14 Chunin Exams - The Finale

-4632 words-

Tosen Kaname watched as his opponent jumped down into the field. He looked nonchalant, confidence blaring through that even he could pick up. All around him, the fighting square had already been reduced to nothing more than a broken training area. Cracks in the ground, uprooted trees, and signs of the previous battles riddle the field as far his eyes can see.

Well of course, not in a traditional sense. After all, he can't 'see' like normal people do. It was a condition he was born with, and the reason why most people believed that he couldn't cut it as a Ninja.

What use is a tool if it's defected?

But what people did not realize, is that even though he lost his sense of sight, his other senses have all dialed up to eleven. His smell, hearing, taste, and even his 'sixth' sense that allows him to detect presences.

It was how he managed to graduate, and wasn't that a major shock towards his classmates who used to call him names.

Nevertheless, it was why he was here now. To prove that even a blind man like him could become someone a Shinobi. He doesn't even have loyalty for his sorry excuse of a village. Why would he? The village has given him nothing. They initially brushed him off, thinking he was nothing more than a failure. But the moment he proved his capability, they treated him as nothing more than an expendable tool.

Ay, his teammate, the son of the Raikage, was decent enough he supposed. But he genuinely held no attachment to the arrogant boy.

He initially thought this was normal for shinobi, but his beliefs were struck down when he saw the teams from the other villages. The Konoha team and the Suna team had chemistry. He could tell how much as it was practically screaming at him. They were genuine, they were teammates, they were friends. Being born an orphan and then labeled a cripple, friendship is a word he's very unfamiliar with.

"Hey, gotta ask. Are you really blind?"

The voice of his opponent cut into his thoughts. Opposite him, Souei Matsuri asked with a tilt of his head.

"...Are you really asking because you're curious, or are you just making conversation?" Tosen asked with a sweatdrop.

Souei shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"I suppose not." He sighed. "To answer your question, yes I am. I was born this way. Although I can't 'see' in a traditional sense. I can perceive my surroundings just fine."

"Cool." The grin on Souei's face grew a little wider. Seeing different people with different abilities like this fascinates him to no end after all.

"Are you two ready?"

The voice of their proctor cut their conversation short. Tosen simply nodded in response as he unsheathed his blade while Souei cracked his neck and took a stance.

"Match start!"

The proctor jumped back just as Souei dashed at the Kumo-nin. Tosen drew his blade, now coated in electricity, and slashed at Souei. Souei ducked and swiped a finger at him, a strange line was outstretched from his finger that threatened to cut Tosen in half.

Tosen however, simply leapt back and slashed down with his blade, successfully snapping the thread in half.

Souei's eyebrows slightly tilted upwards at that. This was his first time fighting a swordsman and by extension, the first time he's seen his thread cut like that.

Not wanting to engage the Suna genin in long range combat, Tosen immediately shortened the distance between them as he sped towards Souei, sword drew back as he sent a quick slash aiming at his jugular. Souei quickly dodged, as he ducked down and swept his legs at Tosen's feet.

The Kumo-nin jumped and lashed out with a downward slash. Souei however, suddenly jerked backwards, strings pulling him through the air as he dodged the slash.

He immediately aimed his fingers at Tosen's direction before he let loose with bullet strings.

'Bullet String: Rapid Fire'

Tosen could sense the strings coming at him. Usually, the bullet shaped strings were too thin to be perceived by the normal person, creating an invisible attack most people wouldn't be able to react to.

But to the blind Genin, they were useless. Taking a deep breath, Tosen's hand whipped out left and right, deflecting the bullets to the sides as Souei watched on.

'Looks like regular attacks won't work on this guy.' Souei thought as he began going through handseals.

At the same time, Tosen had finished deflecting all the strings. Immediately, he sheathed his blade and took what most shinobi in the stands recognize as a quickdraw technique. Tosen faced his opponent and put his hand on the hilt of his blade.

After a few seconds, both Genin unleashed their attacks.

"Fire Style: Heatwave!"

"Thunder Sword Style, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"

Souei took a deep breath before unleashing it, a huge stream of fire was unleashed towards Tosen's position. The Kumo Genin however, suddenly disappeared from his spot.

All around the stands, all the crowd could hear was the crackling of thunder, and suddenly the column of fire was split into two.

