Kapitel 29: Preliminaries
"The Foundation? Catchy name," I said with a snarky tone. I of course knew exactly what The Foundation was but I had to play dumb. The Foundation, or Root as it sometimes was called was a branch of the Hidden Leaf's ANBU. The Foundation was ruthless in its tactics and led by Danzo Shimura, someone who despised the Uchiha clan. He stole Shisui Uchiha's eye which foiled the plan to peacefully prevent the Uchiha coup. That's what made me pause, why we're Isori and Migaki working for Danzo? They weren't ANBU, at least not yet anyway.
"Shut up, The Foundation will kill you," said Isori.
"They aren't exactly doing a very good job if it so far," I bluntly told him. Isori flinched and I saw his face twist in anger but he stopped himself. He knew better than to provoke me further.
"Why is The Foundation trying to kill me? Skip the lying, I don't have time for it," I said to him. Isori gave a defiant look which I quickly wiped from his face by tightening my grip on him.
"You're a threat to everyone around you, even your own village. We can't have you rampaging in the Hidden Leaf and killing innocents," spat Isori. I had to admit it was solid thinking, Danzo wasn't going to be taking any chances with me. What I still didn't get though was what Kiruno, Isori, and Migaki were doing working under Danzo. I knew whatever it was wouldn't be good, that man's intentions never have been. Also, did Kiruno warn me to stay away from Isori and Migaki because Danzo ordered her to? That didn't really make sense because Isori and Migaki were then sent to kill me. She must have done it on her own accord, looking out for her children. That gained a little pity from me, she must be under Danzo's thumb. Judging from how Isori acted about The Foundation, Danzo has him completely brainwashed into following him.
"Tell The Foundation to leave me alone, because if they don't I will rampage through this village. I'll rip it apart until everyone who wants me dead is a corpse," I threatened. Probably not the best threat but I didn't care. I wanted The Foundation off my back and maybe after this failed assassination attempt, they would back off a little.
"What do Migaki and Toziwa know about this?"
"They received the same orders like me," said Isori with a bloody cough. All three of them working for Danzo then. That wasn't very good, I needed to find a way to tell them the truth about that monster. He was probably using them for their powers they possessed. Right now though I had to finish the chunin exams. I tossed Isori roughly, causing him to skid and roll across the ground. I canceled the rest of my partial transformation, I didn't want to wear Shukaku out any further. I hurried over to Temari and Kankuro who were leaning on each other for support. Using my iron sand that had been left on the ground I grabbed them both gently. I lifted them into the air, neither of them containing due to exhaustion. I didn't want to know how long they had to fend for themselves while I was fighting Toziwa, or when I was fighting the ninjas sent by Danzo.
"You two alright," I asked worriedly. I set them level with my waist so they could look up at me. Kankuro let out a barely audible chuckle, Temari merely winced further.
"Here I was thinking we weren't going to get any action," said Kankuro sarcastically. I forcefully smiled at his comment to make him feel better. If only he could see what I could see, he was completely torn up. A long gash ran across his chest, bloody knuckles from fighting and a singed face. Temari wasn't looking much better, her wound had been slashed back open, limiting her movement and causing immense pain.
"I'm sorry," I said with a crack in my voice. Both Kankuro and Temari froze at what I said and looked at me sternly.
"Don't apologize Gaara, it's not your fault. You did your best to protect us and that's all that matters," said Temari sweetly. Kankuro nodded stiffly in agreement, both of them putting on tough acts to seem like their injuries weren't that bad.
"Gaara, could you grab Crow for me, please? I think he's lying over there," Kankuro said as he weakly pointed past me. I turned and found the charred remains of Crow a few yards away. I delicately picked it up with my sand and brought it over to Kankuro. His eyes glimmered in gratefulness when he saw it at first but was snuffed out when he looked closer. Kankuro looked at Crow, his expression reading he was absolutely crushed by its destruction. Isori's fire style hadn't been merciful in any regard to the puppet.
"We can fix it when we get to the Tower," I said in an attempt to make him feel better. Kankuro nodded his head numbly before laying his head back on my iron sand cloud.
"This isn't over yet," said a ragged voice. I turned and found Migaki along with Toziwa stumbling out of the forest. Both looked half-dead, with Toziwa gently crawling his right arm. It looked dislocated from where I was standing, an injury from me throwing him probably.
"Toziwa and Isori are almost dead and you're not doing much better. We can call it a draw and walk away to fight another day," I suggested to her. Migaki grimaced, not backing down in the slightest. I sighed and raised my sand that I had abandoned on the ground to form intimidating walls.
