Chapter 81 : Falling Feathers (4)

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"I've got my money on the Suna Kunoichi. That lazy kid's got nothing on her." Kasumi, one of the ninja from Kiri spoke. Sasuke chuckled softly to himself.

Hearing this, Kasumi huffed and looked at him irritatingly. "You got something to say, Uchiha?" Did the duck-butt think since the pineapple was from Konoha that he was superior?

"No. Nothing at all, Kasumi of Kiri." Now that was a strange name… 'Mist of Mist'…

"You don't think that Suna-nin will win?" She asked toughly.

Sasuke shook his head. "No. Shikamaru is a genius; he's smarter than my Shishou. He'll make Chunin for sure."

"And who exactly is your Shishou?" She asked, clearly annoyed. It didn't help that she was actually attracted to the boy. That actually made it worse.

"The Kamikage of Konoha." He replied.

Kasumi froze. That officially ended the conversation. There wasn't a person in all of Mizu no Kuni that hadn't heard of the Bringer of Hope. He set their country free after all.

A few minutes later, and the match was over.

Deciding that staying silent was stupid; she called the Uchiha out on his prediction. "I thought you said the Nara was going to win…" She said, now a little calmer.

Sasuke smirked. "No. I said that he'd make Chunin."

Kasumi looked at him confusedly. "But he lost…"

Naruto's words rang through his head.

"We do things right, and our way, or we don't do them at all."

"It's not that he lost, but how he lost. He did things his own way, and because of the way he did it, he'll definitely be promoted." He saw how confused the girl was. He sighed. "You don't have to win to be promoted. And just because you win, doesn't mean you'll be promoted."

Naruto's voice was heard throughout the stadium, interrupting their conversation. "The next match will be Hyuuga Hinata of Konoha vs Kasumi of Kiri."

Kasumi smirked confidently. "Well I hope you get a good look at my power, because you'll have to fight me sometime!" She fist pumped.

Sasuke turned back to the arena. "Good luck." She didn't show that she liked his words. "You're really going to need it." She didn't show that his words pissed her off. "Hinata is the heiress of the most powerful clan in Konoha."

Kasumi had started walking, but stopped when he said that last bit. "I thought the Uchiha were the most powerful clan in Konoha."

"We were…" He said softly. Figuring he wasn't going to speak again, Kasumi left, ready to prove herself to him for some reason.

...

"How has your stay in Konoha been so far, Mizukage-dono?" Hiruzen asked, curious about the beautiful woman. He had no doubt that this woman was already in love with his shadow. If he were like his Iwa counterpart, he'd use their relationship to better his village, but he was nothing like Onoki.

And the fact that Naruto could actually kill him and everyone in Konoha within a few seconds if he pushed him too far was something.

Oh, he had no doubt that he'd follow his orders, but after his mind broke he'd probably break everything around him. The scariest part about it all was that it would be easy for the blond to kill everyone in Konoha.

Mei had to push down the blush that threatened to wash over her face when her mind went to the events of last night. "It's been… very nice. It's a lot different than Kiri, but I can't really find anything bad to say." She answered honestly.

"I'm glad to hear that. We try to welcome all of our guests the best we can." Hiruzen replied. "Ah, the next match is about to begin."

Mei was trying her best to keep her attention on the Genin that were about to fight, but her eyes kept gravitating towards her angel. It was like she couldn't resist him. It was like he was making her watch him. She really was head over heels for him.

...

As soon as Naruto said for them to start, Kasumi rushed the Hyuuga-hime, and Hinata activated her Dojutsu. Once Kasumi noticed the girl's eyes, she stopped her rush.

The Uchiha had warned her that Hinata was a strong opponent, so rushing someone how wielded the world's most lethal Taijutsu was probably not the smartest idea. So plan B it was then.

When Zabuza-sensei showed up, he had helped her learn silent killing. That, coupled with her strangely advanced usage with Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique), she had become quite the Kunoichi. When Kasumi smirked, Hinata noticed the chakra-laced mist rise from the ground.

A few seconds later, if that, the two were completely covered in a foggy mist. Since the mist was riddled with her chakra, Hinata was not able to locate Kasumi.

This was bad. She was a sitting duck like this. She wanted to wait and use this in a later round, but it looked like she had no choice. Stepping into a Juken (Gentle Fist) stance, Hinata sent chakra to her fingertips. She didn't really have to see for this technique to work. Kasumi would do the rest for her.

"Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho (Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" She shouted using the technique Naruto helped her with when he was attached to her team. She had already created it, but with the help the blond provided, she was able to get it down.

Her arms became a blur as thin, sharp, chakra blades were emitted from her fingers, creating a protective dome. It only took a few seconds for Kasumi to get hit a few times by the technique, forcing her to let up on the mist since even she couldn't see in it.

