Naruto vaulted over the guardrail and dropped into the arena. A glowing orange traffic cone landed hard enough to kick dust around his sandals. Making her way down from the balcony, Temari rested her massive fan against one shoulder and watched him straighten with a growing sense of irritation. Naruto looked her up and down as she sauntered into the main floor—the blonde hair, confident posture, giant weapon—and his grin slowly widened.
"I couldn't have asked for a better match."
Temari raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing." Naruto scratched his cheek. "Just wondering if you're doing anything after this."
A collective silence settled over the balcony.
Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Is he serious?"
"Unfortunately," Sasuke muttered.
Temari slowly opened her fan. "I'm going to kill you."
Naruto brightened. "So that's a maybe?"
Several people above sweat dropped.
Hayate coughed into his fist before stepping between them. He looked toward Naruto, then Temari, before apparently deciding that the sooner this started, the sooner he could stop listening to them. His hand dropped.
"Begin."
Temari moved first.
Her fan opened completely before swinging across her body, sending a violent blast of wind ripping through the arena. Naruto immediately created four Shadow Clones and scattered, but Temari adjusted without hesitation. One sweeping gust tore through all four clones before slamming into Naruto and forcing him to skid backward.
POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!
Naruto stared at the empty space where his clones had been.
"...You killed my entire family."
Temari blinked. "They were clones."
"They had dreams."
Temari's eye twitched.
Naruto grinned.
"You're cute when you're angry."
"TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!" Sakura screamed from above.
"I AM!"
"YOU'RE FLIRTING!"
Naruto pointed toward Temari. "PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE!"
Temari swung again.
Naruto dove sideways.
"SHIT!"
Kiba burst out laughing.
Naruto rolled back onto his feet, his expression becoming slightly more serious as he studied Temari. Getting close was going to be difficult. Her fan gave her control over practically the entire arena, and even his clones weren't lasting long enough to create a meaningful opening.
Fine.
If she wanted to use wind—
Naruto could use wind too.
His hands formed a seal.
Chakra surged through his body.
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
Air began rotating around him, quickly building into a tight spiral. Naruto grinned as the current accelerated, already imagining Temari's face when he countered her wind with his own.
Then the cyclone jerked sideways.
Naruto blinked.
"...Huh?"
The rotating air suddenly became uneven. One side accelerated while the other collapsed inward, causing the entire technique to violently twist around Naruto instead of away from him.
His eyes widened.
"Oh, cra—"
BOOM!
Naruto disappeared inside an explosion of wind.
When the dust cleared, he was lying flat on his back.
Silence.
Temari slowly lowered her fan.
"...Did you just attack yourself?"
Naruto raised one finger.
"No."
A pause.
"The wind attacked me."
Kiba nearly fell over the railing.
Even Temari's lips twitched.
Naruto sat upright, but his amusement quickly faded when he felt the mess that was his chakra network. The flow was restricted and uneven, like he was trying to force far too much water through a pipe that had suddenly become half its normal size.
Then he remembered.
Orochimaru.
The seal.
Ping
Warning.
Four Elements Seal Interference Detected.
Chakra Control/Efficiency: -40%
Elemental Nature Transformation Stability Reduced
Naruto stared at the notification.
"...Son of a bitch."
Temari raised her fan. "Planning on beating yourself so I don't have to?"
Naruto stood and brushed dust from his clothes.
"Keep talking like that and I'm gonna think you care about me."
The fan swung.
Naruto ran.
Wind tore across the arena behind him as his hand disappeared into his pouch. Ninjutsu was unreliable right now, but seals were different. They required chakra to activate, sure, but most of the actual work was already sitting there in ink.
Naruto pulled three tags free.
Temari saw them.
Her eyes narrowed.
Naruto held one up.
"Want my number?"
"No."
"Could've just said that."
Temari swung.
Naruto threw the tag.
The wind struck it halfway between them.
BOOM!