"Last chance, walk away now or I put you within an inch of death," I told her. Migaki looked at the sand and then slumped in defeat. She motioned to Toziwa and he backed off too. I could tell he was grateful Migaki hadn't chosen to fight me.
"You fought well," I said offhandedly. Migaki didn't even nod, she looked far too disappointed to even take the compliment. I recalled all of my sand to my scrolls except the iron sand I was using to carry Kankuro and Temari, as well as the sand in my gourd. Then I began to walk toward the Tower with my two siblings floating beside me. I heard Migaki and Toziwa rush over to check on Isori, I didn't understand how they could care about such an evil person.
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"We're here," I said tiredly. It had been a long walk to the Tower from the clearing we had battled in. Several massive animals had also slowed me down throughout the journey. The Gaara from the anime made it to the Tower in an hour and thirty-seven minutes. It had taken me around three hours to get here with both scrolls. A lot worse than the original time but still a new record.
"Thanks for carrying us Gaara, not sure we would have made it otherwise," said Kankuro as he shakily stood up from his iron sand cloud. Temari was currently resting in her's she had lost too much blood to stand up. Hopefully, there would be some medical supplies for us to use inside the Tower.
"It's no problem Kankuro. Let's just get inside," I told him. Using my sand I retrieved both the Heaven scroll and Earth scroll from my gourd. I opened the door, breaking the seal and entering into the Tower. Kankuro and I walked in while I floated Temari in behind us.
We walked into a large room with a message on a sign on the wall. I didn't even bother reading it, I was too tired to act for this part. I began to unravel the scrolls which alarmed Kankuro.
"What are you doing Gaara? We aren't supposed to open those," he said worriedly. He rushed over to stop me but it was too late. Smoke already poured from the scrolls and I quickly tossed them onto the floor. A huge explosion of smoke happened and then a figure walked out of it. An unfamiliar Hidden Lead chunin stood in front of us, a smile on his face.
"Congrats, you've passed this part of the exam. In record time too," he said kindly. I merely nodded tiredly, I wasn't really in the mood for this right now. Kankuro still looked shocked someone had just appeared from the Heaven and Earth scroll.
"What do you want," asked Kankuro as he regained composure.
"Nothing, I'm just here to tell you good job on passing this part of the exam. You've got a while until the end of this section, so make yourself comfortable in the Tower until then," he said. With that, he vanished with another puff of smoke.
"What a weird guy," said Kankuro, a little confused.
"Let's find a room to camp out in," I told him as I began walking away. Temari floated behind me at my command. Kankuro quickly followed me after glancing at the scrolls once more. We walked on for quite some time, many rooms being filled with junk or boxes to the ceiling.
"Doesn't seem like there is anyone here, not even any proctors," commented Kankuro. The inside of the Tower was a dark and gloomy place for the most part. Room after room of furniture, desks, and random supplies. I wonder if it was built for the sole purpose of the chunin exams or if it had a purpose before that.
"There is still the rest of today and four more days after that until this test ends. We have quite some time before the next part of the exam," I said to Kankuro. He nodded and we searched several rooms for healing supplies. We finally stumbled across an abandoned infirmary that still had boxes of food pills in them.
"Divide them up between you and Temari for the next few days. We all need to be in top condition," I told him as I sat down on a bed. My body was absolutely killing me, there was a fiber in my body that wasn't hurting from the purple mist.
"You need some too Gaara, don't think you're fooling me," said Kankuro. I didn't bother arguing, it would take too much energy. I unstrapped my gourd from my back and laid down on the bed. Shukaku hadn't said a thing to me since the fight, I was starting to worry.
"Kankuro, I'm going to rest for a bit. Do you mind watching over Temari and me for a bit?"
"Sure, I need to work on Crow anyway," he said to me. I wasn't sure how much Kankuro could do to fix the poor puppet. I had carried it all the way to the Tower to keep Kankuro happy but it was basically garbage now. Only a few pieces of Crow if that could even be salvaged.
"Kankuro, maybe you should use the Sparrow puppet until we can get enough parts to replace Crow. I doubt there is anything here to use to fix him," I said to him. Kankuro flinched, looking at Crow in disagreement.
"You just wait and see Gaara, I'll get him working. You just rest," he said confidently.
I nodded, not totally reassured by his confidence but not wanting to crush him any further. I closed my eyes and entered deep into my mindscape.
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As usual, it was dark and damp inside my mindscape. I walked several dozen yards in ankle-deep water until I make it to the bars that held Shukaku back.
