Chunin Exams - The Loss

- 3357 words -

[Year 50, Kumogakure]

Souei jumped down towards the field as his name was called. His opponent, a guy named Teuchi, was standing opposite of him.

Looking at him, Souei could tell he was well built. 'Probably a taijutsu specialist.' Whatever the case, he just hopes this Teuchi guy can handle himself. He'd hate for his first fight of the exams to end up like Rasa's.

He could see the proctor motion for them both. "Are the two of you ready?"

Souei just nodded which the man took as affirmation. Teuchi just nodded in response.

"Begin!"

Souei immediately dashed forwards, meeting his opponent midway with their forearms locked in a clash. He then quickly aimed a kick towards Teuchi's midsection. Teuchi however, simply raised an arm to block the offending leg before throwing a haymaker that Souei managed to parry. A quick bout of hand-to-hand combat was seen as the two traded blows.

Souei tried to sweep his legs but Teuchi quickly jumped in the air before unleashing a hammer kick. He simply grabbed onto the leg and threw him over his shoulder.

'Ten Point Bullet String'

He pointed all ten fingers forward. Bullets of condensed string ejected from his fingers in a cluster, akin to a shotgun blast. The bullets peppered the still airborne Teuchi, hitting him all across his body.

Struggling to stand from the pain, Teuchi couldn't react as in a burst of speed, Souei grabbed him by the head and slammed into the ground. Cracking the earth beneath them. Souei then shaped his hand into a gun before pushing it towards Teuchi's temple.

"Heheh, Whatcha gonna do now?" He said as he loomed over his opponent's form.

"I-I surrender!"

"The winner is Souei Matsuri!"

"Good choice." Souei chuckled as he got back up and wiped the dust on his shoulder in an exaggerated manner. He could see Teuchi scowling at the insult but opted to not say anything in his defeat.

Souei then walked back towards the stands, only to brace himself as a red missile impacted his abdomen. He barely flinched as he caught the boy and put him on the ground.

"Nii-san, that was amazing! You were so cool!" His little nephew said excitedly.

He just ruffled Sasori's hair before rejoining his teammates by the railing.

"Nicely done." Rukia commented the moment he approached them.

"Thanks. So what's next?"

"The last fight for the first round. Pay attention Souei. The winner of this fight will be your opponent." Ishito replied as he stood beside them.

"Got it sensei."

Focusing back on the field, he could see both competitors had already started their match. Souei had to admit that he was shocked at the sight before him. Tosen Kaname was blind, that he's sure of. However, he walked with the confidence a person born with that kind of disability should never have. His movements were graceful, and he's even able to follow his opponent's moves despite the lack of vision.

"Sensei, is something like that possible?" He asked.

"Of course it is. Do not forget that there are all kinds of people with all sorts of different abilities in the Elemental Nations. A blind person being able to see his surroundings is merely one of many."

"He's right." Chiyo chimed in, agreeing with his sensei's assessment. "It's not that hard to believe that he has sensory skills like Rukia. Don't underestimate him despite his disability, you three. Doing so will be your downfall."

The three Genin nodded in unison, heeding the advice.

A sudden cheer by the Kumo side of the bleachers prompted Souei to look back to the stadium. Tosen was standing there, sword resting on the neck of the defeated Kiri Genin.

"The winner is Tosen!"

'That was quick. Looks like he'll be my next opponent.'

That was when the Kumo Nin looked into the stands right at him. He raised his blade in Souei's direction, as if 'you're next'.

The challenge was clear, and Souei grinned.

— Marionette of Suna —

In the Kage box, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the match with interest. After all, the unique jutsu the Matsuri boy used was something he's never seen before.

How intriguing indeed. Were those white threads an advanced level of chakra strings or are they something else, perhaps a Kekkei Genkai? Considering that this was something that not even Chiyo is capable of, his thoughts are more in line towards the latter.

He looked at the boy who conjured them, who is now talking with his peers in the Suna stands. He was impressive, for one so young to be strong. Teuchi may not be as impressive as Minato, but he was far from weak for a Genin. Or, at least, that's what Jiraiya said in his reports. His former student is prone for exaggerations after all.

