Storm of Steel and Tide

As the medical staff escorted Ibuki on a stretcher and secured Akumaru for treatment, Kiba followed to check on the state of his companion,

"What an Exciting match! With no delay, let's get ready for our next bout. Would TenTen and Omio head down to the arena floor to start the next match?"

Gai laughed heartily and slapped TenTen on the back, lurching her forward.

"Show off your youthful vigor, TenTen."

"Yes, Ten, make it clear to everyone here that the power of youth can conquer all."

TenTen wanted to give her usual eye roll, but the genuine support beneath the bizarre statements made her smile: "Thanks, guys. I will."

Before she made her way down, Neji spoke.

"I'm sure you'll do well, TenTen. Your training this past month has given you great benefits."

"Thank you, Neji." After the fight with En during the second exam, TenTen realized how limited her fighting style was against a skilled enough opponent; all she could do was give suppressive fire, and without Sasuke's interference, she wouldn't even be able to stand here today. She had worked herself to the bone this past month, altering and improving her ninja skills; she could only hope her hard work would show.

Over with the Cloud team, Samui encouraged her teammate.

"Good luck out there, Omoi; keep your composure, and you will succeed."

"Yeah, and don't overthink like always; it'll make you and us look stupid."

"But what if that's what she wants me to do? If I don't overthink, I may not go over the possibility that she has a weapon that can obliterate me in one blow, or she could have the ability to control weapons at will and take my sword away from me."

"Dammit, you idiot, just get out there."

Omio made his way down, continuing to ponder the possible weapons TenTen could have in her arsenal.

The two reached the designated spots twenty feet apart, with a proctor in the middle, ready to start the match. Unable to hold in his thoughts, Omoi asked a question.

"Sorry, but before we begin, could I ask a question of my opponent?"

The proctor gave a perplexed look and shrugged his shoulders

"Sure, go ahead, just make it quick."

Omoi then addressed TenTen.

"Do you have any weapons in your arsenal that would reduce me to dust? If so, I think it would be unwise to continue if you had such a weapon."

TenTen gave a dumbfounded look.

"No, I don't have anything like that. What would that sort of weapon even look like?"

Omio looked at the sky and pondered out loud,

"Perhaps some sort of ancient cursed blade that vaporizes anything it touches or a bow that can banish me to a different plane of existence entirely."

Karui slapped her forehead and hung her head down in embarrassment,

"That idiot."

Samui did not react, standing in the same pose she had taken as soon as Omoi left.

The crowd began to become impatient at the delay, as grumblings resonated through the crowd at the impromptu delay.

"Well, enough banter, now let's begin the next fight of the first bracket of the TenTen vs. Omoi,"

TenTen wasted no time as she reached into her weapon pouch with both her hands. When she pulled them out on one hand, she had a kunai between her fingers, and the other was shaking. She aimed at Omoi, who hadn't made a move. Trying to test her opponents, she flung the weapons at him.

As the weapons flew toward him, Omio did not move to dodge, in fact he was still looking up at the sky, still wondering what type of being would be powerful enough to put a curse on a sword that obliterates people.

"I SWEAR TO THE RAIKAGE, OMOI, IF YOU DIE BECAUSE YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT CURSED SWORDS, I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF," Karui screamed, coughing after, straining her voice.

Omoi finally noticed the projectiles coming toward him, but they were already on top of him, leaving him no time to dodge. TenTen began to cringe, hoping that none of her weapons maim or kill him.

In an instant, Omoi unsheathed his sword in a blur of lightning and steel as the kunai and shuriken ricocheted away. The crowd erupted at the display.

TenTen stood in awe as well; this was her first time seeing the cloud villages' famous kenjutsu in full effect. She needed to come out full force and weaken this guy before this fight became close-quarters-,

TenTen prepared to use her Twin Rising Draagon technique, but Omio's eye had benn on her, he had been examining the scrolls TenTen had on her waist, wondering what heinous things could be within them. So as soon as TenTen reached for one, Omoi began to run in an all out blitz toward her.

TenTen, knowing she wouldn't be able to complete the technique in time, quickly unsealed a staff to engage Omoi. She just managed to bring up the staff to counter a strike, but Omio was unrelenting, the next one came twice as fast landing a shallow cut across her shoulder, the barraged continued, TenTen was just holding her own, keeping any damage dealt superficial,

The quick decision of Omoi was quickly fading as he began to ponder possible incoming traps, or counters that TenTen could have. This distracted his focus slightly, leaving an opening. As TenTen parried his sword and slammed the end of her staff into omoi's gut knocking the wind out of him.

