Chapter 18: Preliminary Rounds

AN: Not really an author's note. Just thought I'd write something up here.

Chapter 18

"B-Big brother!" Haku ran and squeezed me in a tight hug. Kimimaro also surprisingly gave me a hug as well, although it was a bit of an awkward hug. "Ugh!" I groaned as they pressed against my arm splint. Hearing my cry of pain both Haku and Kimimaro stepped back and took a good look at me.

Ripped cloak, torn pants, disheveled hair, blood stains, and a right arm splint.

"Ah?!" Haku exclaimed in shock. "Wh-What happened? Did Orochimaru do this to you? That's it I'm really going to go kill him right now!"

I quickly stepped forward and grabbed Haku by the shoulder holding him in place. "Oi oi. At least let me explain first." I lightly chuckled. Kimimaro just narrowed his eyes with his arms crossed as he waited for me to explain.

"Fine!" Haku conceded.

"Ahem. First off, Orochimaru did not do this to me. By the time I got to Team 7 they had already fought. Orochimaru had injured Team 7 and left a special Cursed Seal Mark on Sasuke. I fought with Orochimaru and lured him away from Team 7. That guy was a really tough nut to crack." I lamented as I recalled our battle. I let out a long sigh before continuing. "Anyways, after luring him away and recognizing that I was outmatched I tricked him and successfully escaped. Don't worry, I only incurred some minor physical and internal wounds from my battle with him. The worst part of my battle with him was the large amount of chakra I was forced to expend. Once I escaped I brought Team 7 away to a safer location. Unfortunately we were discovered by those Sound ninja guys from the first exam. With not enough chakra to spend I could only utilize Taijutsu. I ended up having to use the Eight Extreme Fists technique which is why my arm is currently how it is. So really most of the damage you see is self inflicted."

"AH!" Both Kimimaro and Haku exclaimed in shock.

"But that technique is not yet complete! And your body isn't tempered enough yet to withstand the burden of that overbearing skill!" Kimimaro yelled out.

I put my left hand up guiltily and said, "I know I know. I even told you not to use it. I've only formulated the 8th Fist and the 7th Fist for now and even then it isn't perfect yet, which is why my arm ended up as it did. But don't worry, I know their power and I know my limits. Even though my bones shattered from using it I suppose Orochimaru does deserve some credit for the attention and care he put in my body. My body is healing rather quickly. After about two weeks my right arm will be good as new."

Haku merely massaged his eyes in frustration clearly unhappy with the scene of events. "Anyways after that-" I started when Haku cut in and said, "There's MORE?! Weren't you ONLY supposed to fight Orochimaru? Why did you end up having to fight those Sound ninja guys and now you're telling us there's more? I knew we shouldn't of separated!"

"Ah..haha…" I laughed embarrassingly. Ugh. This separation was supposed to help them get used to developing their own path and not rely on me. In the end it seems like it might of had the opposite effect I inwardly lamented. "Alright. I concede this time. Just know that what I said before we separated holds true. Some paths we must walk on our own. I know you hate looking at my disheveled and beaten up appearance and I would also be frustrated if I saw the both of you in the same state, but I would also respect your wishes and help you along your path. Understand? Even though I look beaten up I'm still alive and well. Now after this experience I have gained a lot of insight from it and have taken another step towards my own ninja way. I want you both to be able to develop your own ninja way too okay?" I said with a soft expression and smile.

Sigh. "Okay. I understand big brother. I'm just glad you're here now." Haku said in defeat. Kimimaro remained silent for a moment before saying, "Very well. I shall accept your wish. However, that doesn't lessen my rage or intent to kill Orochimaru."

"Mn Mn. Me too!" Haku chimed in. I gave a light laugh and nodded. "Okay. I understand both of your resolves. Let's just forget about that slippery snake for now. Who knows, he may end up being useful later. Oh right, did you guys obtain another scroll yet?"

"Heh. Of course big brother, we got it a long time ago." Haku replied as he took out a man scroll and an earth scroll to show me.

"Mn. Then let's head to the central tower and finish up this exam." I said.

"Ok." Kimimaro and Haku nodded in agreement. After we made it to the central tower and opened the two scrolls a Chunin instructor popped out to congratulate us on our successful pass. We ended up waiting with the other participants who already passed for the next two days. To my surprise Team 7 showed up the next day instead of on the last day from my past knowledge, however, the same number of teams and participants were still the same. A total of 21 people making up 7 teams.

In my past life the Sound ninja that I ended up killing had passed, but obviously since they're dead they didn't make it. Everyone else who passed essentially remained the same as I remembered in my past life. Those who ended up passing were Kabuto's team from the Hidden Leaf, Gaara's team from Sunagakure, Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, Team Guy, and us, Team 11. Once the time limit of the second exam was over all passing teams were ordered to head to the arena building. As we all walked in we stopped in front of the judging platform and awaited for further instructions. I looked around and noticed for the first time that pretty much only Leaf ninja made it this far. Aside from Kabuto and his team not really counting, albeit they still wore the Leaf headband. Only Gaara and his team who are from another village made it this far.

As we waited here all the participants began looking around to check out the competition. Our Jonin instructors were also present standing by on the judging platform. Yamato-sensei spotted us and waved happily until he saw my arm in a cast. His eyes immediately widened in shock as he tried to use sign language to communicate with us. I simply shook my head at sensei's foolishness. Actually if he just lip talked then with my Sharingan I would be able to understand what he was saying, but of course he didn't know that I possess the Sharingan.