The minor concussive tag detonated, disrupting the gust just enough for Naruto to rush through the weakened current. He created two clones as he closed the distance, one going left while the other attacked directly.
Temari destroyed both.
But Naruto was already there.
SLAP!
His palm struck the bottom of her fan.
Temari jumped backward.
"What did you—"
The tag activated.
Her fan dropped a notch, her grip adjusting awkwardly.
Temari grunted as the weapon suddenly tilted towards the ground
Naruto grinned.
"Gravity seal."
Temari's eyes widened.
Then the tag burned away.
The weight disappeared.
Naruto's smile fell.
"...Working on the duration."
Temari slammed the folded fan into his stomach.
Naruto folded around it.
"HRK!"
He flew backward and crashed into the floor.
Temari rested the fan on her shoulder. "Work faster."
Naruto coughed.
"God, you're bossy."
Temari's eyebrow twitched.
"I like it."
Another blast launched him across the arena.
Above them, Sakura covered her face.
"He's going to die flirting."
Kakashi's visible eye curved slightly. "There are worse ways."
Sakura stared at him.
Naruto forced himself upright again, blood running from several shallow cuts across his arms. He couldn't keep doing this. Temari had range, power, and enough control over the battlefield that every straightforward approach ended with him getting launched into something.
His eyes dropped toward his remaining tags.
Then toward the floor.
Naruto paused.
Gravity seals made things heavier.
At least—
That was how he'd been using them.
His eyes slowly widened.
Temari raised her fan.
Naruto grinned.
"There it is."
Temari frowned. "What?"
"My winning idea."
"That's a concerning sentence."
Naruto rushed forward.
Temari swung.
Instead of fighting the wind, Naruto jumped directly into it.
"What?!"
The gust caught him and launched him sideways across the arena. Naruto twisted in midair and slapped a Gravity Seal and barrier seal against the wall as he passed before crashing into the ground.
Temari stared.
Naruto immediately stood.
"Again!"
"You're insane."
"Probably!"
Another gust came.
Naruto let it carry him.
Another seal landed.
Then another.
Temari's eyes narrowed as Naruto bounced around the arena like an orange pinball, taking hit after hit while seemingly accomplishing absolutely nothing. The audience watched in equal parts confusion and horror as he deliberately allowed Temari's wind to reposition him.
Sakura stared.
"What is he doing?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"...Something stupid."
Shikamaru leaned forward.
"Maybe."
Naruto landed hard near the center of the arena.
Three Gravity Seals surrounded Temari.
Three on the floor.
Two along the walls, gravity and barrier alike.
Temari finally noticed.
Her eyes widened.
Naruto formed a hand sign.
"Gotcha."
The seals activated.
Temari immediately braced herself for the increased weight.
It didn't come.
Instead—
Her body lurched sideways.
"What?!"
The seal on the wall pulled at her.
Then the opposite seal activated.
Her balance shifted again.
Naruto's eyes widened with excitement.
It worked.
The Gravity Seals didn't have to make something heavier toward the ground.
When combined with a barrier tag, they pulled toward whatever surface they were attached to.
Naruto activated the seals attached to Temari's fan
Temari's arms pulled, her sandals skidding across the ground as her fan flew from her palms.
BOOM!
The metal war fan remained within a crater formed from it crashing into Naruto's barrier/gravity seal combination.
Her eyes widened.
Naruto charged.
Temari abandoned the fan, it was too far from her central location in the fighting floor.
She punched.
Naruto ducked.
Her knee caught his ribs.
He grunted but grabbed her arm, twisting just enough to move behind her.
A final tag appeared in his hand.
SLAP!
Naruto stuck it between her shoulder blades.
Temari froze.
"...You wouldn't."
Naruto grinned.
"Call me handsome."
"No."
"Worth a shot."
The seal activated.
Temari was yanked backward.
"YOU LITTLE—!"
