Chapter 17
Sunagakure no sato
Suna Stadium
Wind rustled the dust in the tension filled field of the stage all set for the chunin exams. The highly buffy Raikage threw his hat to the side while rolling his shoulders to work out the kinks all the while keeping his narrow eyes fixed on the blonde shinobi in front of him. Naruto stood calmly as if there wasn't a Kage who had challenged him and had such a short fuse that he could blow up any minute.
"Raikage-sama..." he spoke calmly with all the eyes and ears around the stadium now fixated on the words of the soft spoken blonde standing in the middle.
"This is not the place or the time for a battle of the caliber you are looking for. I expect you to realize the damages it would cause to the stadium and no doubt disrupt the event that is about to take place." he spoke in his calm melodic voice making the Raikage ponder at his words for a moment before smirking.
"Why your father was never scared of a battle? You really his son?" he taunted the blonde who narrowed his eyes at the Raikage as he started to raise his chakra levels, causing the ground around him to crack and the whole audience felt the pressure of the man's presence.
"I say it again Raikage-sama there is no need for any unnecessary violence..." he trailed off when he saw lightning cover the man completely and he let his arms fall to his sides and prepare himself for it.
"Very well then if you wish it so much then I'll finish it as quickly as possible and then get on with the exams." he spoke calmly making the muscled man growl.
"You have got some nerve to say that you could take me down. But I appreciate a man who isn't afraid of his own death standing in front of him." he spoke smugly getting no retort from the blonde in front of him making him clench his teeth and the lightning sparkled and his hair stood from the powerful chakra he was exuding.
"Raiton no Yoroi! Full power!" he exclaimed making Naruto raise an eyebrow at the incredulous amounts of power the man was exuding. A moment later in the blink of an eye he was surrounded by Suna ANBU from all sides with wind chakra laced swords pointed at many of the man's vital points. The Raikage however was still glaring down at the blonde in front of him.
"ANBU stand down" he spoke calmly making them stiffen and retract their blades hesitantly, quite unsure of the order and nodded while bowing to their commander before vanishing into thin air. He took out two three pronged kunais from his hip pouch in both of his hands with a mere flick of his wrists making the Raikage narrow his eyes at the infamous kunais before smirking smugly.
"Yes that's it now you are taking me seriously so called son of Namikaze. Let's see if you really are anything like the man who you claim to be your father." he said and crouched down before taking off in a blur of blue, cracking the ground behind him and leaving a trail of dust. He was in Naruto's face in an instant with his arm cocked back in his signature move to cleave the blonde's head off. He smirked when he saw the same calm expression of the blonde, not noticing when Naruto flicked up one of the kunais in the air slowly when his elbow reached the blonde's neck and he met his black eyes with blonde's baby blue in a moment of recognition.
"LARIAT!" he exclaimed making a crater where he landed and the whole audience was shell shocked at the turn of events. The spot where the two facing shinobi were, covered in a cloud of dust and debris from the Lightning shadow's last attack who stood up and smiled happily.
Meanwhile...
The whole crowd was on it's feet with baited breaths as they watched the scene unfolding in front of them. The Suna half of the audience were worried for their beloved leader and commander while the rest of the crowd was wishing that the Raikage really had completed his claim and rid the world of the second coming of the Flash. The entire Kages contingent was clutching the railing with enough force to make it squeak and squirm under pressure while Gaara and Tsunade were leaking humongous amounts of killing intents.
The Jounin box however was a different matter altogether. Kakashi had already had his forehead protector raised as soon as the Raikage had jumped in and was surprised along with most of them when they heard a small voice.
"Eep!" squeaked out Temari with her hand covering her lips while a scarlet blush donned her cheeks. Many of them were quite confused including the two Sharingan wielders since they hadn't caught any sight of what had happened in the field or why Temari was squeaking like a shy princess.
"What's the matter Temari-hime?" asked Kakashi in a completely confused look got no reply from the girl who was just running her fingers softly over her lips with a little fond smile with her ever present blush.
"That Baka!" she thought fondly bringing her other hand over her chest and her loving gaze watched the dust cloud settle and the silhouettes of the two figures came into everyone's eyes making them turn completely owlish.
