Another path

The first trial - part 2

< Hello everyone ! How are you all doing ? Good I hope ! I know I ghosted over some fights in the previous chapter but it is really long to write one and the chapters would become endless if I did write them all. So I just write the most important ones, I hope you don't mind.
Anyway, I don't own Naruto but I own my OC and I wish you all a nice day ! >

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After team Kakashi went back up, a team from Iwa - Koe - and one from Kiri - Shayô - were called down the arena.
At first, team Koe seemed to have the upper hand and quickly knocked out one of the other team's shinobi. However, it didn't last long : Shayô, who was the Mizukage's protégée, suddenly changed in attitude and her speed, strength and precision grew up to the point not even four jônin could stop her, a fourteen years old chūnin. With Chôjūrô's help, she wiped their opponents away in six minutes. Nobody could tell how she managed to undergo such a drastic change in so little time.

With that match done with, it was up to team Ao from Kiri and team Temari from Suna. The teams were equal in terms of power and strategy, leading to a very interesting battle. Water and wind clashed violently as only Temari and Ao stood in the arena, their students since long knocked out. The fifteen minutes went by and it was only thanks to her ability to strike first that Temari made it to the next part of the tournament.

Next were team Gai and Matsuri. The new team Gai consisted of Gai himself, Lee, Neji and Sai, a boy from the Root. They faced Matsuri, Sari, Yukata and Mikoshi. The team from Suna did try to put up a fight but ended up being defeated in a matter of seconds.
Gaara still had a proud smile on his face though as he saw the determination the four chūnin had shown.

Then, the screen showed the two next teams to battle : team Kumo vs team Kushina. Suzuka recognized one of the shinobi from Hoshi, a boy named Sumaru whom her team had helped in the past. He seemed to have grown up fine and he smiled a lot more than he used to. She watched him with a sorry look as she knew how it would end.
Despite his mastering of the Mysterious Peacock Method which allowed him to fly, the combined force of two Uzumaki and an Uchiha proved to be more than he could handle. When his sensei, Kumo, got knocked out by Tetsuya, he knew there was nothing left he could do. He managed to harm them a bit using some fire jutsu but with Sasuke's affinity for fire and Tetsuya's mastery of Suiton, his attacks were almost useless. Because of the lack of synchronicity between the members of team Kushina, it took more time than necessary to win, but ten minutes after the battle had started, Kushina finally knocked Sumaru out.
The people from Konoha cheered loudly for their "prodigy", even Sakura despite her being part of the team.
Suzuka closed her eyes and spoke softly to her sensei :

" - It's disappointing. They're not even serious opponents...

- Unfortunately, it seems they haven't learned what a team is supposed to be.

Shikamaru, who had heard them, gazed back down and watched his fellow shinobi bask in the admiration of Sasuke's fan club. It was unsightly... He noticed how the "last" Uchiha stared at Suzuka with a smug smirk, probably expecting her to acknowledge his victory. He also saw how his expression morphed into a snarl when she pointedly ignored him.
Only six teams were left to go : first was the battle between team Rina from Kiri and team Megumi from Uzushio.
Megumi was a beautiful teal blue haired woman with golden eyes. While she looked gentle and even frail, she was a taijutsu specialist and the members of team Rina dearly regretted underestimating her.
However, what truly shocked Konoha was when they noticed a familiar pair of white eyes on the face of one of Megumi's students.

- I-is that- !

- It's the byakugan !

- How is that possible ?! How can a girl from Uzushio have it ?!

- They stole it ! That wretched demon and her offspring must have stolen it from a corpse, or worse : they abducted a child to have it !

The air went freezing and people started to choke as the aura exuding from Kurama became suffocating. She answered in a voice coated in venom :

- You'd rather ask the elders of the Hyūga clan how Hakuchô ended up in the Wave country on her own in the first place and why she did. It's a most fascinating tale...

Hyūga Hiashi flinched as he heard the name of the young girl, confirming his suspicions. Hinata and Neji looked at him with curiosity and he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid their questions.
Silence was made once again and as expected, Uzushio won by a landslide.

Neji watched the dark haired Hyūga walk back up as he wondered what happened to her and if her story was similar to his. It appeared to him as though Uzushio was a refuge for people who had either left or been casted out of their village. It really upheld Suzuka and Tenten's ideals. He couldn't say so out loud but he was both proud and happy for them.

His attention was brought back to the tournament by a loud "Hajime" as he saw two teams he identified as team Kurotsuchi and Shira running toward each other.
Like every battle so far, the last ones standing were the interesting shinobi. Shira seemed to be able to go against Lee without a problem and that was quite something. His Silent Fist technique was remarkable and the Seven Heavens Breathing Method oddly resembled Gai and Lee's Eight Gates.
On the other side, there were Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter and Akatsuchi, said Tsuchikage's bodyguard. Kurotsuchi's lava techniques and Akatsuchi's earth golems made it hard for Shira to approach them but whenever he did, even someone as important as Akatsuchi would be sent flying. The battle kept going but when the fifteen minutes were up, Shira still hadn't managed to knock either one of them out and thus lost.

Finally, it was time for the last match :

Team Fū vs team Kurenai.

Kurenai, Hinata, Shino and Kiba went down in the arena and then looked up to watch their opponents come.
They didn't expect a green haired girl to fly down in front of them. The wings on her back weren't made of chakra - or at least didn't seem to be - and it left them puzzled. Three jônin joined behind her and they all took a stance as they waited for the referee.

- Ready ?... Hajime ! "

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< Next chapter is the fight between Fū's team and Kurenai's and then onto the second trial ! Thanks for reading ! >