It was worrying of course, Konoha had lost two of their Genin while Suna had all three. And judging from the fight currently underway, it seems Kiri would be the one to lose all their fighters first.

He glimpsed a look at the Mizukage, the man was just sitting there, staring at the fight blankly. As if the loss of all their Genin in the exams was nothing more than a fleeting issue.

He shrugged. It's not his issue if Kiri has internal problems.

Anyway, he then turned his attention back to the match. This next fight will be interesting after all. He didn't get to see much of what Minato could do in the first match. The perks of ending things quickly, perhaps. But it looks like his next opponent wouldn't be as easy.

He has confidence that his student's student will turn out the victor. After all, as their Kage, he should continue to believe in them.

— Marionette of Suna —

"Will Minato Namikaze and Rukia Hoku please enter the field?"

Hearing the announcement, Rukia tried her best to combat the coming nervousness.

"Heheh, Rukia's still gonna kick his ass." Souei then said on the other side of her. "After all, we're gonna meet at the finals right?" He continued with that signature smile of his.

Honestly, even though he probably said that to just make her feel better, it definitely worked. Although they never did outwardly make that promise, his words did show that he was confident in her abilities.

How could she betray his trust like that?

And so she quickly jumped into the field, confidence coursing through her. Opposite her, her opponent already stood, his eyes fixed on her form. No doubt trying to analyze her stance.

"Are both fighters ready?"

She nodded to the proctor's question as she took a deep breath.

"Begin!"

There was a blur of movement, too fast for most of the audience to track. To the crowd, it was as if the two had teleported.

"That guy really is fast." Souei commented with a frown.

"What happened?" asked Sasori, who couldn't even manage a glimpse of the exchange.

"Rukia got hit." Chiyo answered, her gaze breaking into a worried frown.

In that brief moment, Rukia had blitzed forward, intending on catching her opponent off guard. But Minato had moved aside at the last second, swerving around the smaller girl and striking her in the stomach with an open palm.

Blood came out her mouth as Rukia was forced to take a few steps back in response to the attack. Minato used this time to quickly appear behind her, kunai in hand.

Rukia however, managed to come back to her senses as she forcefully created a small blast of wind outwards in all directions, pushing Minato back.

'This guy's the real deal. I can't afford to hold back.'

Deciding it's time to, she took off the kid gloves and went on the offensive.

She took a stance as she sent a powerful jab on the air in front of her, hurtling forward a great stream of air towards Minato's direction. The man managed to dodge to the side by reading the direction of the fist that sent the invisible attack.

'This girl can do sealless ninjutsu? What a monster…' The shinobi all thought when they saw her attack. Even Ishito was somewhat shocked as he didn't expect her to already reach that mastery.

Minato immediately did hand signs and sent a great sized fireball in retaliation.

Rukia jumped forward and folded her arms like a knife before swinging it downward, sending a crescent-shaped wave of air that clashed with the fireball and dissipated it. However, what she didn't expect was the flurry of shuriken that hid themselves behind the fireball, now coming towards her.

She widened her eyes slightly as she swiped her arm sideways that created a gust of wind and redirected all the metal to the side.

"Where'd he go?" Rukia wondered as she looked around, to see her opponent missing. She expanded her senses to her surroundings. That was when she immediately flew up into the air as Minato burst through the ground beneath her. Minato however, obviously expected this as the Konoha Genin threw a hook-like-projectile connected to a wire. The hook managed to tie itself around Rukia's leg and Minato pulled.

She yelped as the force of the pull brought her back to the ground and she crashed face first into the dirt. When she came to, it was to a kunai held to her throat by Minato Namikaze.

She tried to discreetly manipulate the wind to help her but stopped as Minato held the kunai closer to her jugular. Already a thin line of red could be seen on her neck.

"Don't." His voice was as cold as steel as he gave her the ultimatum.

Surrender or die.

"I-I surrender."

"The winner is Minato Namikaze!"

Minato immediately stood up as he let her go. That was when Souei jumped down toward the field and reached her side.