Using the opportunity TenTen dropped the staff and dashed backward dropping smokebombs in her path as she did. Omio regained himself as his mind analyzed the smoke, hesitant on whether he should pursue her or retreat to gain distance and avoid an attack.

His question was answered for him as a barrage of weapons emerged from the smoke; omoi's eyes widened at the immense variety in shape and size, from battle axes to spears, sped at him,

Omoi managed to come out of the barrage upright as he deflected and maneuvered around the weapons. His eyes darted; why were the angles so off? Then it hit him; they weren't aimed to hit him but to pin him down.

As the barrage stopped, Omoi made the decision not to allow her any more time to form her plan, and he charged forward to put an end to the fight.

TenTen put her hands in a seal, ready to unleash her new technique, as she activated the dozens of hidden chakra binding tags.

Weapon Prison Formation

Suddenly, threads of chakra emerged from the weapons as they began to connect and lift the weapons up, repositioning them around Omoi as he encircled him, making him stop his advance and face a wall of sharp steel.

Kankuro's eyes went wide.

"No way" was the thought that there was no possible way a leaf ninja could figure out that technique. As he examined the strings closer, he realized that they were more akin to a lasso than the precise strings puppeteers use, and the origin of the strands came from the seals, not the girl. He huffed at the cheap imitation of his practice.

Jiraiya kept a low profile in the crowd and gave an impressive whistle. "What an interesting use of binding seals; girl's got talent."

Neji studied the barrier closely with his Byakugan, his face downturned slightly.

"That's our TenTen; show them what the power of youthful study can do!" yelled Gai.

Omoi quickly looked around and saw that a spot in the barrier had yet to be filled, he made a dash toward the opening, but as he closed in weapons near it shot toward him, he deflected a shuriken and dodged a axe, but a senbon, manage to pierce his shoulder, as he retreated too the center of the barrier.

"So it's like a bear trap snapping shut if I get too close," Omoi mused as he looked for any weaknesses in the barrier.

TenTen yelled across to Omoi, her voice steady, but her hands trembled slightly, trying to control the flow of chakra going into the seals. "Surrender now; you won't be able to escape without risking yourself getting killed."

Omoi clicked his tongue; she was right, but why did she have to state it? It was obvious, wasn't it, unless… just then, his eye caught one of the charka threads flicker as a spear wavered slightly from its position.

The technique is unstable.

Omoi went into action as he sheathed his blade and bolted toward the barrier; he closed in, unsheathed his sword, and used

Lighting Release: Lighting Cutter Blade

His blade flashed like lightning from his scabbard as a slash of crackling charka surged toward the barrier. The introduction of foreign chakra to the barrier network destabilized it, causing the threads to sputter until they began to move widely as the technique exploded outward, creating a shower of sparks and steel.

The crowd began to panic, but to their relief, an invisible barrier caught the weapons before any of them got close to the stands.

Omoi and TenTen, however, were fighting for their lives in a storm. Omoi dodged and coated his blade in light chakra, deflecting multiple weapons away from him at a time. TenTen frantically pulled weapons and shields out of her storage scrolls to combat the wave.

In the aftermath, both were still standing, with more than their fair share of cuts and bruises. TenTen yanked a kunai out of her shoulder before she unsealed a weighted chain and began to swing it in a circle. And then dashed forward.

Omoi coated his blade in lightning chakra and charged forward, prepared to finish the fight. TenTen lashed out with her chain, aiming to entangle his sword arm. Omoi ducked under, charging his palm with lightning and striking TenTen in the stomach. As his strike landed, the chain warped around Omoi's ankle, and both fighters stumbled and fell past each other.

TenTen struggled, as the electricity course through her. Her hand found a discarded sword, her body screaming in protest, she swung backwards. Omoi mirrored the motion, as he swung his blade still coated in lighting chakra.

SHING

The crowd gasped as two proctors jumped down to deflect the blades themselves, TenTen's at the edge of Omoi's neck, his blade about to pierce her heart.

Genma jumped down, exhaling a breath when he saw the genin was still alive. He raised a hand. "Since both fighters were about to deal a fatal blow, this match is a draw."

The crowd erupted, though some were disappointed by the outcome.

As they got up, TenTen dropped her blade to the ground, and Omoi sheathed his. She walked forward and held out her hand; good fight, sorry about almost killing you and all, you know the heat of the moment."

Omoi looked at her hand.

"I would shake your hand, but what if you coated it with a deadly poison that could kill me instantly."

"What, why would I…"

Omoi chuckled softly and shook Tenten's hand.

"It was a good fight, I appreciate you not using any cursed blades."

