Inside the central tower the air was cool and smelled of old paper and incense.
Uehara Naraku stood in the center of a large tatami room. Beside him Shigure and Baiu held the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
"Open them" Uehara ordered.
His teammates nodded and unrolled the scrolls simultaneously.
POOF.
A cloud of white smoke erupted from the parchment. A figure materialized from the smoke. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and had a scar running across his nose.
Iruka Umino.
"Congratulations!" Iruka smiled warmly. "You have passed the second exam. I am Chunin Iruka Umino here to guide you to the next stage."
He looked at the three Rain ninjas.
"You are the first team to arrive" Iruka noted checking his watch. "And you did it in record time. Impressive."
"We like to be efficient" Uehara said. "So Iruka sensei can we skip the inspirational speech about the Heaven and Earth principles? I am tired and I want a shower."
Iruka blinked surprised by the bluntness. Usually candidates were eager to hear the wisdom of the village.
"Ah well... yes" Iruka scratched his head. "If you understand the meaning behind it then there is no need to repeat it. Go upstairs. There are rooms prepared for you. You must wait there until the other teams arrive."
"Thank you" Uehara walked past Iruka. "Come on boys. Time to rest."
For the next four days Team Rain lived in luxury inside the tower while the forest outside turned into a slaughterhouse.
Uehara spent his time browsing the System Store planning his next build path. With Sorcerer's Shoes and Rylai's Crystal Scepter he was effectively a high damage control mage. He just needed more raw power.
On the fifth day the final deadline arrived.
A buzzer sounded throughout the tower summoning all passing teams to the main hall.
Uehara walked into the large arena like hall. It was a wide open space with a statue of giant hands forming a seal in the background. The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the podium flanked by Jonin instructors.
Uehara scanned the surviving teams.
Team 7 looked battered. Sasuke had dark bruises and was clutching his neck where the curse mark lay hidden. Naruto looked exhausted but energetic. Sakura looked traumatized.
Team Guy was there standing tall and confident. Neji Hyuga looked bored. Rock Lee was doing pushups.
Team 8 with Shino Kiba and Hinata looked nervous.
Team 10 with Shikamaru Choji and Ino looked hungry.
The Sand Siblings stood in a corner radiating malice. Gaara was staring at Uehara again his sand shifting restlessly in the gourd.
And of course the Sound Village team led by Dosu Kinuta.
"Welcome" Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke his voice old but powerful. "First of all congratulations on surviving the Forest of Death."
He looked over the crowd.
"However before we proceed to the Third Exam I have an announcement. The Third Exam is a tournament attended by lords and dignitaries from all nations. It is a substitute for war. A display of strength."
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe.
"Because so many of you survived this year we have too many candidates for the main tournament. Therefore we must hold a Preliminary Round immediately."
"Immediately?!" Kiba shouted. "We just finished running for five days! We need a break!"
"Those who are not fit to fight may withdraw" a sickly looking proctor stepped forward. He had dark circles under his eyes and coughed constantly.
"I am Hayate Gekko" the proctor coughed. "I will be overseeing the preliminaries. Does anyone want to quit?"
Silence filled the room. No one wanted to give up after coming this far.
Slowly a hand went up.
"I quit."
Everyone turned. It was Kabuto Yakushi the veteran Genin.
"Kabuto san?" Naruto gasped. "Why?!"
"I am sorry Naruto" Kabuto smiled apologetically clutching his ear. "My body is at its limit. I can't hear out of my left ear since the fight with the Sound ninjas. I will try again next year."
"That is a lie" Uehara thought watching Kabuto. "He is quitting to report to Orochimaru. And to avoid exposing his true skills."
Kabuto walked away leaving his two teammates Yoroi and Misumi behind.
"Anyone else?" Hayate asked.
No one moved.
"Very well" Hayate pointed to the large electronic board on the wall. "The matches will be one on one. The names will be chosen randomly. The winner advances. The loser goes home."
The electronic board flickered to life. Names scrolled rapidly blurring into lines of light.
Spin... Spin... Spin...
The names stopped.
Match 1: Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado
"Sasuke!" Naruto cheered. "You are up first!"
Sasuke stepped forward wincing as the curse mark pained him. Yoroi a ninja from Kabuto's team smirked behind his sunglasses.