What had really happened was that Naruto had flashed to the beacon in her ring in an instant and had given her a small peck before flashing back into the arena.
In the Field...
The dust cloud settled and the Raikage straightened up when he felt the cold steel of a three pronged kunai touch his jugular and hummed with the heavy amounts of wind chakra flowing through it causing a trickle of blood to leak out of the man's neck. He smiled as the lightning coursed all around him and glanced back to see the lone blue eye visible to him glaring at him icily like the one's he remembered in the Third Great Shinobi War.
"It's over..." Naruto spoke calmly making the whole stadium erupt into chaos from the Suna contingent's side.
"Is it?" asked the Raikage smugly making those icy eyes narrow at the man who dispersed in a bolt of lightning making the blonde get zapped and stunned by the large amounts of electricity that it electrocuted him with.
"NOW IT'S OVER!" he roared turning around and launching a fist charged with his chakra into the blonde's chest with a smirk. However his eyes widened when the blonde dispersed in a puff of smoke and his fist passed harmlessly through thin air.
"Shadow Clone! That sly bastard!" he thought furiously while his eyes roamed here and there.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! SHOW YOURSELF NAMIKAZE!" the short tempered Raikage roared while looking around furiously at being made a fool in front of such a large audience but for the life of him he couldn't see where the man went.
Meanwhile in the Kage stands...
Gaara let out a sigh of relief and palmed his face while plopping down back in his chair. He slapped his hand over his face much to the confusion of the rest of the Kage's.
"Kazekage-sama where did he go?" asked Mei voicing it out for all of them with Tsunade looking at him in childlike curiosity. He smiled a little much to their surprise when they heard Kankuro snicker.
"Whenever you can't find Naruto, look towards where Temari is. It is the golden rule of our village these days..." Gaara said making their heads turn to the jounin box in a whiplash and sure enough he was right.
Jounin box...
Temari was standing with her hands over her mouth in worry for her baka blonde husband when a pair of arms slid around her waist from the back and pulled her into a firm chest gently. She closed her eyes with a smile, her hand finding it's way to the whiskered cheek landing over her shoulder when she felt lips press on her neck softly.
"Worried about me hime?" asked an amused Naruto making her smirk and let out a soft moan when she felt him nib her softly on her neck.
"Baka..." she whispered making all the heads in the box to turn to her and take a step back in shock at seeing the blonde embracing Temari from behind and playing with her while she was snuggled in his arms.
"When the hell did he get here? I didn't even notice a flicker of movement. He could have killed us in a moment without us even noticing it!" were the thoughts of most of them especially the seething Uchiha who couldn't believe that the dobe was faster than what his eyes could even begin to comprehend but all the more angry at his actions towards the princess in his arms.
"WHAT THE HELL!" shouted Kiba in shock falling on his butt and pointing his finger at the blonde accusingly.
"When did you get here?" he asked loudly making all eyes turn to Naruto who ignored them completely and continued on pleasuring his hime much to the annoyance of most of the crowd who were looking on in envy especially a certain Uchiha.
The Raikage however heard the Inuzuka's exclamation and looked at the Kage box angrily and immediately threw a tantrum at being ignored so easily.
"COME DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" he roared making Naruto glance up and kissed her jawline while making eye contact with furious Kage and closed them as she tilted her head to the side and let out another soft moan making most of the males in the audience blush heavily at the public display of affection. The Suna audience was used to this already but it still didn't make them any less flustered.
The Raikage saw red when the blonde ignored him again and powered up his Raiton no Yoroi yet again and charged at the jounin box when much to his annoyance Naruto again disappeared in a Yellow Flash and appeared in the middle of the field near a kunai with Temari being carried in his arms bridal style. But it was his eyes that were now glaring at the man intimidatingly who jumped back in the field. Naruto put Temari down who stepped by his side when he pulled her behind him in a protective manner and glared at the Raikage in front of him.
"You could have hurt my wife Raikage..." he said threateningly surprising everyone in the edge that his voice now held and how furious he sounded and the drop of any suffix adorning his respect for the man which had fallen quite a few pegs in a few moments.