Souei was shocked as he saw his attack dismantled. His eyes saw it in slow motion, the blade of his opponents coming at him with the grace of a deadly tiger. He could feel himself eyes wide as the steel came at him. But at the very last second, by pure instinct, Souei summoned strings from his back that connected with the roof of the stadium. The strings pulled him upwards, his body jerking with the movement as he nearly dodged the killing blow.

'He dodged me…'

'He nearly got me…'

Unknown to the both of them, both Souei and Tosen showed disbelief to each other as their thoughts paralleled one another.

Tosen immediately turned around and threw several shuriken toward Souei. The Suna Genin however, simply connected strings to each of them before spinning around and throwing them back towards his opponent.

Not expecting his attack to literally backfire, Tosen barely reacted quick enough to raise his blade and deflect the shuriken to the side.

Souei used that distraction to appear right above the blind Genin. His leg was raised high, a string attached to his heel and his thigh. But this time, something was different.

Instead of the boney white strings that Tosen saw his opponent usually use, these strings were red hot, glowing a fiery orange.

This was something Souei only managed after training the long month with Ishito. By applying fire-natured chakra into his strings, they become overheated. Temperatures raised to the point it could melt even steel.

"Fire Thread Release: Fret Saw!"

Tosen managed to raise his blade on time, but he found himself shocked beyond belief when the string melted through his sword like butter. He could do nothing as the attack cut into his raised arm right below the elbow, the offending limb dropping to the ground unceremoniously.

He could hear himself scream in response to the pain. Black spots could be seen at the edge of his vision as he could feel himself falling unconscious. The only good thing he could have thought out of this, is that at the very least, his injury was almost instantly cauterized. That was all he could think of as his vision turned black.

— Marionette of Suna —

'That was damn close…'

Souei thought, panting. Seeing the blade coming at him, nearly decapitating him was one of the most terrifying things he's ever experienced. That was one of the closest times he's actually been to dying.

He subconsciously rubbed his neck, only to pull it back as a flash of pain and red droplets could be seen on his hand.

On his jugular, was a very thin line of red that was slightly leaking blood.

Sighing to himself, Souei walked back to the stands to where his friends and family were located.

"Souei!" A voice greeted him.

"Hey Rukia. Could you help me with this?" he pointed to his neck.

The girl widened her eyes before reaching his side and putting a hand to his neck. It glowed green a second later signifying the use of healing chakra.

"It was that close, huh?" she said in a soft voice.

Souei just gave a small nod as he waited for her to do her thing. That was when he saw Rasa standing there, his body completely covered in bandages.

"When did you get back?" He questioned, just as Rukia let him go as she finished healing him.

"In the middle of your fight. Congratulations are in order by the way." Rasa nodded.

"Heh, thanks." Souei smiled appreciatively. "So when were you gonna tell me that the Magnet Release could be used to manipulate magnetic forces?"

"When were you gonna tell me you could imbue elemental chakra into your strings?"

Souei just snorted. "Touche."

"Well done, Souei. It looks like I wouldn't have to make do with my promise after all." Ishito chimed in as he stood to the side of his students.

"You're a damn sadist, sensei. You know that right?"

The man just smiled briefly before it fell back into his characteristic stoicism. "In any case, congratulations. You made it into the finals but don't be complacent yet. Your hardest fight has yet to come."

"Don't worry, I know my own limits."

Ishito eyed him for a few seconds before he nodded. "Just make sure not to overdo it."

Souei just smiled. His sensei may be strict at times, perhaps even a little sadistic. But he realized long ago that he only wants what's best for him and his teammates.

He then thought into the fight coming ahead. Minato and Ay. These two are undoubtedly the strongest Genin of their respective villages, and most likely the toughest pair of opponents he's ever faced on his level.

Minato Namikaze was fast. Insanely so. He was faster than Rukia, not to mention how he completely got the upper hand on her in the second half of their fight. He has a decent repertoire of elemental Ninjutsu and fights tactically, which might prove as a problem.

Ay however, was the opposite. A user of lighting chakra that he can use to augment his physical capabilities. His speed was arguably greater than Minato's and his punches also had great power to them, if piercing Rasa's defenses were to be believed. However, his fighting style was relatively straightforward in the fact that he brute forces his way through everything.

And the worst part of it all is that he's gonna fight them both at the same time. Having three finalists means a three way fight, to which the crowd approved.

He looked back at the scroll still sitting on his back. 'If things get rough, using this might be the only chance I have.'