"Everyone else clear the floor" Hayate ordered. "Go to the upper balcony."
Uehara walked up the stairs to the viewing platform leaning against the railing next to the Sand Siblings.
"Nice view isn't it?" Uehara asked Gaara.
Gaara ignored him his eyes fixed on the match below.
"Begin!" Hayate shouted.
The fight started. Yoroi immediately rushed Sasuke using a chakra absorption technique. Sasuke unable to use Ninjutsu due to the curse mark was forced into hand to hand combat.
It was a struggle. Sasuke was weakened and in pain. But in the end he copied Rock Lee's Taijutsu.
"Lion's Barrage!"
Sasuke kicked Yoroi into the air and slammed him down with a spinning heel drop. Yoroi hit the concrete and didn't get up.
"Winner: Sasuke Uchiha" Hayate announced.
Kakashi immediately took Sasuke away to seal the curse mark.
"Boring" Uehara yawned. "I wanted to see the curse mark explode."
The board spun again.
Match 2: Shino Aburame vs Zaku Abumi
The bug user versus the sound user with air tubes in his arms. Shino won easily clogging the tubes with beetles and making Zaku's arms explode.
"Gross" Temari wrinkled her nose.
"Effective" Kankuro muttered.
The board spun for the third time.
Uehara watched the lights. He felt a premonition.
Beep.
Match 3: Uehara Naraku vs Kiba Inuzuka
"Oh?" Uehara straightened up. "Me? And against the dog boy?"
Across the balcony Kiba grinned wildly. Akamaru the small white dog barked on his head.
"Alright!" Kiba shouted jumping over the railing. "We got an easy one Akamaru! It is the raincoat guy!"
Uehara walked down the stairs slowly his boots clicking on the metal steps.
"Don't be too confident Kiba" Shino warned from the side. "That guy defeated the Sound team alone."
"Yeah yeah" Kiba waved him off. "I will crush him in five seconds! Fang Over Fang!"
Uehara landed in the arena. He looked at Kiba and the small dog.
"So it is a two on one?" Uehara asked Hayate.
"Ninja hounds are considered tools" Hayate coughed. "It is allowed."
"Fair enough" Uehara nodded. "Then I will use my tools too."
He drew a deck of cards.
"Ready?" Hayate raised his hand.
Kiba got into a four legged stance his chakra flaring. Akamaru turned red transforming into a beast clone.
"I am going to tear that coat off you!" Kiba snarled.
"Try it puppy" Uehara smirked. Rylai's Crystal Scepter activated coating his aura in an invisible frost.
"Begin!"
"Man Beast Clone! Fang Over Fang!"
Kiba and Akamaru spun like tornadoes drilling through the air towards Uehara with enough force to shatter stone.
Uehara didn't move. He watched the tornadoes approach.
"Too linear" Uehara whispered.
He raised a single card. A Gold Card.
"Sit."
He threw the card.
It flew straight into the spinning vortex of Kiba.
PING!
The sound was crisp.
The tornado stopped instantly. Kiba froze in mid air his momentum completely arrested by the stun. He dropped to the ground like a rock rigid as a statue.
Akamaru seeing his master frozen tried to correct his course but Uehara was already moving.
"Wild Cards."
Three icy blue cards slashed Akamaru.
Yelp!
The dog was hit by the magical damage and the slowing effect. He tumbled across the floor shivering from the sudden cold unable to stand back up.
The stun on Kiba wore off. He scrambled to his feet confused.
"What happened? Why did I stop?"
"Because I told you to" Uehara stood in front of him holding a Red Card inches from Kiba's nose.
"Good dog" Uehara smiled.
BOOM!
The explosion sent Kiba flying across the arena crashing into the wall right below where Team 8 was standing. He slid down unconscious smoke rising from his fur jacket.
Silence filled the hall.
The fight had lasted ten seconds.
"Winner: Uehara Naraku" Hayate announced looking surprised.
"Too easy" Uehara dusted off his shoulder. "Next."
He looked up at the balcony directly at Gaara.
"See?" Uehara mouthed. "You are next."
Gaara's sand began to pour out of the gourd reacting to the challenge. The monster inside was waking up.
...
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!