"Then you shouldn't have gone and hid behind her back Namikaze. Now come on and fight me seriously!" he shouted making Naruto purse his lips and unpluck the bindings of his cloak. He pulled it off to reveal his blue cut sleeves shirt showing his lean muscles and toned body as he turned around and put the cloak in Temari's arms who was looking at him worriedly. He smiled a little smile and cupped her cheek giving her a gently peck and leaned his forehead against hers to look into her worried teal eyes lovingly.
"Go and stand aside hime. This will be over in no more than five minutes." he whispered making her even more worried but he silenced her by putting his fingers on her lips.
"Trust me alright, I'll be fine..." he reassured her and she knew he was right but it didn't make her any less concerned for her reckless husband. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly for one last reassurance while he rubbed her back softly to calm her down.
"Be careful I still want you all to myself tomorrow like you promised me..." she whispered making him smile and nod. He pressed his lips on her forehead and nudged her to the side gently and out of harms way.
"Now off you go..." he said in a shooing motion while she stood to the side while clutching his cloak to her chest tightly. He turned around to see the smugly smiling face of Raikage who made another comment to rile him up.
"That woman has made you weak Namikaze. Just like that Uzumaki woman before her did for your father. A shinobi must not have such ties or distractions to anyone." he taunted the blonde who cracked his neck and glared at the man.
"You would do well to watch your mouth Raikage, my hime is my strength. I would level half the elemental nations if someone touched so much as a hair on her head in a moments notice." he said without a hint of hesitation making another chorus of 'Awws' to round the stadium by the female population while Temari's cheeks turned pink and she looked down to hide her embarrassed smile from everyone and suddenly found the cloak in her arms much more interesting. The Raikage chuckled and nodded with a smile.
"You are a spitting image of your father in both looks and character. Those were the same words he told me when I threatened him about your mother. His legacy lives on, too bad the allegiances have changed now..." he said in chuckles while Naruto took out two kunais and held them in his classic reverse grip while falling into his father's Hummingbird taijutsu style stance getting a wide eyed look from most of the Konoha jounins.
"What's with that look Kakashi?" asked Kurenai who still didn't get why they were so worked up over his stance when Gai answered seeing his eternal rival was in a state of shock.
"That is the personal style used by our very own and most youthful Yondaime Hokage Kurenai. It is said to be one of the most dangerous styles in Konoha rivalling the Gentle Fist and Goken due to the speed it requires the user to have. I never imagined I would see it once more in combat after sixteen years." he said in nostalgia when he remembered seeing the Yondaime in action during his youth and the impact the man had on the battlefield with his presence alone. And the blonde in front of him at the moment had almost the same aura that he had last seen sixteen years ago.
"Sensei..." Kakashi whispered in nostalgia at seeing the blonde standing there in the infamous taijutsu stance making Gai smile and shake his head sadly. It was too late for regrets now, his youthful student had now joined up and swore his allegiance to another village which from the looks of admiration in the audience loved him more than Konoha could ever hope to.
Naruto held his left hand in a half ram seal making the Raikage raise an eyebrow when markings appeared all over Naruto's body and vanished in an instant with a huge gust of air.
"What were those markings?" asked Sakura and this time Jiraiya found his voice.
"Those were resistance seals..." he whispered in amazement making her even more confused. "…they were created by the Uzumaki clan originally but were modified heavily by the Fourth to condition his body for the extreme speeds he was aiming for. They require the best of knowledge in sealing. Even I myself am not capable of creating seals of the caliber he is using at the moment." he whispered in a trance making Sakura nod and smile fondly while looking at the blonde. A blush rose to her cheeks as she saw the gentle smile and his peaceful calm expression even while he was facing down the strongest of the shinobi in the Land of Lightning.
"What now you're going to blow me away with some small gusts of winds?" taunted the Raikage himself charging up his Raiton armor but saw it didn't even have the slightest effect on Naruto and frowned.
"Alright then let's go!" he roared and disappeared in a bolt of lightning. He appeared right behind the blonde and swung his leg to cleave his head and was shocked when the blonde just crouched and swiped his leg in a horizontal arc which he jumped upon with a smirk.
"The boy is good..." he thought and raised his leg up high and brought it down with a battle-cry.