It didn't take long for the waiting bell to ring and the proctor reinvited all three finalists back to the field.

"The final round for the Chunin Exams will now begin! Will Minato Namikaze, Ay, and Souei Matsuri, please enter the field?"

"Good luck Souei!"

"You got this!"

"Don't lose or the deal's back on."

He looked back to his friends and family cheering him on. He smiled at them before leaping down towards the field. 'If they have that much faith in me, then I guess I better not disappoint.'

As he, Minato, and Ay arrived on the field, they all got a round of cheers and applause from their respective villages.

In the Kage box, all residing Kage paid much attention as they subconsciously leaned forward at the battle about to take place. After all, the shinobi fighting all belong to three of the 5 great villages. Opportunities to see which village is superior like this doesn't come often.

The three stood in a triangle formation with Jay, the proctor, currently standing in the center. He was reiterating the rules of the fight before raising an arm.

The three immediately sported their fighting stances as they readied themselves for the fight. Minato had a serious look on his face, while Ay smirked.

Souei opted for a blank look as he eyed his two teammates.

"Begin!"

As soon as the announcement was made, Minato threw down a smoke pellet that caused the area to be bathed in white smoke.

Souei immediately jumped up, his form getting over the dense cloud as he conjured strings as footholds. His legs bent as crouched on the string platform. Waiting for the first person to make his appearance.

Movement the side caught his attention as Ay, who was covered in blue electricity, dashed out of the smoke followed by Minato. They were trading blows, Minato using kunais covered in wind chakra to match Ay's thundering fists.

Not wanting to be left out of the fight, Souei raised both his palms as he created orbs of white string.

He chucked them both towards the two fighters, who eyed the balls in suspicion.

Souei grinned as he put his hands into a ram seal.

'String Grenade!'

The orbs combusted, sending shrapnels of string around it.

Ay grunted, the strings digging into his skin but not managing to cut through. Minato however, managed to jump back at the last second, his quick response allowing him to only receive minor injuries from the attack.

Jumping off his string platform, Souei launched himself straight towards Ay. He could see the older boy raise an arm, preparing to meet his offense head on. Souei raised a knee, his momentum allowing him to slam into the Kumo nin's forearm with the force of a rampaging bull, sending him skidding back.

Souei then immediately swerved his head to the left, a kunai passing through where his head had been just moments ago. He then swung around, his hand raised as strings extended from his fingers. Minato ducked down, sensing the danger of the attack. He then quickly went through hand signs at high speeds before hurling a fireball point blank towards Souei.

Souei's form got bathed in the flames as Minato looked on. He then widened his eyes when the Souei in front of him burned down and revealed a crumple of strings on the ground.

'String Clone?!'

"Lightning Style: Lighting Wave!"

Minato was forced out of his shock as small waves of lightning shot at him, courtesy of Ay. He quickly dodged the first one before taking out a kunai and adding wind chakra through them, the kunai's taking in a blue glow. He then used the kunai to deflect the waves before he had to quickly jump back as Ay dashed at him. The two again traded blows, Ay's punches thundering towards Minato, who was managing to deflect the blows sideways while returning a few of his own.

That was when the ground between them cracked, which startled the two fighters. The crack grew wider until a human form could be seen bursting through the ground.

Souei appeared between them, both hands aimed at his two opponents as he grinned.

"White Lance!"

Spiraled thickets of strings that resembled lances shot out towards his two opponents. Minato barely ducked in time, but he grimaced as he wasn't quick enough for a large red gash appeared on the side of his head. Ay grunted as he tried hardening his body as much as he could before the lance of string hit him square in the chest. This resulted in the string not managing to pierce his skin, but the power behind it still sent him rocketing away.

Souei frowned at that. 'Looks like only my fire threads could pierce through his defenses, but that technique still takes a lot out of me.'

Minato, who had managed to jump back and gain some distance, threw a flurry of shuriken at Souei before going through another sequence of hand signs. This time much longer than his previous ones.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The people at the stands couldn't hide their shock, as this particular technique was famous as a favorite of the Third Hokage.

Souei's eyes mentally counted the number of projectiles in the air before he shaped his fingers into guns and let loose his retaliation attack.

'Bullet String: Rapid Fire!'

He made sure to target the ones he was sure would hit him as the string bullets collided with the shuriken mid air.

