"Now then, you were each individually evaluated during the first and second exams, and using these results, the divisions have been drawn to be as fair as possible."
Several Suna chūnin rolled out a large white cloth with a tournament bracket chart etched on it in dull black ink.
...
Naruto found his name immediately. It was the first name written in the very first bracket. The two names next to his were 'Kabuto' and 'Karin.' Scanning the rest of the brackets, he saw that almost all the other Konoha genin had been split up into separate brackets.
It seemed that by 'fair,' they had meant that they intended the strongest genins to face each other in the later rounds of the tournament rather than in the preliminary. Likely to provide the most entertainment for the various high-ranking country officials that would be coming to view the actual third exam.
His gaze lingered momentarily on Mayu's bracket, which was fourth. One of the names was unfamiliar to him, but the other name was 'Fū.' Either they had scribbled Fū's name into one of the brackets as soon as she emerged, or more likely, they had known she had passed, and had proactively written her in. Naruto glanced at Mayu, but for once, her face was unreadable.
"We will commence with the preliminary round of the third exam immediately! First up is bracket 1: Uzumaki Naruto from Konoha, Yakushi Kabuto from Konoha, and Karin of Kusagakure."
"They're sure not wasting any time," Rai grumbled, scratching his scar. "Good luck, Naruto. Not that you need it."
Mayu nodded. "Good...good luck Naruto!"
Wordlessly, Naruto stepped out onto the field. Kabuto walked past him, his sandaled feet crunching in the sand, and turned around to face him several meters away. A bespectacled girl with flaming bright red hair and eyes wearing a Kusagakure hitai-ate did the same, finishing the triangle. At the same time, several Suna jōnin stepped out, and with a jutsu, raised a circular sand barrier that separated the bystanders from the three genin, creating a makeshift arena.
"Are you ready?" said Satetsu.
"Yes," said Naruto and Karin simultaneously. Kabuto silently adjusted his glasses.
"Then – begin!"
The girl seemed to have judged Kabuto as the easier of the two; she immediately flung several kunai in his direction. Barely dodging them, Kabuto tripped over his own feet, and fell on the ground. Karin began running towards him, but skidded to a stop when he raised his hand.
There was a momentary silence, before Satetsu cleared his throat. "Uh, yes?"
"I forfeit," Kabuto said, looking embarrassed. He stood up, dusting the sand off his pants, and began to limp back to the wall of the barrier. "My foot's been bothering me since the second exam, and I doubt I can carry on much longer."
Personally, Naruto thought that the limp looked fake; it was much more likely that Kabuto had ascertained that he had no chance against the competition of that year, and had just chickened out.
"That was so not cool man!" said Rai, shaking his head. Hearing him, Kabuto gave a sheepish smile before going to the back to sit beside his teammates.
"Okay then...Kabuto Yakushi from Konoha has been eliminated from bracket 1," Satetsu rolled his eyes. He raised his hand once more. "Continue!"
Naruto hadn't moved since stepping out onto the field. This seemed to unsettle the Kusa genin; hesitating for a second, she flung another pair of kunai at Naruto. Deflecting the kunai with his own, Naruto stayed otherwise still. Running around him in circular motions, Karin continued to throw kunai at him, all of which he blocked. Finally, apparently having run out of artillery, she launched herself at him with surprising speed, leaving a small cloud of sand in her wake.
Feinting to the right, she ducked and swiped at his feet to try and knock him off balance. Naruto twisted, and kicked at her open back.
She grunted at the direct hit, but to his surprise, reached behind her to wrap her arms around his leg. Again, with a surprising amount of strength, Karin pushed up, propelling him into the air. Jumping up, she punched at him. However, Naruto ducked, and quicker than she could react, he grabbed a hold of her collar. Her eyes widened just as he slammed her down to the ground.
Her body hit the ground with enough impact to cause deep cracks to appear in the ground around her. A cloud of dust and sand erupted around Karin's groaning figure; Naruto nimbly landed several meters away. When the dust had cleared however, he noted with some surprise that Karin had already gotten up. Furthermore, aside from a slightly dazed expression, she seemed unhurt.
An impressed murmur spread throughout the watching crowd. Naruto gazed impassively at her figure. Contrary to her rather flimsy appearance, she was quite sturdy. If he continued to fight her the way he had planned to, it would likely only drag out for a long time as he slowly whittled away at her defenses.
Making up his mind, he brought his hands together. "Fūton: Kyōfu (Wind Release: Gale)!" A gust of wind spiraled into existence, picking up sand and forming a large dust cloud that engulfed the entire arena. There were yelps of indignant pain from the group of genins, as some of the sand blew into their eyes. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow clone technique)!" Under the cloud of the dust, Naruto created four shadow clones.
Karin meanwhile had stood rooted in her position, bracing herself; she seemed fairly intelligent, and had likely predicted Naruto's intentions under the cover of dust.
However, there was little she could do against five assailants; as his clones distracted her, Naruto crept in from her blind spot. Raising his kunai, he aimed at the back of her neck, prepared to deal the finishing blow – when suddenly, as if she had known he'd been the real one the whole time, Karin twisted her head to look directly at him. With flashing red eyes, she flung a kunai at him, and for the first time, he was forced to jump back in retreat.
Appraising the redheaded genin from afar, Naruto cocked his head in bemusement. Interesting...either it had been a lucky guess – which he doubted – or she had some sort of sensory ability that allowed her to differentiate between clones. If that was the case, his current plan wouldn't work either – and the ball was back in Karin's court.
She seemed to have reached the same conclusion; apparently not having yet exhausted her supply of kunai, she resumed throwing them at him, warily maintaining her distance. Just the same as before, Naruto continued blocking them, creating a momentary standstill. For several moments, it was silent except for the sound of metal clashing on metal as the two stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Finally, Karin seemed to have grown impatient. Her final pair missed him entirely, flying over his head. At the same time, she propelled herself headfirst in his direction once more.
Prepared, Naruto reached behind him for his tantō. Just before Karin reached him, he took a small leap backwards, focusing his wind chakra along the blade of his tantō. He pulled out the tantō in a single, fluid motion. Upon seeing the blade, Karin immediately stopped and began to reverse direction – out of fear, he thought for a split moment, when he suddenly heard something hissing behind him.
Still looking directly at Karin, Naruto saw the tips of her lips curl up into a small smile, and in the same split second, saw belatedly that her hands were in the 'Snake' hand seal. Then, before he even had enough time to widen his eyes, there was a loud explosion as the exploding tags behind him detonated.
...
AN :
If I get one more person complaining about how Naruto found out he's a jinchūriki in the last few chapters... lol. I don't have short-term memory loss. It's part of the story.
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