"Raiton Hammer!" he roared as his heel made contact with plain ground instead of the blonde who just jumped back and held his hands in a cross guard as the Raikage bolted out of the dust cloud to take advantage of his blindness with a fist but was blocked easily. Naruto slid backwards and dug his kunai in the ground to halt his movement while looking up with his hair flowing in the wind with a small smile. This was fun!
The Raikage himself was having the same thoughts as he hadn't had anyone in years who could match him at the extreme speeds he was going at and the blonde was still evenly breathing which showed his speed had been attained through rigorous training and not just a short burst of chakra.
"I think that is enough warm up." said the Raikage and Naruto nodded with a little smile.
"Indeed." he spoke calmly when a shout was heard throughout the stadium.
"THAT WAS JUST A WARM UP! THEIR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN SO BRIGHTLY GAI-SENSEI!" the stadium heard with another boom following behind it.
"INDEED MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! NARUTO-KUN'S FLAMES BURN REALLY BRIGHTLY. HE IS IN THE SPRINGTIME OF HIS YOUTH!" boomed another eccentric spandex wearing man when Naruto sighed, already knowing what would follow.
OH LEE!
GAI-SENSEI!
LEE!
GAI-SENSEI!
"Somethings just never change..." he said to himself while shaking his head and Ay couldn't help but agree when he saw the two hugging each other and crying. The whole stadium was mortified as the memory was etched into their minds with the seductive unbreakable genjutsu appearing behind the two shinobis.
"That is just...wrong." the Raikage said and turned to the blonde with narrowed eyes when he threw his kunai into the air and went through three hand seals ending on Tiger.
"Ninja Art : Kunai Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" he exclaimed as the two kunai spread into a hundred and rained down over the field in a small grid while he took out another two and held them in his hands. The Raikage charged up his armor even more causing the lightning around him to cackle loudly and both disappeared in a yellow and purple flash respectively. Several flashes lit up the field and the echoes of small shock-waves were felt all around the stadium as they matched each other blow for blow at several points in a matter of seconds when the Raikage landed a punch on Naruto's chest and launched him back with a laugh.
"HA THERE YOU GO..." he trailed off when the 'Naruto' disappeared in yet another puff of smoke in mid air and he growled angrily.
"I hate clones..." he managed to speak before he felt something grinding behind his back and tearing right through his lightning armor and his skin.
"Wind Style : Rasengan!" he heard and was launched forward in a small beam of white chakra concentrated on his back and smashed face first into the wall. The whole stadium was stunned silent as Naruto retracted his hand and watched the Raikage stand up while dusting himself off like nothing happened at all.
"I think that should be enough Raikage-sama. We both know that the techniques required to take either one of us out of commission will level a really large area and endanger several lives. I think that I have showed you enough of my skills." Naruto said, wiping the blood off his busted lip that the Raikage had managed to punch in between their high speed clash.
"Damn does the man hit hard!" he thought as he watched the lightning around the man to die down and he nodded in full agreement.
"Yes I have seen enough, you really are a Namikaze through and through no doubt about it. I'm glad that I have another person who could match me at my top speed and still breath to tell about it." he said with a hint of pride making Naruto smile himself.
"But you weren't going all out Raikage-sama..." he said walking up to the man who walked in front of the blonde himself while extending his hand.
"Neither were you son of Namikaze..." he said making the boy chuckle and he chuckled himself and both shook hands as a sign of mutual respect for each other when the crowd went abuzz in applauds and cheers. He felt his shoulders getting covered by his cloak and turned his head to have his lips captured by the love of his life. He instantly pulled his hime closer and kissed her back equally as their lips moved in perfect harmony and Temari ran her hands through his hair. She broke the kiss off and nuzzled her face in his neck while he held her close to him.
The Raikage turned around and jumped up the wall and into the Kage stands to see four highly amused Kages sitting there as they looked at his battered clothes.
"Raikage-sama!" he heard and turned around to see the blonde who was holding his wife close to him throw his hat to him which spun and reached him like a shuriken and he caught it with his lone hand while putting it on with a smirk and nod.
"Hime?" he whispered getting a soft 'Hmm' from her while she snuggled happily in his arms, all but forgetting that thousands were watching them, not that Naruto really cared.
