𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 7: 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚖!𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Five clones puffed to existence, before they surrounded the Uchiha. He got out a kunai, and sliced at them, avoiding their hits and blows. He managed to cut them, as they popped away. He looked back to see Naruto smirk, and was about to run to her, only to hear another pop and the sound of paper crinkling behind him. He felt a tingling sensation spreading from where the paper was, going all the way to the ends of his limbs.
He tried to look back, but found that he couldn't move.
"Hey, proctor? I think the match's over." Obito spoke up, when he noticed the seal on Yusuke's back. It was the one Naruto worked on the past week, just finishing the day before yesterday. She had explained that it was based on the Nara clan's Kagemane jutsu; it doesn't make the target move like the creator of the technique, but it freezes them, once the seal is placed on a part of their body. The seal takes the creator's chakra, and once placed on the target, it releases, the chakra seeping into the skin and muscles. It wears off after a few minutes, depending on how much chakra you make the seal absorb, after the victim's own chakra washes it out. Another way to stop it is for the sealer to take his or her chakra back from the seal. Naruto had also explained that if she used "the furball's" chakra and altered the seal slightly, she could burst the target's chakra coils, effectively stopping him or her from ever using chakra again. Rin added more medical details (most of them he couldn't get), saying that the victim could die from losing all of his or her chakra.
Naruto is someone you would never want to face as an enemy.
"Alright, winner is Namikaze Naruto!" There was a round of applause as Naruto's clone sheepishly removed the seal, letting the boy move again.
They shook hands, as Naruto gave a sincere, apologetic smile, "Sorry about that. No hard feelings?" Yusuke chuckled before shaking his head.
The people who lost went back to where the proctors are, as the people left over were nervously waiting to be called up. Naruto blinked, and remembered that she could practice Sage mode as she sat down to wait. She frowned slightly, wondering if she should. She shook her head after a minute of thinking, deciding that she would want to use it against someone she was sure she'll have a tough time against. The element of surprise is her specialty, after all.
She grinned to herself, as her former sensei's voice rang in her head. Konoha's number one unpredictable, knuckleheaded ninja. She blinked when she felt the many stares sent her way, but shook it off. For the third match, she was called out; along with someone she didn't expect to be paired up to.
"Namikaze Naruto against Uchiha Obito!"
Said chunins blinked as they looked at each other, before walking up. Naruto grinned at her teammate, who returned it. She raised her fist to him, "You better give me a good fight."
Obito's face was set in determination, much like Naruto's own, as he bumped his fist to hers. "Of course. Don't make a big deal out of it and cry when I win. Kakashi would kill me." The blonde rolled her eyes, and ignored the last part.
"I won't. I'll be the one beating you're a―butt to the ground!" She quickly changed her words when she felt Rin's gaze. "I don't go back on my word, ttebayo!" She smirked.
One of the judgers spoke out once the two were ready, "Hajime!"
Obito kept his distance, knowing that Naruto was best at close-range combat.
He wasn't good with long-range combat, though.
He was good when it was an enemy, he had many fire techniques, but this was a comrade and his teammate, as well as one of his best friends. He couldn't go overkill on her.
Plus, Kakashi would maim him. And not to forget Minato.
Then again, Naruto would surely win against him anyways. She even beat Kakashi, and had maybe a jounin to kage chakra levels.
And he wasn't exaggerating.
She had been practicing all sorts of chakra excercises every day since she got here last month, never giving up. It was worrying, to say the least. He was sure everyone was amazed at the amount of chakra she had―the ones that could sense chakra levels well.
Her stamina was definitely not something to laugh at either.
With all that, and tons of experience, even Obito knew he wouldn't last.
But he can't go down without a fight.
He blinked when the blonde was gone, replaced by a orange flash.
Oh, dammit.
"Are you serious?" He exclaimed when he dodged a fury of attacks, surrounded by orange, and he was sure that she had used her shadow clones. "Gah!"
He got out a kunai, before slicing and popping the solid duplicates, until he was the only one left. His eye twitched.
She just loved being the epitome of surprise, doesn't she? He was sure she would appear again in her flashy, dramatic way. Again.
Obito and the audience looked up at the sound of some boasting, and were blinded by the glare of the sun. Obito could make out a shadow, thanks to his goggles, before jumping back.
"Dynamic entry!"
Naruto shot down to where he had just been, forming a slightly large crater. The eyes of everyone except her teammates bugged out.
Rin slapped her forehead as Obito did the same.
The blonde maniac scratched her head, "I was sure that would have worked―woah!" She bent back, avoiding Obito's kick to her face.
Exchanging blows, Obito landed a few hits to Naruto's stomach, much to his satisfaction. They used mostly taijutsu, before Naruto grew sick of it and was sure he was weary enough. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Five clones appeared, and surrounded Obito, much like the previous times she used them for.
One of the clones kicked Obito, sending him across to another clone, "Na!"
The clone sent him to another, "Mi!"
Obito coughed as he was again kicked by the third Naruto, this time being sent upwards. "Ka!"
All three clones jumped up, before kicking him high in the air again as they shouted in unison, "Ze!"
The original blonde used her chakra to push off the ground as she jumped, slamming her leg into the boy's gut.
"NARUTO RENDAN!"
The Uchiha was forced down, but was cushioned from his fall by Naruto's clones. He thanked them, before nodding to the proctor, who got the message.
"Winner: Namikaze Naruto!"