Naruto released her arm as she flew toward the wall. The seal burned out halfway there, but the sudden pull destroyed her footing long enough for Naruto to follow.
Temari twisted around, sharp and suddenly. Her vision was not on her opponent for a second, she had to regain sight for whatever came next.
Naruto appeared in front of her new position.
A kunai stopped against her chest, his eyes slightly widening. The particular spot his kunai was pressed against was not his intended target.
Silence.
Both of them breathed heavily.
Naruto's jacket was torn, his arms bleeding, and his hair somehow looked even worse than normal. Temari wasn't much better, sweat running down her forehead as she looked from the kunai toward Naruto. His eyes were glancing down unabashed.
For once, Naruto didn't speak.
Temari raised an eyebrow.
"See something you like?"
Naruto smiled, finally meeting her eyes.
"So... dinner?"
The entire balcony sweat dropped.
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, NARUTO!" Sakura screamed.
Temari stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly—
She laughed.
It was short, barely more than a breath, but Naruto heard it.
His eyebrows shot upward.
"Was that a yes?"
"Win the Chunin Exams first."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"WAIT, SERIOUSLY?!"
Hayate coughed.
Naruto had completely forgotten he existed.
"Winner..."
Another cough.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto stared at him.
Then at Temari.
Then back at Hayate.
Both fists shot into the air.
"YES! I GOT A DATE!"
"The match," Hayate corrected.
Naruto paused.
"What?"
"You won the match."
"Oh."
Naruto considered this for approximately half a second.
Then his fists went back into the air.
"I won the match and got a date!"
His blonde opponent rolled her eyes, a smile twitching in the corner of her lips. As she made her way toward her jonin sensei and family, her hips swayed more than they should. Naruto's gaze was drawn, his fist slowly lowering from his previous outburst.
Gulp
Maybe foreign relations weren't so complicated after all.
A familiar blue screen appeared before his eyes, blocking his impure thoughts in the process.
Ping
Combat against a skilled opponent completed.
+3 Endurance
+1 Agility
+2 Intelligence
+40 System Points
+1 Guaranteed Rare item box
Advanced Fūinjutsu Experience Gained LVL 1 (1/10) -> LVL 1 (4/10)
Naruto's eyes moved toward the Gravity Seals scattered across the damaged arena. For once, the system hadn't given him the answer. He'd taken something he already knew and found a new way to use it.
His grin softened slightly. It felt good. His understanding of his abilities and the context in which he could use to gain an advantage was becoming more apparent. Creativity and inspiration; his system wasn't a diagram to follow, more of a complex cookbook. What skill combination would give him the edge to win?
He'd need all the ingenuity he could muster to prepare for the storm waiting in the near future.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki
Village: Konohagakure
Rank: Experienced Genin
Stats
Strength: 65
Agility: 77
Endurance: 76 (+10%)
Intelligence: 76
Charisma: 56
Luck: 12
System Points: 300
Inventoryxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Damaged Uzumaki Record (Fragment)
2 Soldier Pills - stamina/chakra boost at cost of extreme fatigue
2 Skill Experience Packs (Small)
Flash Anklet - 20% move speed buff for 60 seconds, 300 second cooldown
Chakra Stabilization Band: +15% experience boost to Chakra Control training
Uzumaki Vital Surge Capsule: +50% END/AGI Special interaction. Massive chakra boost
12 Free lottery Spins
1 Rare item box
Skillsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Trap Making – LVL 5 (18/50)
Academy Taijutsu – LVL 6 (59/60)
Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu – LVL 1 (1/10)
Shadow Shuriken Jutsu LVL 3 (24/30)
Tree Walking LVL MAX
Water Walking LVL 1 (5/10)
Advanced Fuinjutsu LVL 1 (4/10)
Wind Release: Cyclone LVL 6 (0/60)
Wind Release: Gale Pierce LVL 4 (48/40)
Water Release: Tidal Wave — LVL 4 (02/40)