So he is here. Neji thought silently to himself as he glanced at Izaya. If he was so strong already, then how strong are his other teammates? Lee also glanced over at our direction as he recalled the battle that fateful day. I thought that I was the strongest Taijutsu user in the entire competition, but after witnessing Izaya fight yesterday I'm not so sure anymore. If Izaya is so strong already, how strong are his teammates?

Sasuke also glanced over at Team 11 and specifically at Izaya. He then walked over and said, "Yo."

"Hm?" Haku turned to look. "Hello." He replied kindly.

"Not you. I was talking to Izaya." Sasuke said. I nodded my head at Sasuke acknowledging his presence and said, "How are you feeling?" He rotated his shoulder a few times before saying, "Better." He paused for a few seconds before saying, "Listen, I'm only going to say this once. I came over here to thank you for what you did. And to apologize for what I did that day. I wasn't completely myself. Thats' all." He then quickly turned away and walked off. Sakura and Naruto also came over to offer words of gratitude before returning to Sasuke's side.

"Eh? Big brother, what did Sasuke mean when he wanted to thank you and apologize?" Haku asked.

"Oh...That's right I never told you guys. Or rather, I was going to tell you guys but you interrupted me remember?" I said.

"Oh...Hahaha...Sorry. Can you tell me now?" Haku replied.

"Mm...Later. When we have more time." I responded. It was then that Anko finally walked up and said, "Congratulations on passing the second exam everyone. Lord Hokage will now explain why you are all gathered here." We all listened intently to Lord Third's speech as he rambled on about history and the true purpose of why nations host the Chunin exams jointly, etc. etc. Soon after a Chunin appeared in front of everyone by the name of Hayate Gekko who explained about a preliminary 3rd exam. Of course I knew this from my past life but many of the others were annoyed by this. As we waited for Hayate to finish the explanation for the preliminaries I took a glance at my surroundings to see if I could spot Orochimaru.

From my past life's knowledge Orochimaru disguised himself as the Jonin instructor for the Sound ninja Genin who made it to this round, however I killed them in this life so I searched to see if I could spot whatever form he took on now. Just as I was slowly sweeping through all the ninja instructors, proctors, and sentinels present I sensed someone's eye staring at me intently. Without moving my head I peaked over with my eyes through my blindfold and saw that it was the Jonin in charge of Kabuto's team who had a thoughtful look on his face.

Oh? Looks like he was forced to possess the body of the Jonin in charge of Kabuto's team in this life. Heh, he must be thinking about our fight in the forest I mentally smirked. I then noticed his attention shift to Sasuke, however his reaction was one of confusion. And I knew why he was confused. With Sasuke being this close to Orochimaru he could slightly influence the Curse Mark Seal in an attempt to make it flare up, however he probably never expected that someone would be able to place a temporary sealing technique on it. While my sealing technique wasn't a very powerful one, thankfully it was enough to prevent Orochimaru from indirectly affecting it from a certain distance.

It was at this moment that the other Jonin and Lord Hokage looked intently at Sasuke. "Lord Hokage, we should have Sasuke withdraw from the preliminaries and the rest of the exams. Then have him guarded by skilled Anbu." Anko said.

"Hm...I doubt he's going to just agree with an arrangement like that." Kakashi chimed in.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to have him participate! The Curse Mark draws on chakra and influences the mind. It can flare up when one tries to build up chakra or gets lost in an emotion of violence!" Anko angrily argued. Hiruzen stared intently at Sasuke for a few minutes before letting out a surprised expression and said, "It appears someone has placed a sealing technique over the Curse Mark in order to suppress its influence."

"Eh?" Both Kakashi and Anko said in surprise. "While he was in the forest? Who could do that unless Orochimaru did it himself which I doubt." Anko commented.

"Hm...Well it isn't a very powerful sealing technique, it is enough to suppress any influence Orochimaru might want to make indirectly. It will also suppress the Mark's influence on Sasuke for a bit. There is still a chance for the Mark to flare up and break from it's seal if he overexerts himself, otherwise the seal should last about another day before it is corroded by the Mark. Among the Genin gathered here I can only think of one person who might have had the capabilities of this feat." Hiruzen said as he glanced at Izaya.

Soon after Kabuto raised his hand and said that he wanted to withdraw from the preliminaries which prompted Lord Third to ask about his background.

Heh, just as I remembered it, I thought to myself. A ploy of Orochimaru's. Soon after, the preliminaries began. It would be one on one fights from here on out and whoever loses gets eliminated without the chance of proceeding to the finals. Interestingly enough, the first match was Sasuke vs. Yoroi, a team member of Kabuto's. I furrowed my brow. Just how much power does fate have I silently thought. In my past life, Sasuke also fought Yoroi and this was also the first match.

Everyone began walking up to the balcony to observe the fight as Sasuke and Yoroi got ready for battle. As Kakashi made his way to the balcony he stopped momentarily by Sasuke and said, "Sasuke. I know that someone placed a sealing technique over your Mark to help keep it in check, however, it's dangerous if you overexert yourself. If the Mark flares up it could endanger your life. Try to finish the fight as soon as you can and if you can help it, don't use the Sharingan."

"Heh. So you knew about the Mark. I had the same thoughts." Sasuke smirked and then said with a serious face.

Just as Kakashi was walking away, he said, "If it flares up, I'll end the fight."

"Tsk." Sasuke clicked his tongue.

I was the last to leave the arena as I also walked by Sasuke and said, "Oi. I heard he's got a unique skill, don't let him touch you." I then walked off leaving Sasuke in a daze before he snapped back to look at my retreating form.

"Heh. This guy. First he helps suppress the Mark and now he tells me info on my opponent. Does he want something from me or is he just that nice." It was at this moment that everyone had finally cleared the field for Sasuke and Yoroi's fight. The proctor Hayate finally said, "Start!"