as he faded from view.
"What do you mean over?!" Lee shouted at Sasuke. "Tenten's youthful powers far succeed your team mate's!"
"Just watch the match and you'll see" Sasuke said as everyone turned their attention back to the match.
Tenten and Haku were engaged in an equal battle of throwing weapons at one another. Realizing that she needed something different, Tenten took out the two scrolls on her side. "Ninja art: Twin Rising Dragons!" Suddenly, the two scrolls unfurled and rose into the air. Tenten jumped up and began summoning weapons, bombarding Haku with a rain of sharp pointy objects.
With her attack finished, Tenten landed on the ground to see the results. All she saw was Haku encased in a dome of ice.
"What?!" most of the people in the stands said. Team 7 didn't look so surprised.
"Gai-sensei, what is up with that ice surrounding Haku" Lee asked. Everyone else was shocked by Haku's mysterious ability.
"Like I said, this match is over" Sasuke repeated himself. "Haku has a rare bloodlimit called the Hyoton. Watch a little more and you shall see its true powers."
"Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku said as a dome of ice mirrors formed around Tenten.
"Tenten!" Lee shouted out as the rest of Team Gai looked on at Haku's abilities.
"Please surrender now. I do not wish to harm you" Haku said, his reflection appearing in every mirror.
"Hah, like you could keep me trapped in here is mere ice?" Tenten replied. She threw a few kunai with explosive tags at one of the mirrors, only for it to be unfazed, much to her surprise. Haku went on the offensive, hitting the joints on her arms and legs with senbon, effectively immobilizing Tenten. "What did you do? I can't move" she called out as she collapsed to the ground.
"I hit the nerve clusters in your arms and legs. You won't be able to move them for about an hour, but I made sure not to damage them. You should be able to regain full control after some rest" Haku explained. Neji looked on in shock at the skills Haku possessed. The boy's precision appeared to rival even his own.
The proctor took a look at Tenten and she noted that what Haku said was correct. "Alright, I declare Haku Yuki the winner."
"Next up, Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno." Everyone in the stands braced for the cat fight of the century.
A/N: Alright, so there are the first few fights in the preliminaries. I have decided to keep some matches the same, but others I have changed. Also, there will be a few additional matches as I have to include a few new players (the Cloud and Waterfall for example).