Inheritance

Round Two - Concluded

For Ino's part, she looked like she might be sick. She hadn't been able to compensate for Sakura's increased speed to lessen the impact, and by their very nature elbow strikes had the potential to inflict considerable damage. Ino had never intended to hurt her former friend in the way she had - he knew he could be certain of that. But even Naruto could tell Ino had trained hard. She was faster and stronger, both mentally and physically. Sakura quite simply hadn't grown has much, and what both girls had assumed would be a closely fought bout had essentially been ended in the first move.

"Sakura, I-" Ino began what Naruto assumed to be a stammered apology as the Proctor called the match, Sakura adjudged to be unable to continue, but was interrupted by a shakily raised palm from Sakura.

"'s fair an' square Ino-pig." She slurred woozily, concussion making itself obvious. Sakura slumped back down to the floor, and the med-nin's raced in to treat her.

His former crush was stretchered away from the arena floor, and Jiraiya quietly let him know that medical ninjutsu was more than good enough to ensure that Sakura wasn't likely to experience any lasting effects other than a small scar. He appreciated the discretion alongside the subtle reminder of just how perceptive the perverted old toad really was.

Naruto himself was finally drawn against a unruffled and spotless looking Tenten. The girl, utterly professional looking stared for a moment, before dropping pretenses and smiling easily at him. "Uzumaki Naruto, right? What do you say to me kicking your ass within the boundaries of a friendly match between comrades?" A frown replaced the smile. "A few too many of ours have been carried away on a stretcher after their matches got out of hand."

Naruto smiled. "Couldn't agree more - apart from the part where you win, naturally."

Tenten was good - a weapon specialist who obviously worked harder than just about anyone their age at it. Naruto initially made the mistake of trying to spar her with his Sansetsukon without using any Kage Bunshin, just to see how good he really was. Turns out, it didn't matter how good he was, because Tenten was far better with a Bo in hand, and now Naruto was carrying a wicked bruise on his shins after the brunette swept his legs from under him.

Handily, Naruto's skillset had broadened considerably since the Academy, as had his range of jutsus. It took some working but he finally managed to snare his opponent with a lightning whip jutsu used by some clones he'd hidden underground. Despite her skill, it seemed Tenten hadn't really managed to prepare to counter many different strategies. When it came to something she found difficult to combat, her go to response seemed to be 'throw sharp things, fast'. In fairness, it was a kind of simplicity Naruto could get behind, she just needed another string on her bow to be the complete package.

That said, she took the loss far more amicably than he imagined either of her team-mates - Neji and Lee - would, and it seemed he had earned the respect of another of his generation of shinobi.

Shikamaru was drawn next, but to Naruto's initial outrage he withdrew from his match against the final Suna ninja, Kankuro. Only a touch on the shoulder from Jiraiya kept him from going across and demanding an explanation from his friend. The Sannin had his eyes narrowed at Shikamaru as he lazed back up to his spot above the arena, and for once Naruto decided to wait for an explanation. Something was going on it seemed, and he hadn't quite deciphered what.

That left Sasuke, who had originally been given a pass to the next round because of the uneven numbers, to fight Gaara's older sibling, and Naruto couldn't fight the frown that found it's way onto his face as the raven-haired genin leapt to the arena floor with a grace that made him uncomfortably envious. He looked as casually assured as ever, hands in the pockets of muddy white shorts and body set in a casual looking stance that somehow left very little in the way of openings. Despite everything seeming irritatingly easy for the Uchiha, a more perceptive Naruto noticed a tautness to him that was never there before, a stressed tension that he was trying to hide.