"You okay?" He asked softly.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She replied with a low voice.

Souei looked at the scrapes and bruises that she had on her body before putting his arms on her back and under her knees and picked her up. He spared a glance towards Minato, who also took the opportunity to glance at him. Their eyes met as they held their gaze for a second before turning away.

"Let's get back to the others." Souei said as he walked back towards the stands, with her in his arms.

— Marionette of Suna —

Rasa eyed his teammate that had just returned from her fight. Indeed, she has grown stronger. But apparently, it wasn't enough to get through her opponent.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made him look up. "Good luck. Your next match won't be easy."

His sensei said, to which he replied with a nod before his body turned to Gold Dust and he reappeared in the middle of the fighting square.

He spared a glance towards the Kage box, where his teacher for the past month sat with the other Kages. He saw the man nod, and Rasa fell into his signature stance.

That was when his opponent decided to make his appearance. He jumped down from the stands to the field, bringing up a cloud of dust as he loudly crashed into the dirt.

Rasa saw it as nothing more than an attempt of intimidation, to which it failed. Obviously.

"Are the rumors correct that say you are the son of the Raikage?" He asked.

Ay just smirked at the question. "Yep, can't count how many times my old man beat me into the ground for the sake of training. Gotta say that it worked though."

Rasa just hmm'ed at that information. "Is that so?"

"You know, a lot of people talked about you Suna-Nin after what you pulled off in the first exams." Ay said with a smirk on his face. "And I still remember that girl on your team, what was her name? Rukia? I remember her clashing with me back in the mountain. I wanted to pay her back for that, a rematch to see who was stronger. Who'd think that she'd already lose out from the exams. Turns out she's just another weakling."

"If this is your attempt at making me lose my cool, then perhaps you should try a little better."

Rasa's declaration was met with golden sand bursting out of his gourd as it formed around him.

"Heh, figures." Ay said as his body lit in lightning chakra.

"Begin!"

The Kumo Genin immediately rushed forward, only to immediately dash to the side as a wave of golden sand buried itself into his position. Ay circled around his opponent, dodging shuriken made of golden sand that Rasa kept shooting towards him. Ay tried to rush in again, only for a tendril of sand to pick him up by the leg and slam him to the ground a couple of times.

With a cry of power, Ay's form got bathed in blue light as he used lightning chakra to flow into his entire body. Instead of just covering it on his skin, the power of lightning is now coursing through his veins.

'Lightning Release Chakra Mode!'

Ay's already impressive speeds became greatly enhanced. As he forcefully broke the tendril of sand holding his leg and blitzed towards Rasa aiming to end this in one shot.

Rasa however, didn't stay idle. Managing to barely keep up with Ay's newfound speed, more sand erupted from Rasa's gourd before rushing towards the running Ay in a large wave.

Ay however, pulled back his fist before punching it forward, breaking through the wave as he burst through it, appearing right in front of Rasa.

Rasa was ready this time, his gold dust gathered around his arm to create a large golden fist. He threw it forward, clashing with Ay's lightning clad arm, resulting in a large shockwave. However, the fist slowly gained cracks before it started to crumble. Flicking his fingers, Rasa sent the broken pieces of sand to coil and wrap around Ay's arm, planning to crush it into paste. Using his other hand, Ay karate chopped the golden fist, successfully breaking it apart as he then rushed forwards and entered Rasa's defense.

Rasa tried to raise a shield of gold only for it to be pierced by the Kumo Genin. Ay's fist thundering into Rasa's abdomen, folding him in half and launching him back. Rasa let out a mouth full of blood as he flew through the air. Golden sand then rose from behind him as it formed into a cloud platform that stopped his momentum.

Rasa then immediately jerked his head to the right, dodging the fist that sunk itself into the sand cloud behind him. Clenching his left fist so the sand from the cloud would tighten and hold Ay in place, he then planted an open palm on his opponent's chest.

'This is gonna take a lot of chakra out of me so better make it work!'

'Magnet Release: Magnetization!'

