22 Preliminaries

The following day, I was informed that Karin had woken up and, as it would be expected, immediately began asking about me. She was then directed to the Hokage's Office, were Hiruzen had a talk with her about her condition in Kusagakure and her family's condition. Once he heard her story, he asked her if she would like to live in Konoha with her cousins, and she accepted faster than I could swallow BBQ.

I also received a letter from the Hokage himself. In it, he stated that Karin would be living with my mother and I for now, at least until he was able to assign her her own apartment, similar to Naruto's situation. Besides that, he had attached to it another document, in which Iwa confirmed Han's return safely. I felt glad that he wasn't captured by Akatsuki yet, since it was reassuring to know that their plan was still far into the future.

'I'm hungry... I'll go steal some of Choji's snacks'

*

Since I wasn't able allowed to leave the venue, I had to make do with the little entertainment I had in this place. Training Hinata, talking with Shino's bugs -they were more conversational than him-, messing with Kakashi for reading Icha Icha, tease Kurenai and Asuma about their non-official relationship and, finally, bouncing a ball against a wall. That was how I spent the four days left to the Second Stage.

"Now that the time is up, I wanted to congratulate all of the teams that made it this far. Honestly, I never expected so many of you to pass"

Looking around, I realized that Kabuto's team still managed to pass the exam, making the passing people 21, just like Canon. Every second that passed, I felt that calling him Cockroach was nothing but appropriate.

'Is this the so called Plot Armour?'

"Still, you are too many. As such, we will be holding a Preliminary round for the Finals. It will be a randomly picked match, so be ready to fight anyone. Also, if any of you wishes to forfeit, now is your chance.

I subtly looked Kabuto's direction and, just as I had expected, he lifted his hand high in the air and gave the most ridiculous reason to forfeit.

"I forfeit. I honestly like exact numbers, so 21 is a nono for me"

Anko looked at him with suspicion, but dismissed him in the end. Once he was taken away, we were guided to the arena were we would be fighting. It was the same place as in Canon, the big hall with the statue of the Ram handsign. As soon as I saw the statue, I realized it probably was Hiruzen in his battlesuit, because of the netting around the forearms and wrists.

When we were all positioned, a sickly looking Ninja appeared in the middle of the Arena. I could recognize him since he was Konoha's best swordsman and one of the most underrated characters in the series.

"*cough* I'm Hayate Gekko, and I will be *cough* the proctor for the Preliminaries and the Finals *cough*"

When he said that, a part of the wall began turning and a screen was revealed behind it. As soon as the screen was revealed, it began shifting between names extremely fast.

"The fights will be randomly selected, so I don't want *cough* anyone complaning. Let's begin"

The first match was Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akadō. It transpired pretty much like in canon, with Sasuke loosing until Naruto taunts him and then he suddenly comes up with a copy of Lee's technique. I could clearly see the three marks from the Cursed Seal of Heaven imprinted on his neck. It was funny, seeing how Naruto insulting Sasuke made him win the match.

"The winner *cough* is Sasuke Uchiha"

The next one wasn't a surprise either. Zaku Abumi vs. Shino Aburame. Just like in Canon, Zaku acted high and mighty while attacking Shino's bug clone. When he realized what he had been doing, it was already too late. His arms literally exploded because the air had no way to leave them because of Shino's bugs.

"The winner is Shino Aburame *cough*"

When Shino came back to where we all were spectating the matches, I congratulated him quietly. I could feel the pride coming from me as response to the praise, and I could swear he had a smirk under that stupid cloack he wears.

The next fight was Misumi Tsurugi vs. Shikamaru Nara. At first, Shikamaru had a hard time in the fight, but I could tell it was because of his laziness. When I saw he was about to forfeit, I had to stop him. After all, I wanted a sensible person to become Chunin with me.

"Don't you fucking dare give up Shikamaru, or you won't see the end of it"

I was pretty much known as the training maniac in our group, so Shika understood what I meant by that. As such, he quickly put his brain to work and found a way to take control of Mr. Fantastic's shadow. Once he had done that, he forced him to tie his own arms and legs in weird ways by releasing and retaking control. [1]

"The *cough* winner is Shikamaru *cough* Nara"

Once again, when Shikamaru came up I congratulated him. He just muttered something like "you demon" and sat against the wall, probably napping. Asuma, his Jonin instructor, could only sigh at his student's laziness. But what could he do about it? A Nara will always be a Nara.

As for the fourth fight... all I have to say is that it was a complete disappointment from a viewers standpoint. Half the battle was mentally carried out inside of Sakura's mindspace, which made it somewhat impossible to appreciate it. In the end, they both buked each others head and commited the epic act of the double knockout.

"*cough* Since both participants *cough* have been knocked out *cough*, they both are disqualified"

Then the screen began turning once more. I didn't really remember all of the fights, since there were some I didn't pay much attention to back on Earth. But when the names appeared on screen, I had a bad feeling. Temari vs. Tenten. I didn't really remember what happened, but I knew that Temari was a natural counter to Tenten's techniques. Had it been anyone else, like Kankurō for example, and Tenten could've won with high chances. But Temari could counter any weapon she threw at her with a strong gust.

To go down, Tenten chose to use the stairs that were closest to me. While passing by, she gave me a look and spoke.

"I promise to do my best"

"Good luck, Tenten. I know you will"

I kept a calm appearance, but I was nervous. I could only guess that it was obvious, in spite of my attempts to keep it inside, because Kurenai took the opportunity to tease me for worrying and even said I had a crush. I was actually on my nerves end, so I might've answered a bit strongly.

"So what if I have a crush? Can't someone worry about a person they care for? Besides... I don't trust those three from Suna"

avataravatar
Next chapter