The clones disappeared once he got off of them, and Obito lost balance. Naruto caught him before he reached the grass though, pulling him up. "Awesome, Obito! That was great!" She flashed him a grin.
Obito let go, and high-fived her, mouth stretched into a similar smile. "Heh, although I didn't win, I don't feel so bad." He winced, as he felt a bruise form on his hip. "Except for that."
Naruto laughed sheepishly, "Sorry…"
As they walked to their assigned rows, Naruto tried to ignore the stares sent her way as she silently sat down. She sighed when she heard the barely whispered conversations.
"As expected of the Yellow Flash's sister."
"I bet she's still holding back."
She smiled back at Rin's sympathetic one, before nodding to her, "Good luck."
The proctor looked back at his paper, before calling out, "Terada Rin and Akimichi Choujirou!"
Her small, shy smile turned into a full blown, confident grin. "Thanks. Great match, by the way." She replied, before going up against her opponent.
"Hajime!"
Choujirou was… pleasantly plump, Naruto thought to herself, remembering Chouji's reaction to being called 'fat.' Choujirou had red-brown hair, which spiked around his head and was kept out of his eyes by his hitai-ate. He wore a red colored, half sleeved jacket over his pale green shirt, which had the Akimichi clan symbol on the front. He wore black shorts, and the standard blue ninja sandals. His eyes were slightly crinkled up as his eyebrows were slanted down in a serious manner.
"Nikudan Sensha!" He shouted out loud as he grew a lot in size, and was puffed up into a ball. With amazing speed, he rolled towards Rin.
"Oh no you don't!" She smashed her gloved fist to the ground, forming a huge crater, making the round boy fall into it, unable to stop. Taking this chance, Rin dashed to him, pumping chakra to her muscles. She kicked him as hard as she could, the chakra exploding out of her foot.
The Akimichi changed back to his normal state, knocking down to the ground painfully. When he propped himself with his elbows, he stared wide eyed at the petite girl.
"What are you staring at?"
He would have turned around to see the speaker behind him, if not for the kunai aimed to his throat.
"Winner of this match is Terada Rin!"
Said girl put her kunai back to her pouch, much to Choujirou's relief, as she lent a hand. He shook his head and got up on his own, not wanting to take the girl down with his weight. He smiled gratefully, "Thanks. Was that genjutsu?"
She blinked, before realizing that he meant the stunt earlier. "Yeah, I made you think I was still there, when in reality I was running behind you." She rubbed the back of her neck guiltily, something she caught after being with Naruto for a while.Ah, but that was great." He grinned, "It was my fault for not training enough."
Rin was about to disagree out of modesty, but was cut off by the main proctor. "Now is the second last part for this course of the exams! The remaining four, please stand back, and the others, please go to the judging area."
She got out a seal from her pouch, one that was already prepared, as she whispered the name of the technique and ran to the Hyuuga.
Kouhei braced himself, before noticing the slip of paper in her hands. He cursed, before trying to get some distance between them, despite knowing he was very weakened and slow from the last attack.
Naruto catched him barely sticking the seal on him before he froze. It was the same seal used earlier on Yusuke, he realized.
They all waited, and waited until the proctors were sure he wasn't able to move. They looked at her in disbelief, before one of them called the end of the match.
"Winner: Namikaze Naruto."
Naruto had to force a smile on her face as she accepted and thanked the people who praised her and commented on her performance. She tried not to let it falter when they would say "as expected of the Minato-sama's sister!" or something along those lines. She was really not used to the praises, and squirmed at the attention.
Funny, her old childhood self would have loved it.
She sighed as she placed her pouch on top of the shoe cupboard. "Tadaima."
"Welcome back! Kushina's here, Naruto." Minato appeared along with an overly excited redhead. Naruto immediately grinned.
"I got top place in the sparring tournament." They beamed in pride, Kushina embracing her to a tight hug as Minato patted her on the back.
Naruto forgot about her tiredness and soaked in the affection for all its worth.
Kushina stayed for dinner, her and Naruto cooked as Minato tidied up the house. The redhead grinned widely the whole time, feeling like a mother cooking with her daughter. Naruto looked a lot like she did, too.
It was nagging her at the back of her mind. Mikoto had told her the same thing, saying that they looked so similar, that it was unbelievable.
"Kushina-oneechan?" The woman blinked, before looking down at the blonde. She shook her head, smiling.
"Naruto frowned, but didn't question it, and smiled back. They continued with the meal, and served.
Minato knew he was drooling. The Yellow Flash, and future Fourth Hokage was drooling.
But he couldn't help it; the sight of the brilliant, shiny chicken practically sparkled, and he could smell it all the way from the bedrooms, even with the doors closed. It smelled so good.
"Itadakimasu!" The three chorused, before digging in their forks and knives into the meat. Minato drooled again at the sight of the juice dripping out of the chicken.
He took a bite, and the taste exploded in his mouth. He continued to chow it down hungrily, as Naruto and Kushina watched in amusement.
He shook his head, "You two are miracle workers."
Kushina decided to sleep over, since she was too full to go back home. Really, she just didn't want to part with her two favorite blondes, and they didn't mind, of course. They got extra futons, and Naruto suggested eagerly that they all sleep together. Minato and Kushina agreed just as happily, so now they all lay in a bunch of sheets and mattresses. Naruto slept cozily between the two adults, as they were cuddled up close together. Minato and Kushina had an arm draped over the girl protectively, and the three's faces all had a peaceful expression.
They looked like the picture perfect family.