A purple glow covered Ay for a second. Shrugging it off as it seemingly has no effect, Ay directed his lighting chakra towards his right fist that was sunk into the sand, immediately setting it free as he moved back to dodge a wave of gold dust that made its way to his position.

That was when Ay's instincts screamed at him, quickly sidestepping to the side. He barely dodged a stray kunai, a trail of blood now seen on his cheek. Turning around, he could see dozens and dozens of kunai and shuriken that was used in the previous matches come flying towards him. Applying chakra all throughout his body, Ay's skin hardened as he crossed his arms to cover his face. When the wave of steel came, they all simply got brushed aside as the magnetization jutsu got released.

"I see. Looks like the Magnet Release could be used in other ways." Ay commented as he lowered his arms to see a barely standing and panting Rasa. "A pretty dangerous technique, but it looks like it took a lot out of you."

Rasa didn't even give a reply as he tried to get his breathing under control. 'Dammit!'

Ay lit up again in lightning chakra before he raised his right arm sideways. He then charged up before running at Rasa at high speeds. "This is the end!"

Rasa barely managed to raise a shield on time as his opponent rushed at him with the strength of a rampaging bull.

"Lariat!"

An explosion of dust appeared at their clash. The audience waited in bated breath. When the smoke parted, they could see Rasa's prone form with his opponent standing on top of him with a bleeding arm.

Ay, who was panting in exhaustion, looked at his bleeding arm before glancing at the unconscious Rasa. 'This guy turned his shield into spikes at the last second, foregoing any sort of defense for the sake of injuring me.' He then scowled as he clenched his fist through the pain. 'He knew that he'd lose, so he chose to injure me so I won't be at full strength in the finals.'

'This guy…!' Despite it all, Ay grinned at the fight he just received. It was one of the hardest ones he's fought. If anything, he respects strength and tenacity. And Rasa's got that in spades.

He then walked out of the field to see if anyone could fix this damn arm of his. After all, there's no way he's going to finals with a handicap like that.

— Marionette of Suna —

"I can't believe it…Rasa lost?" Souei could hear the disbelief in Rukia's voice. And hell, he's no different.

He knew their opponents were strong, but to think this Ay guy defeated Rasa was still a shock to his system. Whatever the case was, Souei is now more determined than ever to meet the two people who beat his teammates in the finals. Minato Namikaze and Ay, son of the Raikage.

"Rasa fought with all his strength. There's no shame in his defeat. If anything, I have faith he'll come out of this stronger."

Ishito's calm voice made its way towards them. He and Rukia looked back to see their sensei standing there, eyes locked onto the back of the boy who defeated Rasa.

"You're now the last competitor we have in the exams Souei. Ideally, I'd tell you to relax and don't worry about it. That win or lose we at Suna would still be proud of you." He then paused for dramatic effect. "But not this time. If you don't make it into the finals, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Silence was what met Ishito's declaration.

"...You have a weird form of encouragement sensei."

Ishito shrugged. "I do my best."

Shaking his head with a smile. Spirits ignited, Souei jumped down towards the field to face his next opponent. The one who caught his attention before the competition began.

Tosen Kaname, the blind warrior of Kumo. The guy who blatantly challenged him in public.

Souei grinned. He couldn't wait to see what this guy could do.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

I overdid it again!

This chapter was supposed to be the end of the Chunin exams. But I had so much fun writing the fight scenes, I blasted way past the ideal word count of a chapter.

So I was forced to split this into two with the next one DEFINITELY being the end of this arc. Just for info, this first half alone is 3400 words long.

Anyway, Rukia and Rasa lost! Dang, who saw that coming? It's as if I completely set this up so the three could have their rivalry declared in such a public manner.

In any case, how were the fights? Fight scenes aren't my forte and I'm still learning so I'd appreciate any input you have on them.

Advanced chapters on my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get between 4 or 10 chapters ahead along with a few other benefits.

P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle

(Remove the spaces)

Anyways, that's all for today.

Cheers!

Trivia: Aside from Naruto, Sasuke, Hashirama, and Madara. Who are the 5 strongest characters from Naruto? (The aliens don't count)