Genin Takedown - 6

"That idiot!" Naruto was furious, "Do you hear the trash that guy's talking? If it wasn't Gaara-kun's match I'd-!"

"Relax Naruto, it's not your fight," Jiraiya patted the blonde's head, quieting him, "So he knows more than he should, but his knowledge is the only leverage he has against Gaara. Do you really think he'd throw the match if someone threatened his secret?"

"Well...no..." Naruto frowned, "But he'd still be pissed!"

"That's true...and the Hokage, did he make a law preventing others from learning about Gaara's demon like he has for Naruto?" Haku asked curiously.

"In fact he did. No one who already does know is allowed to tell anyone, not even you two," Jiraiya pointed out matter-of-factly, "Actually, only Gaara may tell another, so it's not likely to spread around the village as a piece of gossip, if you get my meaning."

Gaara hardly spoke, let alone gossiped.

Naruto returned his gaze to the cloud of sand Miosuke was swiping at with his boomerang. It was pointless, he and Haku could tell. The sand was already gathering around the loudmouth, poised to finish him, 'Wow, he got Gaara pretty mad...'

Miosuke had realized that throwing his boomerang again would only leave him defenseless against his foe's sand, but there was little he could do to protect himself at all. Stubbornly, he refused to withdraw, even when Gaara's sand had clustered around his flailing arms.

The red haired boy scowled as he closed his fist, exercising an abnormal amount of control as he crushed only Miosuke's arms, leaving his teammates to attempt to ignore his screams.

Hinata turned away, hating the violence. Sato stood beside her, fascinated by Gaara's strategy.

"The winner is Gaara." Hayate's voice could barely be heard over the sand nin's wails.

"He did use excessive force..." Haku said softly, concerned. He could tell Gaara had issues with the Sand team other than the fact they were of his old village, though it seemed more than ever he'd be unwilling to talk about it.

Gaara returned, hostile, and stood beside Jiraiya. His teammates knew better than try to make a conversation when his mood was ruined. His match had been an easy win, no doubt, but Miosuke had unearthed old wounds that stung like they never had before.

The mousy antagonist was taken away by medic-nin who were unable to quell his agonized cries.

Naruto sighed deeply, scratching his head, 'Oh man...Gaara-kun, he really wanted to kill that kid. He probably would've if he'd said anything in front of everyone about the-'

"Naruto-kun, look!" Haku pointed over to the screen where his name had appeared.

The blonde's brooding thoughts melted away, "Alright! Finally I'm up! This is gonna be great!"

Predictably, Hayate called down the next two contestants, "The sixth match will be between Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba."

Naruto gave a foxy grin to his teammates before leaping over the railing, 'Oh yeah! I am totally ready for this match! I hope Sakura-chan doesn't mind if I kick dog-breath's butt!'

'Do your best, Naruto-kun...' Hinata's undying faith was with the blonde haired boy in this match, whether he knew it or not.

Kiba, from across the way, believed his match would end quickly, "Hey! Check it out Akamaru! We're up against the kid! Looks like we lucked out..."

"Kiba-kun," Sakura's pastel eyebrows knitted together in a frown, "I don't think you should be underestimating Naruto, I mean...he's come a long way."

"Oh right..." He didn't want her to fret about it, "I promise, Sakura-chan, I won't bust him up too bad. I know he's a friend of yours." Akamaru barked in friendly agreement before they ventured down, Kakashi stifling a chuckle.

'He really could be a bit more humble...' The pink haired girl thought, knowing she'd be unable to cheer for either side during the match. Her head felt heavier and her gut churned in anxiety, 'This is a crappy match up. Why did it have to be Naruto-kun of all people? I can't stand it...'

Sakura leaned her head against the Uchiha prodigy's shoulder with a disconcerted sigh.

Rather than shrugging her off, he replied to her nonsensical grunt, "It is what it is, Sakura. There's nothing that can be done about it now."

"I know..." She muttered irritably, "I just don't want to watch this fight."

"Then close your eyes."

On cue, she felt her eyelids droop, "Oh...I um..." Sasuke didn't have to think hard to find a solution for her problems and it annoyed her slightly.