"I have to start the finals so you might want to go back to the jounin lounge before I lose sight of the finals and decide to take you here and now..." he purred in her ear while nibbling it with his teeth softly. She giggled and hit his chest lightly while looking at him lovingly with her head tilted to the side.
"What am I going to do with you my baka blonde husband?" she asked playfully hearing the crowd cheering them on which made her cheeks turn pink but didn't take her eyes away from those loving baby blue eyes gazing at her so warmly.
"Well you could..." he started making her giggle and put her fingers over his lips.
"Oh hush, it was a rhetorical question..." she giggled and he chuckled himself while loosening his hold on her waist as she stepped back and kissed his cheek softly before jumping back into the half destroyed jounin lounge, ignoring the cheers of the crowd completely to lessen her embarrassment at showing such affections in front of them. But he was hers and she wasn't afraid to show it.
She saw the glazed and blushing faces of the males and mostly envious looks from the women in the lounge but what made her quite surprised was the venomous look the pink haired kunoichi was giving her but she shrugged it off as she heard Naruto start the official proceedings for the finals.
Meanwhile in the Kage stands...
"That is quite a shinobi you have Kazekage-dono. Such talent at so young an age, a shame that the leaf let him go like that Tsunade-dono. I wish he had come to my land instead of yours Kazekage-dono." said the Raikage as he took his seat beside his fellow Kages. Tsunade just bit her lip while staring at her blonde longingly knowing how true the man's words were and no doubt each one of those fools must now be seeing what they had let go after the display that he had just put up.
"Indeed he his one of my most trusted shinobi and friend Raikage-dono. I still praise the day that I had him in my borders and took him under my command." said Gaara in his monotone voice when they heard the always silent Onoki speak up.
"Yes, he really is that man's son. Thankfully his allegiances are sorted out quite nicely now..." he said suggestively in a hint making a ghost of a smile appear on Gaara's face. Now that sounded like the man was hinting towards an alliance.
"Yes and he's quite the specimen too. Who was that girl that was with him Kazekage-dono?" asked Mei suggestively while licking her bottom lip as she eyed the blonde up and down hungrily. Gaara rose an eyebrow at her gaze and sighed, it looked like another one of those jealous females headache was coming up.
"That would be my sister and now his wife, Temari Namikaze." he said making Mei frown a bit before she smiled sweetly and nodded still keeping her hungry gaze on the blonde.
"I see, she must have some hold over him to keep him tied down to her..." she mused making Gaara sigh again. A major headache would come up if the Mizukage herself set her sights on Naruto. Temari would not be pleased, Mizukage or not her protectiveness over Naruto was unrivaled.
"Yeah that she does..." he whispered to himself and looked down into the arena to hear Naruto's voice ring across the stadium.
In the arena...
"Will all the prospective candidates who have made it past the second round of the chunin exams please step down into the field?" he asked and watched the genins who had made it past the second round step out. There was a team from each of the major villages and he smiled as he watched the genin from the minor villages look a bit nervous. It made him go back to his own chunin exams back in the leaf where he had been the underdog and was hiding all his nervousness from everyone.
"Alright now we'll see who will whom with random matches being selected and appearing on the screens. He saw as the names of a genin from Iwa and Kiri came up and he turned to the group in front of him.
"Everyone besides the two please head over to the waiting area for their turns." he said making all of them save two go back and turned to the two in front of him.
"Now for the first match Hineki Momochi and Kishiki Kaizama, do you have any questions?" he asked and got a nod from the Kiri genin while he motioned for him to go on.
"This terrain isn't fair for us Kiri ninja, these are highly suited for all except us Water style users..." he said making Naruto smirk.
"The life of a shinobi isn't fair kid..." he said making the genin look down but he continued.
"But you are right, this is a stage to show the people your full potential and what you and your village have to offer so I guess I can consider you are right..." he said making the boy look up with a smile and confused look.
"But we are in a desert region, we need water sources for Water style jutsus like back in our land.." he trailed off when he saw the smile on Naruto's face and flushed when he ruffled his hair like a little child.