With the mist gone, and her opponent injured, Hinata lunged. "Shotei (Palm Bottom)!" She shouted, thrusting the bottom of her palm into Kasumi's stomach. With wide eyes, Kasumi fell to the ground, unable to move. She had serious internal injuries and she needed a medic right away if she wanted to live.

Naruto decided to stop the fight, seeing that Kasumi could no longer continue. Even though it was allowed, he really didn't want anyone dying. After rushing the wounded Genin to the hospital, Naruto smirked as he called the next two names.

"Next match, Uchiha Sasuke vs Gaara." This was it. It was time for the Uchiha to show the world who and what he was.

Everyone was going to see the Bringer of Hope's shadow.

...

"Ah, the match everyone has wanted to see." The 'Kazekage' said. "I've heard… interesting rumors, Hokage-dono."

Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru and raised an eyebrow. "And what rumors have you heard?" He asked, going along with this foolish game.

"Oh you know… that your shadow has acquired a shadow as well…" He replied. It was clear as to what he was talking about, and Hiruzen was not happy.

This was the perfect time to warn his previous student. "Oh, that rumor." He smirked. "You see, Kazekage-dono, Uchiha Sasuke has officially accepted an apprenticeship from Uzumaki Naruto." He chuckled.

"I almost feel sorry for your son," his eyes turned to the two Genin that were facing each other; ready to start their match, "Because Sasuke-kun has spent an entire month under my shadow. And if I know anything, Naruto has already done it."

"Done what?" He asked, curiously.

Hiruzen did not reply. He just silently watched as Naruto began the fight.

Created a Monster

...

The words to begin were blocked out by the bloodlust Gaara felt. Mother kept screaming at him, saying something like his opponent belonged to the blond Jonin proctoring the match, but he didn't care. He really wanted to prove his existence. He really wanted to wake up.

Sasuke was silent, also not moving at all. He took in a deep breath, taking delight in the way he felt. He was awake, and it was time to prove himself to Konoha.

He wasn't the last Uchiha. He wasn't the village sweetheart. He was Sasuke, the Bringer of Hope's shadow. He was the Kamikage's eyes, and it was time to show the world what he truly was now.

Sasuke vanished.

When Gaara suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, he was confused. Was mother so upset with him that she didn't protect him? That was definitely the Uchiha's left fist, hitting him directly in the back of the head.

No, it wasn't because mother was mad. The reason for Gaara sustaining his first injury, no matter how minor, was because Sasuke's speed had tripled since last month. Naruto was a sadistic slave driver when it came to training, and he was now a lot stronger because of it.

Sand suddenly shot up from behind the red-haired boy, trying to run Sasuke through, but with no such luck. Before the sand got within inches of him, Sasuke flipped backwards, going through hand-seals as he went through the air. Within seconds, Sasuke called out the name of his technique.

"Katon: Goenka (Fire Release: Great Flame Flower)!" Three giant bullets of fire slammed down on Gaara, erupting into a geyser of flame.

The technique surprised a lot of the civilians, but all the Shinobi could see that it didn't hurt the Jinchuuriki. When the flames went down, Gaara could be seen shielded by sand, completely untouched by the powerful technique.

Sasuke smirked. He almost broke though that sand armor of his, so he knew it was possible. Going through the correct hand-seals, the stadium lit up with a startling white-blue, and the sound of thousands of birds chirping was heard. Gaara had already seen this technique, and the Uchiha had to be close to the target to actual hit him with it.

Smirking, he used his chakra-laced sand from his gourd and wrapped his form into a compact bubble-like sand shield with sharp, sand spears adorning the outside. There was no way he could penetrate the wall, and if he tried, he would be impaled. So now what would his prey do?

Sasuke smirked, mirroring his Shishou. Naruto was very impressed with his student's ability in improving techniques. Kakashi was going to want to learn this one…

Lifting up his left arm and aiming the Chidori at the Suna-nin, Sasuke did something that should have been impossible. Kakashi didn't know what was going to happen, but he knew it was going to be something he wanted to record with his Sharingan. He was able to lift his hitai-ate just in time to witness it.

"Chidori Eiso (One Thousand Birds Sharp Spear)." He said calmly as he watched the bright blue Chidori spear-like blade pierce the supposed 'absolute defense'. Within his little sand shield, no-one could see what was happening, but they could definitely hear the screams.

The hawk had made the Tanuki bleed.

Naruto's smirk turned sinister as he looked up.

Feathers began to fall.

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I'm sorry about the late update and the short arc. I'm homeless, and it's incredibly difficult to write like this.

Next chapter is going to be the most epic, badass chapter I've ever written. A lot will be revealed, and the fights will be on a huge scale.

Please review and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'm honestly not happy with it, but all I can say is that the next chapter will make up for this one.

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