An Itachi Fanfiction

Preliminary Rounds - Part 2

The next fight was with Shikamaru and that other Sound girl, Kin. Shikamaru tried the Shadow Possession Jutsu but Kin easily evaded and threw some senbon with bells attached at him. Kin then rang the bells on the senbon. Shikamaru seemed to be paralysed on the spot while Kin proceeded to attack him with more senbon. However, it wasn't long before she realised that she couldn't move. Shikamaru told her that he extended his Shadow Possession Jutsu through the shadow of the wires she was holding. He then threw a shuriken at Kin, which she imitated. When Shikamaru ducked backwards to evade it, Kin was forced to imitate him, but she didn't realise that she was too close to the wall, hitting her head and knocking herself out, declaring Shikamaru the winner.

The next battle was with Naruto and Kiba. Kiba decided to bring his dog, Akamaru, to the fight. Naruto quickly gained the upper hand by using Kiba's overconfidence against him. Once Kiba calmed down, he regained control of the fight. He and Akamaru consumed food pills that restored and doubled their chakra. Once powered up, Kiba and Akamaru used a combination of two Jutsu to overwhelm Naruto. Using Kiba's own smokescreen as a cover, Naruto disguised himself as a third Kiba using the Transformation Jutsu and tricked Kiba into knocking Akamaru out, which only seemed to anger Kiba. Naruto was still at a disadvantage due to Kiba's pill-enhanced chakra and superior speed. Naruto seemed to be preparing a winning move when he accidentally farted in Kiba's face. The whole room was speechless. The 'accident' only ended in a disastrous effect on Kiba's account due to his enhanced sense of smell. Naruto then finished the battle with a Jutsu he based off of Sasuke's winning move using his shadow clones, winning the match.

The next battle was with Neji Hyūga and Hinata Hyūga, who were apparently cousins. The match started and Neji tried intimidating his cousin, saying that she was too kind and gentle to be a ninja. Hinata seemed to listen to Neji, ready to forfeit when he continued insulting her. I gripped the railing. If I could, I would go down there and slap him. Not for insulting Hinata, but because of what he said. "People can't change their true nature". I glanced up at my father as he said that. Naruto cheered Hinata on, seeming to give her the strength to fight back. Hinata and Neji fought each other using the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist style. Pulling back Hinata's sleeve, Neji revealed that he hit several special pressure points that produce and maintain the flow of chakra, during their fight. With that, Hinata's chakra flow to her hand was cut off. Neji continued to attack her, but Hinata refused to back down. Neji attempted a fatal blow, but four Jounin stopped him. Hinata collapsed into cardiac arrest shortly after.

I rushed over to her. "Can you heal her?" Sakura asked, looking up at me.

I shook my head. "There's little I can do for internal injuries. She needs a professional". Just as I said that, the paramedics came and took her away. We watched her get carried away then went back to our spots so the next match could begin.

Kankurō made his way over to our side of the room where he watched the match. I was very unsure about the next match: Gaara and Rock Lee. Everyone knew how strong Gaara was and I was very worried about Rock Lee, although I was very interested in seeing Gaara fight. Lee began the fight by attacking with Taijutsu, but his attacks were blocked by Gaara's Sand. To get through Gaara's Shield of Sand, Guy Sensei allowed Lee to remove his leg weights. After doing so, Lee seemed to get faster and he managed to hit on Gaara, only to discover his body was coated in sand.

Suddenly, I could sense something. My eyes widened and I started shaking. "What the heck?" Naruto looked at me confused. "I can sense the bloodlust from here! Just what is he?" Kankurō didn't answer but I could tell he was nervous.

Lee opened the first of the Eight Inner Gates and launched Gaara into the air with several kicks. Lee caught Gaara with his bandages, then used the Front Lotus on him, only to discover he used it on a Substitution. Gaara reappeared and fought Lee, who was weak from using his Front Lotus. Lee recovered quickly, demonstrating his ability to open the Second Gate. He then powered himself up by opening the Third Gate. Lee seemed to overpower Gaara, and his sand was no longer able to form a shield fast enough to be of use. Lee opened the Fifth Gate and used his most powerful attack, Reverse Lotus. Gaara survived this final blow due to him softening his fall by turning his gourd into sand, and used the sand to crush Lee's left arm and leg. Gaara moved his sand to finish Lee, but Guy Sensei jumped in to protect him. Guy Sensei intervening cost Lee the match.

We all rushed to Lee, who was unconscious. I quickly kneeled down next to him and tried to heal him. I noticed how most people were surprised that a Genin my age knew Medical Ninjutsu. After a moment, I stopped. I looked up at my friends surrounding us. "I did my best. He'll live for now, but he needs to get treated by a professional. I wasn't able to do much because of how severe his injuries are, but I will say this. There is a chance that straining his body as much as he did will have severe consequences". I cast a nervous glance at Gaara. I overheard one of the paramedics say that he would never be able to fight as a ninja again. I looked down at him sadly and watched as they took him away. We then got ready for the final match.

The final match was between Chōji and that last Sound guy, Dosu. It wasn't long before Chōji lost. I felt kinda sorry for him, but at least he tried.

The ten victors were asked to come down to the lower levels for our next instructions. "Now I will begin the explanation of the final rounds," the Hokage started. "In the final rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display. You'll demonstrate the power and control you've achieved in your respective disciplines. The final battles will commence one month from now. This is to provide a suitable period for preparation. Before we can bring this to an end, there is one more matter we must take care of for the final round". He asked us to take a piece of paper from a box.

I opened the piece of paper and saw the number 8. They explained that that was how they would determine who we were fighting. Judging from the numbers, it sounded like I was supposed to fight Temari in the first round. I had no problems with that, I wanted to get the chance to fight the Sand Siblings anyways. After that, we were dismissed.