"Well. next time we fight, I'll make sure I don't leave them at home."

The display of sportsmanship energized the crowd, but it did upset some.

A groaned in the skybox.

"God, I think I'm about to throw up."

"Then please do it in this trash can," Mabui said as she held up a trash can.

Hirzuen laughed lightly

"Don't tell me you don't enjoy the sight of our villages working together; after all, we were on the same side in the recent discussions."

A grumbled, "It still makes me sick."

Karui yelled down to Omoi.

"You almost had her! God, if he wasn't such a…"

"Overthinker, you're right; he did well, but if he focused more on stabbing than thinking, he could have ended the fight early, but that same overthinking led him to figure out how to disrupt her technique in seconds." Samui gave a rare and slight smile

"I think Omoi had a satisfying performance."

Karui sat in shock and jealousy as Samui gave praise to Omoi.

"Well, I'll show him how to win a match when it's my go."

Neji nodded approvingly

"Slightly disappointing, but her tactical awareness has certainly improved; if she had more time to perfect her seals, it would have surely been her win."

Lee was crying profusely, "TenTen! Your fiery spirit makes my soul burn!"

Gai gave a thumbs-up as he smiled brightly. A distant scream of pain could be heard as his blinding smile hit someone's eyes. "TenTen, my wonderful student, your youth burns brightly today!"

TenTen and Omoi were escorted away to receive treatment for their injuries. The loudspeaker came to life once again.

"What a brilliant round, now on to the next one. Would Fu and Naruto come down?"

Naruto grinned

"Looks like I'm up"

"Don't go losing here," said Sasuke

"Trust me, I know, but it won't be easy. Fu's strong."

"But you're stronger, right?" asked Sakura

"Hell yeah, I am," Naruto said as he jumped over the railing and into the arena.

"Make us look good out there," Anko yelled after him.

Teamari took notice that for the first time since the tournament started, Garra was focused, as he unblinkingly stared at Fu and Naruto.

Fu jumped out as well, almost seeming to glide to the ground. Both of them remembered the warning they had received before the tournament even started: any use of their tailed beast during the tournament would result in instant disqualification. A disappointing rule, but they were nonetheless ready to fight.

Naruto caught the gaze of Fu, who was smiling brightly. "So that you know, I won't take it easy on you just because we're friends." She said bubbly

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

The proctor then spoke, "Now, the last round of the first bracket, Fu Vs. Naruto begin!.

FU immediately without any signs generated two water blades in her hands and began to charge Naruto, he followed suit as the two started to engage.

Naruto attempted his first gale strike, but Fu held up one of her blades to deflect. Upon making contact, the blade disappeared from the force of the air and quickly reformed. Naruto noticed she was redirecting the force of his strikes. Naruto jumped up to avoid a slice from a blade and went down with a wind-infused kick. Fu held her blade up to block, but at the last minute, it deformed the blade and reformed as Naruto's leg passed through, making him dodge the attack to avoid the hit.

Naruto backed up slightly and made three clones, who promptly went to surround Fu and overwhelm her.

A smirk came over Fu's face as she went through the hand seals and breathed in deeply.

Water style: Great Waterfall jutsu

The arena roared as a colossal waterfall erupted from nowhere, crashing down like a flash flood. Walls of water smashed through Naruto's clones, leaving the battlefield submerged ankle-deep.

Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu

Four watery duplicates surged from the water,

"I can do that too."

Naruto wiped his chin. "Oh yeah, let's see if you can keep up."

A hundred clones poofed into existence.

Fu had an almost feral grin as the water around the area began to bubble and dozens of clones formed.

The entire arena gawked at the display.

The two armies clashed.

The arena erupted as hundreds of clones collided. The water beneath splashed upward as they wove through the shallow flood. Naruto clones struck first as a wave of orange-clad ninjas threw shurikens and performed the Shuriken Shadow clone jutsu as thousands of shurikens raced toward the armies of Fus. The frontline of the clones raced through hand signs,

Water Style: Water Formation Wall

A wall of water surged upward, slowing the shuriken on impact. The armies clashed and began fighting head-on. The Naruto clones had the overall advantage in power; their jutsus could overpower the Fu clones. However, due to their liquid bodies, the Fu clones could manipulate their form and maneuver around attacks.

A clone stabbed at Fu's gut only for her form to ripple, the blade passing harmlessly through as she reformed behind him, slashing his back with a water whip.

His clones adapted by encasing their gale strikes, blasting apart the duplicates in explosive bursts; yet for every clone that dispersed, more would rise from the water.

Naruto analyzed the battle, trying to sus out the real Fu.