Just as he did this, Ay appeared right in front of Souei in a burst of speed. Souei couldn't react in time as the older boy grabbed him by the neck before lifting him up and slammed him into the ground. Ay continued the attack as he lifted Souei back up and used his strength to throw him across the field.

Souei immediately used his strings to create a cushion before he slammed into the walls of the arena. He winced as he got back up, rubbing his lower back in the meantime.

'Urgh, dammit. I think I felt something crack.' He thought.

Looking back, he could see Ay and Minato once again in the thick of it as they fought. However, they made sure to keep one eye on him this time to prevent ambushes from happening again.

'Fighting these two at the same time is a pain. I have to split my focus on both and I can't afford to waste too much chakra fighting one.'

Souei continued to think before coming to a decision. 'This'll have to end quickly. Looks like I'll have to use it.'

He then immediately summoned strings to jerk him upwards, dodging the attacks that made its way to his position. Looking up, Souei noticed that his two opponents intentionally shot that attack in his direction. Souei just smirked as he prepared his next move. 'Those two really don't want to give me just a few minutes of rest.'

Deciding it's time, a large amount of smoke covered Souei's form as the large scroll on his back was unsealed. The suddenness of it obviously caught the attention of his two opponents, as they stopped fighting and looked into his direction.

Two golden spike legs burst from the smoke coming in their direction. Minato and Ay immediately jumped back as the legs punctured through the ground.

The spike legs then got pulled back by an unseen force as the smoke fully dissipated. Standing in the air was Souei himself, four golden legs extended from his back.

"Woah, what is that?" Sasori said with wide eyes as the crowd around him also showed open awe at the contraption.

Even Ishito was mildly shocked, throughout the whole month of training, his student has never shown this to him. "Those legs, it's like he's resembling-"

"A spider." Chiyo completed, smiling all the while.

Souei didn't waste time as he flicked his fingers, all 4 spider legs disattached from his back and were sent flying to his two opponents. Most of the shinobi present could see thin strings connected from the legs to Souei's back.

Ay raised a fist that crackled in lightning and deflected both legs to the side. Minato simply kept jumping and swerving around, dodging the two legs that came at him.

Souei used this chance to appear right behind Minato and kicked him to the side before pulling and reattaching all the legs on his back.

Ay immediately rushed at him, his body covered in blue lightning. Souei then raised an arm in his direction, a spider leg flying at Ay's rushing form. The Kumo Genin tried to slap it away, only to fail as he grimaced when his arm pulsed in pain. No doubt from the injury Rasa inflicted on him before.

The leg turned 90 degrees sideways and flew at him horizontally before it locked itself on Ay, the boy grunting as his arms were forced to his sides as he lost momentum and fell to the ground. Panels then opened up from the leg and let loose purple poisonous gas.

Ay widened his eyes as he tried his best to hold his breath while struggling against the restraints.

Meanwhile, just after Souei sent the spider leg to lock on Ay, he found himself surrounded by 3 Minato's. One of them engaged him in combat while the other two went through a quick series of hand signs.

Redirecting an attack to the side, Souei retaliated with a haymaker that connected with his opponent's cheek. Minato's form staggered before it dissipated into smoke.

'A shadow clone!'

He looked back into the other two Minato's to see them already unleash their techniques.

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A collaboration jutsu was sent towards Souei's direction, the wind increasing the fire ball to great sizes as it washed over the Suna Genin's form.

"Nii-san!" The worried voice of a 5 year old could be heard as the entire stadium waited in bated breath as the flames were dispersed, only to see a charred and blackened wooden log in Souei's previous position.

Back with Ay, he could feel the poison entering his body despite his best efforts. Getting more and more pissed, he unleashed more and more lightning chakra to his body to the point his entire form was bathed in blue light. Usually, adding too much lightning chakra is dangerous due to the repercussions that would happen to his own body. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Ay screamed as an explosion of power was released from his entire body, sending the now broken pieces of golden spike leg flying in all directions. He then looked up to see the 2 Minato's finish their attack on Souei.

He immediately rushed them, he frowned however, when his body lagged a little from the movement and he found his vision shaking slightly.

'This damn poison! I have to finish this quickly!'

Forcing through the pain, he raised both arms sideways. Ay then added more chakra to his legs as in a burst of speed, he reappeared in the middle of the two Minatos.

'Double Armed Lariat!'