Curious, her forest eyes flickered over his features, wondering if her physical contact was bothering him yet. His arms were folded, a sign that he was high-strung, but other than that he was surprisingly acquiescent with the contact.

Obediently, Sakura shut her eyes a moment later, trying not to think about it.

Hayate announced the start of the match, "Begin."

"Here we go!" Naruto immediately created four Shadow Clones, ready to coordinate an attack.

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow, 'Shadow Clones...it isn't a common ability for genin. It seems training with Jiraiya has really paid off for him and his teammates, but Kiba will still be a tough opponent to beat.'

"Sit tight Akamaru, while I set things up," Kiba growled down to his companion who waited beside him, tail wagging in excitement. He ran ahead, tossing a smoke bomb in the midst of the clones, lessening visibility.

'I can't fight if I can't see, better get out of here...' Naruto made a grab for the nearest clone as he felt Kiba rush past him recklessly, nearly hitting him. Naruto dove up and out of the cloud, while his clones tumbled out of it, waiting for Kiba to reappear.

'He's gone into this fight with a strategy.' Haku smirked inwardly, foreseeing Naruto's plan, 'I believe he's even used this attack pattern on me once before...it isn't pleasant.'

Kiba tore out of the dark cloud with terrifying speed and shredded the nearest clone. The action had riled Akamaru up, who raced over to him, wanting in on the beat down.

While Kiba's attention was set on the clones, Naruto used the stolen time to hurl four kunai at Kiba from overhead, with exploding tags attached. Predicting the assault, his shadow clones leapt back, avoiding the blast, as did Kiba and Akamaru, though slightly singed.

'Those were the last of my tags...I'll have to ask Sato for more.' Naruto mentally noted while creating two shadow clones beside him as he descended, which flung him at Kiba who was unprepared for the random attack.

The Kyuubi container landed a flying punch on Kiba's face, who knocked him away shortly after. One of the Shadow Clones had gotten a hold of Akamaru, who nipped furiously at the surrounding, grinning replications.

Kiba, it was visibly clear, had a change in his plans, "Naruto, if you're smart, you'll let Akamaru go..." He tossed a pill at his dog who caught and swallowed it and then ate one himself.

"Eh?" The clone that had been holding Akamaru hostage observed inquisitively as the dog's fur turned red, and was then destroyed with one swift kick from the animal's hind legs.

Kakashi smirked from beneath his mask. Sakura's eyes remained closed, but she could tell things were getting serious as she felt Sasuke's shoulder tense from beneath her cheek.

The little red dog leapt up, teeth bared, and blew apart two more of Naruto's nearby clones. The last two Shadow Clones stood on either side of the real blonde, regrouping, 'What the hell? It's like the dog has super powers or something!'

Akamaru raced back to Kiba, who kneeled down for him, and leapt onto his back, his crimson fur on end. The Inuzuka boy formed hand seals, ready to get serious, "Beast-Human Clone!"

Akamaru transformed into the spitting image of Kiba, who leapt off of his master's back, itching to fight. Naruto's eyes widened, 'O-kay...I didn't see that coming! Better take out the real Kiba, and then his mutt won't have a chance.'

Naruto sent one of his clones to charge Kiba and his double as a distraction, while the other stayed near him as he hastily began to form the Rasengan.

Back up on the balcony, Haku and Gaara observed, wanting to get a better look at the new technique Naruto had revealed days earlier to them. Jiraiya folded his arms and chortled to himself, knowing that if his student did land the attack on his opponent, it wouldn't fall short of overkill.

Kakashi's visible eye widened in shock, dancing within it distant memories of his old mentor.

"Gatsuuga!" Both Kiba and Akamaru threw themselves into a coordinated spinning attack, easily eliminating the oncoming clone.

Naruto's final shadow clone ran ahead of him. It intended to draw Kiba and his companion nearer so Naruto would have a more accurate shot at them.

It happened nearly too quickly to see: Kiba, raking the last clone apart and the real Naruto catching one of Kiba's two replications, slamming the Rasengan into the nearest foe's gut. Kiba went flying backward, and his counterpart skidded to a frantic halt. Akamaru reappeared, an instant knockout.