"Shukaku, are you there?"
A deep rumble occurred and then a large figure moved into the light. Shukaku peered at me from behind the bars. The first thing I noticed was that he didn't look like he normally did. Shukaku had several purple splotches all over himself, he was also breathing heavily.
"What do you want," grumbled Shukaku. He sounded quite irritated and I couldn't blame him for the condition he was in.
"I came to thank you for helping me Shukaku. I apologize for having you take so much of the toxic mist meant for me," I told him. Shukaku chuckled to himself, making me roll my eyes. Of course, he thought my serious thank you and apology were a joke.
"Don't worry yourself Gaara, it takes a lot more than a little mist to bring me down," hosted Shukaku with a hearty roar at the end. I narrowed my eyes, why was he so loud? I sat down in front of the bars which made Shukaku stop his laughter.
"What are you doing," asked Shukaku curiously. I almost smiled at how surprised he sounded. Was it really that crazy for me to stick around?
"I need to rest and I thought it would be nice to listen to a few more of your stories. We could also talk about other things if you wish," I said calmly. Shukaku looked at me, speechless from what I had just said.
"You really want to do that?"
Now it was my turn to be surprised. His tone held such uncertainty and shock. I looked at the Tailed Beast warily, was this some trick? Those thoughts quickly vanished when I looked closer at him, he looked worried if that was even possible. His gaze wouldn't meet mine either.
"Of course I do, why would I just sleep when I can talk to you while I rest? Your stories are quite interesting. Talking to you is very enlightening," I assured him. Some of that was a little bit of a lie but for the most part, it wasn't too far from the truth. I had enjoyed our last conversation when I had been recovering a while back and Shukaku's stories certainly weren't boring. Shukaku eyed me with a doubtful look before sinking to rest on his stomach.
"Very well then, we can converse about any subject you prefer," he told me begrudgingly.
"Before anything else, we need to talk about me borrowing your power," I said seriously. Shukaku raised an eyebrow, surprised by my statement.
"What about it?"
"I only plan to use it when absolutely necessary, nothing short of that," I said sternly.
"Good, I wouldn't let you do such a thing anyway," snorted Shukaku. At least we were on the same page.
"I know you and I have only recently started seeing eye to eye, I hope it continues," I said to him. I didn't want to push this conversation too far, asking for any more could be too risky.
"Don't screw up and I just might allow this to continue," said Shukaku threateningly.
"Don't worry, I won't. Now let's move into a good story," I told him. Shukaku grinned and then laughed.
"Why don't I tell you about Chomei the Seven Tails?"
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The next few days went by quickly, between recuperating and discussing strategy with Kankuro and Temari, as well talking to Shukaku about random things. I had to admit, that Shukaku was starting to grow on me even though his stories were a little outlandish. I could tell Shukaku was also growing fond of me from how he spoke to me, he definitely liked when I kept him company. Temari had now finally recovered for the most part with the help of the food pills we found. Kankuro and I also were back in prime condition. Kankuro and Temari spent a great deal of time discussing what the next part of the exam could be. I played along, acting as if I had no idea the next part would be one on one preliminary matches. I vaguely suggested it to them a few times but they thought it was crazy to hold preliminaries again. On the fifth day, there was a knock on our door. We had been packing our stuff back up since it was the fifth day. All of us quickly finished up and I opened the door. The same chunin who had greeted us upon opening the Heaven and Earth scrolls stood there with the same old smile.
"It's time for you to gather in the main hall. Lord Hokage will be talking about the next part of the exam soon," he told us both turning and walking off. Temari gave me a look of confusion.
"What's up with that guy?"
"You weren't awake for it, he was the one who greeted us when we made it to the Tower," I explained to her.
"Yeah, same creepy smile, same strange guy," interjected Kankuro.
"He's just being friendly," I told them. Kankuro and Temari both seemed unconvinced. Nevertheless, we swiftly followed the smiling chunin down the winding hallways. After a while, we made it to a large hall where dozens of Hidden Lead shinobi were gathered. The Third Hokage stood front and center, with Hayate Gekko and Anko next to him. Baki also stood in the background, along with the Hidden Sound shinobi that was actually Orochimaru. His snake-like eyes seemed to pierce right into me until they darted to someone else. I needed to be careful of him, there was too much I didn't know about the Konoha Crush.