He caught both blonde's in his attack, the one on the right immediately bursting into smoke. The one on the left however, was launched away as Minato crashed into the walls of the stadium. Ay stood there, panting as he waited for the dust to dissipate. When it did, it was to reveal the prone and unconscious form of the Konoha Genin.

Souei took that moment to reappear, stumbling back to the arena as he panted in exhaustion. Burns could be seen covering his body, which told the audience that he didn't come out of the previous attack unscathed.

He and Ay looked at each other and they both subconsciously knew that their next attacks would be their last.

Both remaining competitors stood for a second before they ran towards each other. At first it was a slow run, before continuing to a full on dash as they rushed their opponents.

Ay raised a fist that was covered in thunder, crackles of electricity streaming through while Souei ran towards him with his arms behind him.

"Thunder Fist!" Ay screamed the name of his technique.

Then, just as they were about to clash, Souei moved. Threads from his back pulled him to the side, dodging Ay's fist and he found himself facing the Kumo Genin's open back.

Pulling whatever chakra he had left into the surface, Souei called on fire transformation as he prepared himself to unleash his most powerful technique.

"OVERHEAT!"

Souei raised his arm, and a beam of red hot molten strings ejected from his palm as it shot towards the Kumo Genin. Ay tried his best to dodge, only to stumble as he suddenly found his body weak.

The poison finally affected him as he found himself moving much slower. It was all he could do to twist his body sideways, the red beam melting a hole through the side of stomach instead of his heart.

Unable to bear the pain, Ay had already fallen unconscious the moment his body reached the ground.

Seeing his opponent fall, Souei just stood there in a hunched form. He panted quick breaths before he chuckled in a low voice.

Souei then breathed out a heavy breath before he fell backwards, the exhaustion of the fight finally taking a toll on him.

Silence reigned the entire stadium at the display. Shocked and in complete awe.

"B-By being the last person standing, the winner of the match and the Chunin Exams is Souei Matsuri!" Jay the proctor, announced as he relieved himself of his shock.

As soon as he did that, the entire crowd got on their feet and clapped wildly at the amazing battle they had just seen. Only the people from Kiri seem dissatisfied with the result.

The people continued to cheer as a few people left their seats in stands and jumped into the field. Ishito and Chiyo went towards Souei while Jiraiya went to Minato.

Jay immediately widened his eyes in realization as he rushed towards Ay's prone form. His eyes widened even more as he took in the Raikage's son's injuries.

He immediately called for a medic as they tried their best to ten to his injuries and take him away.

Jay looked at the person responsible for this and glared at the unconscious Souei.

Ishito, sensing hostile intent, gazed back at the source before noticing the proctor. Ishito raised his eyebrow at the man. Jay immediately paled as he found himself under the gaze of the S-Rank Shinobi. He turned away before running back to follow the medical team.

"Let's get him to the med bay. He will need some serious rest after this." Chiyo said as Ishito picked up Souei gently on his back. On the other side of the stadium, he could see Jiraiya doing the same to his student. They quickly left to find the med bay.

Ishito smiled as he carried his student, as if only now realizing how heavy he is now. 'He's gotten bigger…'

He let out a chuckle under his breath. Although he'll never admit it, being a sensei has been the joy he's been missing his entire life. Seeing his student having grown this far, he can't help but smile a little wider.

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{End of Genesis Arc}

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Woo, what a ride!

Btw, writing a three way fight is HARD. I tried my best to make it flow naturally so I hope it's satisfactory.

Anyway, this marks the end of the first arc. What a way to end it with a 4.6k word chapter eh?

Genesis encompasses his birth all the way to the day of his first massive achievement in his ninja career. After all, winning the Chunin Exams is no small feat.

Next arc will start soon, and let me tell you this is where Souei learns the full truth of being a Ninja. Things aren't always sunshine and rainbows and although he's learned a little bit of it in his first mission, this is where he'll finally realize the saying on why a Shinobi Endures.

I really hope you've enjoyed this first arc as much as I enjoyed writing it :). Marionette has been an absolute joy to write and I'm really happy with all the reception I've received.

Anyways, that's all from me.

Next arc, here we go!

Cheers!

Advanced chapters on my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get up to chapter 21 of Marionette of Suna along with the first chapter of The Dark Swordsman.

P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle

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Trivia: What is the biggest What If in Naruto that you wanted to see? (Alive Minato, Uzumaki didn't get killed off, Itachi choosing the clan, etc)