"What's the matter having trouble keeping track of me?"

Fu's voice echoed through the battlefield as Naruto frantically looked around, trying to locate her. Suddenly, the water beneath Naruto surged upward, wrapping around his ankles as Fu's clones emerged.

Gale Style: Palm Strike

Naruto thrusted his hands downward as a massive gust ripped through the clones scattering them into mist.

The real Fu burst through the spray as she swung her blades toward him. Naruto barely managed to twist away, feeling the edge graze his jacket. Naruto channeled wind chakra through his leg as he retaliated with a spinning heel kick.

Gale Style: Cyclone Kick

Fu ducked as the force of Nartuo Techniques blasted across the water, dispersing Fu and Naruto clones alike, causing the water to cross the arena.

Fu grinned widely as she slammed her palms onto the water.

Water Style: Rising Dragons

Pillars of water erupted underneath Naruto, launching him into the air; they began to twist into serpentine shapes as they launched themselves at Naruto.

Naruto channeled wind chakra to the bottom of his feet, launched himself away, took a deep breath, and used

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough

A monstrous gust ripped through the technique and across the era, flinging water and clones aside like leaves. Naruto landed on a now-clear battlefield with Fu on the other side. Both of them breathed hard but grinning.

Fu spoke

"Its been fun Nartuo, but it time to wrap this up, Fu's hands flashes through seals as the remaining water in the field began to tremble. Her eyes gained a faint emerald glow as she cried.

"Water Style: Abyssal Coffin!"

The mass of water quickly surged upward with terrifying speed. Before Naruto could react, every drop coalesced into a massive, spinning sphere around him; the surface shimmered with unnatural green hues. It was opaque, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.

Sakura gasped, "It's like a miniature ocean!"

Inside the sphere, Naruto's body contorted against the crushing pressure; the water wasn't just surrounding him; it was actively grinding against him from all directions, making any movement impossible. His vision began to blur as the oxygen was squeezed from his lungs.

Fu began to walk closer to the sphere, tiny wisp of chakra flowing off of her back. She paced herself; anymore intense, and she could be disqualified.

"Give up yet?" she called, her voice strained.

"Come on, you bastard, don't let up now," Sasuke yelled as he leaned over the railing.

Sakura joined him, "Yeah come on Naruto, the future Hokage wouldn't go down like this."

Anko was biting down on one of her senbon, anxious

"Come on, kid, you're tougher than this."

Kakashi stared intently at the sphere, he believed in the kid, all was to do now was to wait.

The opaque bubble flashed red, causing the audience to gasp. And then a faint blue light appeared, Fu could swear it was getting closer and close….

Splash

Naruto burst through the water, bruised and battered, with a blue spiraling ball of chakra in his right hand.

Onoki began to crush his glass again, "That technique, it can't be."

Kakashi's lone eye widened. "Jiraiya taught him that?!"

Jiraiya gave a hearty laugh.

"This kid is something else."

Fu stood stunned, barely having time to raise her arms in a crossblock.

Naruto shouted

"RASEAGAN"

The attack connected, shedding her block and impacting her right in the stomach, sending her skidding backward across the flooded area floor, coming to a stop just inches from the wall, before collapsing to her knees in exhaustion.

The world held its breath.

The loudspeaker came to life.

"Winnner NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

The Stadium erupted in cheers, and Naruto panted heavily, his faint whisker marks fading back to normal. Running low on energy, he plopped himself down on the ground.

The roar of the arena was deafening as medics rushed onto the field. Fu groaned, clutching her stomach where the Rasegan connected, but she still had a grin on her face. "Damn, that hurts."

Sakura sighed as she leaned over the railing

"He did it."

"Of course he did. That's just who he is," Anko said as she took the senbon out of her mouth.

A satisfied smile was on Sasuke's face.

Kakashi's eyes crinkled as he looked up at the sky. ' You would be proud, Minato-sensei. '

Samui remained stalwart, but her fingers twitched, and she almost applauded.

Yugito smiled

"I guess it is like them to bend the rules a bit."

The medics escorted Naruto and Fu down the tunnel. Fu coughed and smiled at Naruto.

"Next time, I'm dropping a lake on you; where did you even learn something like that anyway."

"Well, I did go through super secret training."

As they limped off together, Fu complained about the Rasengan-shaped bruises, and Naruto bragged about his proficiency in using water balloons.

Temari, still in awe of the match, turned to her brothers. "Man, that was… Kankuro!" Temari said, panicking.

"What?" Kankuro looked away from the railing and instantly recognized the problem

Garra was gone.