"Now stand back kiddo..." he said warmly making the two step back and jumped upwards much to the surprise of the crowd and the whole crowd heard a strange swirling noise. Many of the Konoha and Iwa shinobi had their second rounds of heart attacks as a huge ball of swirling chakra appeared in the blonde's hand.
"Oodama Rasengan!" he shouted and slammed the destructive sphere in the ground sending a shock-wave all throughout the stadium and formed a huge crater in a side of the field. The genins were confused as to what he was doing and watched as he started going through blazing fast hand seals and ended on Tori.
"Water Style : Water Severing Wave!" he shouted in focus as the moisture all around the stadium swirled around him and formed a wave of water as he faced his palms forward and caused the tidal wave to go ahead straight into the crater forming a small lake. The genins and audience alike ha their jaws dropped as they saw the proctor change the terrain to his choice in merely two moves and looked back in amusement to see the stunned faces of the two.
"Now there, the problem has been taken care off I guess so no complaints now I assume?" he asked the two who shook their heads dumbly and he nodded with a smile.
"Alright then I will step in if I see that the fight is hopeless and the genin is not able to fight back or is in danger for his life and hold the right to give the win to anyone at anytime. Any objections?" he asked the two getting only silence and nodded.
"Alright then Hajime!" he exclaimed and jumped back while the two started on their match.
Meanwhile in the Kage stands...
"Amazing such mastery over the water element. He created such a high level water jutsu in a desert region with absolutely no water source, out of thin air!" spoke Mei in amazement as she appraised the fellow water user getting nods from Ay and Onoki while Tsunade was wide eyed.
"Wasn't that the special ability of the Nidaime Hokage Tsunade-dono?" asked Onoki getting a nod from the blonde woman who smiled proudly.
"Yes Ojii-sama was one of the only ones in his generation to have such control over the water element to negate almost all it's weaknesses and make it his ultimate weapon in battle. Most think it was a bloodline of sorts but that isn't true..." she said making all of them raise their eyebrows at the blonde Senju. They themselves had assumed the same thing.
"What do you mean Tsunade-dono?" asked Onoki as there were not a lot of things that he didn't know with his age and experience but this news intrigued him.
"You see the Senjus and Uzumakis were cousin clans with the Uzumaki clan being primarily very powerful water ninjutsu users. Their skills in sealing always overshadowed their talents for Water ninjutsu and kenjutsu. My Obaa-san Mito Uzumaki was the one who trained Tobirama Ojii-san personally during his younger days in many skills including helping him to perfect the mastery over water style to such a degree." she explained making them all quite surprised.
"So the boy is of a real royal heritage then to be a part of the main branch of the Uzumaki head family and the last of the Namikaze clan. Gaara-dono certainly struck gold with this one..." said Ay in slight jealousy making Gaara smile and nod. Tsunade just smiled sadly as she wanted to cry over what she had lost but she would be damned if she didn't retrieve herself and her relationship with her gaki no matter what it took she though confidently and kept her eyes on the blonde whose eyes were watching the clash between the genins like a hawk.
In the jounin lounge...
Sasuke had his knuckles clenched in anger after he saw the blonde show his skills in front of the world like they were nothing. The jealousy in his hear reached new bounds as he started going through that those weren't even half the skills he knew. He had been holding back the whole time.
So what had he been doing over the past years in the village. The dobe had everything, a loving village, an excellent and beautiful as well as a proud kunoichi as his wife who was of royal status and high stature within her village. He was apparently the military commander of the Sand and he had seen the way he had ordered the ANBU around like they were nothing and the admiration all the shinobi held for him.
Why couldn't he have that? It was simple, the village was holding him back. He hadn't been able to learn anything extraordinary like the dobe of his team had. After getting rid of him he had assumed that the only competition in the village for his attention and training was now gone and he could reach new heights. But he was wrong to stay in the village for all those years. He needed the ks wielding to exact his revenge and have a girl like Temari to rebuild his clan.
Temari.
He glanced at the kunoichi who was looking so lovingly at the blonde and couldn't help but admire the glow she had on her face today. He wanted her more than anything then why couldn't he get it. He was an Uchiha, he would get everything he wanted like always he thought angrily and clenched his jaw and knuckles tightly.