"Get in line with everyone else," said the smiling chunin. We quickly lined up, with Dosu to my right and Kabuto to my left. I noticed Zaku had his arm in a sling, so I guess everything had gone the same as in the anime. Sasuke was also gripping his neck right where the Cursed Mark should be. I could see Orochimaru looking at Sasuke with an evil grin, something that was quite unsettling. Looking around, I was surprised to so Kohara's team and Isori's team standing with us. Though, several people looked like they were half dead. Isori himself looked like death was about to take him any minute. Toziwa clutched his arm tenderly, it looked far worse than when I had seen it earlier. I think I might have broken it instead of dislocated it. On Kohara's team, Mizuni was also looking half-dead. She had a bandage over her left eye and her left leg was splinted. Mizuni's normal creepy smile was instead an expression of suffering. I doubted she would continue on in her current condition.
"Now that everyone is here, I have something that I need to tell you about before the next exam that you need to understand," said Hiruzen seriously. This was quite the far cry from the usual smirking Hokage.
"Why do you suppose we hold these exams with our allies," asked Hiruzen rhetorically. I heard Naruto give an audible grunt of cluelessness, making me smile. Leave it to him to have no idea why these exams were actually held. The Third Hokage could rave on all he liked about peace and good relations but all true shinobi knew the real purpose.
"They increase friendship and strengthen relations between nations for sure, but you must understand the true reason," he said with a puff of smoke from his pipe.
"The exams are," he said before giving a dramatic pause. Could this old geezer spit it out already? I'd spent nearly four days waiting to fight Rock Lee, I didn't want to have I wait another four days waiting for this speech to end.
"They are a representation of the battle between allied nations," he finally said. I nearly groaned out loud as he then went on to explain in a little history lesson. Why were they explaining this now? I feel like everyone here should already understand this, the exams were basically a big televised advertisement by the final stage. Each Hidden Village vying for more power and a greater image in the eyes of possible clients. Maintaining a balance between nations was also a pretty big deal.
"Why do we have to go through this exam then. It's not like we're picking chunin to go fight," said Naruto. He did pose a food question, considering he was just learning all of this.
"There is no question that part of this exam is for selecting shinobi worthy of being chunin. But, it also allows for a place for shinobi to carry the pride of their nation on their backs," he explained. I nodded numbly, I was going to die of old age before I got to fight. He then continued to explain about many powerful people coming to watch the final stages of the exams to find ninjas that might be good to hire. He explained the entire gap of power between nations and military strength on a political scale. This was getting far too political for my liking.
"Even so, why is it necessary for us to risk our lives," asked Kiba angrily. At least I wasn't the inky one fed up with this whole speech.
"The country's strength is the village's strength, and the true strength of the shinobi is only achieved when it is pushed to its limits. This exam is a chance for each nation to display the strength of its shinobi," said Hiruzen. Once again, he explained in another long-winded explanation that almost put me to sleep.
"Why did you use the expression friendship before," asked Tenten with confusion.
"Do not forget the other meaning of these exams, this is a custom in which balance is preserved through fighting and dying. That is friendship in the shinobi world," he said bluntly. How cold of him to say such a thing.
"Any test us fine, just tell the details of the exam are already. I can handle whatever you throw at me," I said with irritation.
"Very well," said the Third Hokage. Hayate Gekko suddenly leaped from where he was standing and kneeled in front of the Third Hokage.
"Allow me to explain first, Lord Hokage," he said respectfully.
"So be it," said Hiruzen.
"There's something I need to say before the exam," he explained to us. Everyone perked their heads up and listened closely.
"We have to have a preliminary round before the actual exam," he said swiftly. Immediate outrage followed, Shikamaru especially.
"I don't see the point, why can't we just move on," asked Sakura with a perplexed look.
"You see, we didn't expect so many of you to make it past these previous exams. Twenty-seven of you to be precise, usually a number that's in the single digits," said Hayate.
"Is that fair," asked Sakura.
"At this stage, we need to speed things up. As Lord Hokage said, many important guests are coming to watch. They won't want anything but the best. If there are any of you who aren't in too physi-". Hayate abruptly stopped mid-sentence to let out a coughing fit.
"As I was saying, now's your chance to bow out. We will be starting the preliminary immediately," he finally said. More backlash followed, especially from Kiba and Shikamaru. They had arrived much later than most, they hadn't had as much time to recover.
"When do we eat," whined Choji. I frowned, he certainly wasn't the go-getter.
"The winners will be determined by one on one combat, sudden death," said Hayate. Sasuke suddenly gripped his shoulder tightly, a motion that caught my eye. Sakura and Naruto immediately began talking to him, Sakura looking quite worried. I then heard sudden muttering from Anko and Ibiki upfront. I then saw Kakashi Hatake interject into the conversation. All of this must be about the Curse Mark, a waste of breath in my opinion. Sasuke would fight no matter what, he was an Uchiha.
