Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

Jinchuriki

Chapter 20: Jinchuriki

I stood opposite my opponent, a lanky teen named Akemi from the Sand Village. He immediately came at me with a kunai in both hands. I easily dodged his attack by moving well out of his way. I remained still until he came at me again and then swiftly ran to the other side of the arena. After several minutes of this, my adversary became frustrated.

"Quit running around like that and fight me!" he said.

"I am fighting you," I said calmly. There was no use attacking if I could wear him out by dodging his own moves.

After I thought I developed a sufficient routine, I turned my back on Akemi, focusing on his chakra to pinpoint his location. I quickly made hand signs and turned to him when he was almost upon me. A lightning bolt shot out of my hand, sending him flying across the room. He appeared daze as his slowly stood up, and I was on him in a flash, using taijutsu to beat him back down.

Akemi did not stand a chance. He kept up with my fists at first, but I soon overwhelmed him by the speed and quantity of my punches. He eventually passed out on the floor in defeat. I smirked when I was declared the victor. I smiled as Naruto and Sakura cheered for me. I did it. I was moving onto the third exam.

I returned to the stands, finding Naruto off to the side. He grinned when he saw me. "Great job, Katsumi! You made it look easy."

I smiled. "I got lucky with my opponent."

"Not bad," Kankuro said as he approached us. "You really do move like a cat. Why didn't use use that fancy shield of yours?"

"I couldn't. Right now at least, I can only get it to work when I have no other choice but to use it to prevent death. You saw how easily I could dodge that guy's moves. There was no need for a shield."

Kankuro frowned. "So, you knew Gaara could kill you the entire time? What, are you into putting yourself in life-threatening situations to use your shield?"

I rolled my eyes. "More like I feel confident going into life-threatening situations because I can use my shield."

Kankuro shook his head. "Whatever works for you. Hey, what's wrong with your buddy?"

I glanced at Naruto, taking in his unusually forlorn expression. "I don't know. Naruto, are you alright?" He was watching the battlefield as Gaara and Lee took their places to face each other.

"I'm fine," Naruto said. "I'm just thinking about what Neji said. About destiny and all that."

"Don't worry about that. He was wrong, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I want to prove it to him."

I smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll get your chance in the finals." And I looked forward to seeing it.

Naruto smiled slightly in return. "I guess you're right."

"You two, watch this," Kankuro said, nodding at the field. "That kid doesn't stand a chance against Gaara."

Naruto stared right at Lee. "Wrong. Lee's stronger than you think. You have no idea."

"No matter how strong he is, he can't beat Gaara. Even Katsumi knows it."

Naruto looked at me, and I clenched my hands around the railing. "Can Lee beat him?" I said in a low voice. "I'm just hoping he can survive against him." I ignored his dejected look. He had not seen what I had. "Anyway, I don't see a way he can win. Lee relies solely on taijutsu, but he'll never touch Gaara with his sand protecting him."

"His sand?" said Naruto.

"Just watch."

Lee ran straight at Gaara, but sand flew out of Gaara's gourd and formed a wall to protect him. This did not deter Lee, who continued to manuvor around the field, trying to get past the barrier. No matter what he tried, the sand got in the way, even deflecting his kunai. All the while, Gaara did not so much move a muscle.