"You got me, I'm out," said Kabuto abruptly. I hadn't even noticed him raise his hand.
"Kabuto! You can't quit, what's going on," asked Naruto loudly.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but ever since that brush with the Sound ninja, I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear," I heard him say to Naruto. The conversation continued but I couldn't hear too much of it. All of this was of course a lie, Kabuto was bowing out because of Orochimaru.
"I'm out too," said Mizuni suddenly. She liked after Kabuto, her expression twisted in pain. The Hidden Sand jonin that was her team leader leaped over and helped the poor girl. I felt bad for her, making it so far only to have to bow out.
"I'm also done for," said Toziwa with frustration. He didn't seem too happy with his own decision but it was for the best with that arm of his. He needed to get that checked out soon. After a bit of waiting, Hayate stepped forward after realizing no one else would be leaving.
"Alright, now that is over, it's time for an explanation. The preliminary round will consist of one on one combat, there are twenty-four of you so there will be twelve matches," said Hayate with a dull tone.
"The candidates that pass will advance to the next exam. There are no rules, you will fight until death, if someone concedes, or if they are rendered incapacitated," he said. Lovely, now let's get going. Hayate explained a little more and then a panel on the wall opened up behind him.
"Each opponent will be selected at random. Since there's nothing more to say, let's begin," he finally said. The screen flickered to life, Sasuke's name and Yoroi being displayed. Both stepped forward, initiating a glaring match between the two of them.
"Let's begin the first match, everyone else clear to the upper level," said Hayate with a cough. I walked to the upper level and glanced back down. Kakashi and Sasuke were engaged in a serious conversation, with Kakashi finally walking off. It must have been Kakashi giving Sasuke a warning about the Curse Mark. Sasuke smirked, he and Yoroi both readying themselves.
"Begin," mumbled Hayate.
The match started much like the anime, with both of them throwing shuriken and then engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Chakra suddenly radiated from Yoroi's hands and I watched as Sasuke gasped in pain. He desperately tried to escape but Yoroi grabbed him by the head. Sasuke screamed and Yoroi laughed sickly. A sudden kick released Sasuke from the hold. Yoroi gave some cliche taunt and threat before charging at Sasuke.
"Talking about pitiful," commented Temari. I nodded in agreement, Sasuke was stomped on right now.
"Sasuke, you gonna let this guy walk all over you? Come on, pick up the pace," yelled Naruto. I watched Sasuke flinch before hurriedly digging Yoroi's attack again. Sasuke then disappeared before suddenly kicking Yoroi straight into the air. He then appeared right underneath Yoroi, a grin on his face. The grin was suddenly replaced by a scream, I could even see the Curse Mark spreading across his face. Sasuke struggled for a moment until the Curse Mark finally receded.
"Lions Barrage," Sasuke screamed as he kicked and hammered Yoroi to the ground. They then both skidded to the ground, Sasuke barely managing to get up. Yoroi was out cold though, no chance he was getting up.
"I'm calling it, this match is over. Sasuke Uchiha is the winner," said Hayate.
"All right, way to go Sasuke," yelled Naruto with joy. I also smiled, it was nice to see I would still be fighting him in the finals. Kakashi appeared next to Sasuke, talking with him for a bit. A medical ninja approached them but Kakashi waved him away. He was going to go deal with the Curse Mark now. A glance revealed Orochimaru eagerly looking down at Sasuke. What a monster.
Kakashi and Sasuke soon walked out of the arena, Sasuke clutching his neck. Everyone turned to the large screen as it flickered back to life. The next match should be Shino and Zaku if I remembered correctly. The board suddenly came to a halt and two names were displayed. Or maybe not, Kohara and Isori were up next. I looked over at Kohara to find her smiling with excitement. Isori on the other hand had an evil look on his face, he looked angry. This wouldn't turn out well at all, I wanted to do something but I couldn't. Kohara went to walk past me on her way down to the arena floor but I grabbed her arm. She jumped, startled by my action but then smiled when she saw it was me.
"Stopping to wish me luck? Don't worry, I won't need it," she said with a confident grin. If only she knew how much danger she was in right now.
"Just be careful out there, that guy is no joke. Whatever you do, don't let him control the battle," I warned her. Kohara's look got serious all of the sudden and she nodded.
"I won't Gaara."
She then walked away, towards the steps to the arena floor. I had stopped her to warn her and make myself feel better. Instead, I only had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein