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Three days later, Kumo Academy;
Five days have passed since the start of the second phase, signaling its end.
Naruto and Anko arrived early at the academy, where a chunin escorted them to the main training grounds to wait, as it was empty when they arrived.
As time passed, only two teams arrived. The first being Yugito and her team. As they entered, their eyes met with Naruto's. After a small nod of greetings, Yugito and her team took a corner of the training grounds and sat down.
The second team to arrive was one from Kiri. It consists of three male genin, all carrying swords. What struck Naruto was the constant bloodthirst they radiated, even when they weren't making eye contact with anyone.
Naruto's head turned toward the training ground entrance as he felt multiple chakra signatures incoming.
As the newly arrived entered the training grounds, Naruto's eyes scanned them.
They are all Jonin, and most of them are from Kumo. They are joined by Killer Bee, Kakashi, Guy, and a Jonin with a Kiri headband.
But what stood out to Naruto was the man who stood in the middle of the Jonin.
'A, The fourth Raikage.' Naruto thought to himself.
It was the first time he had seen the Raikage since arriving in Kumo.
'That is an excessive amount of muscle for a shinobi.' Kurumi commented, as shinobi usually have slim builds for speed and maneuvering.
'I would have agreed if they didn't serve a purpose. I have read that all the Raikage from the first to the fourth have similar builds to manage the backlash of their signature lightning coat.' Naruto replied to Kurumi, to which she hummed in understanding.
A looked at the assembled genin, stopping his eyes for a second on the Konoha team, especially the redheaded boy. He still remembered his slight shock and disbelief when he learned how fast they finished this phase.
He then looked at Yugito's team, and his mood darkened. Don't get him wrong, he is glad that her team passed, but what made him gloomy was that of all the numerous genin teams from Kumo that participated in the exams, only one made it to the final phase.
Moreover, it was the Konoha team that completed the second phase first, finishing significantly ahead of the others.
This Chunin exam was supposed to showcase the might of Kumo on their home turf. But what happened is that the one team of Konoha passed and took the lead, while from the numerous Kumo teams, only one passed. All A could do is bury his frustration.
The information he has about the Konoha team is limited, especially regarding the Uzumaki boy. He only knows that the boy possesses an extraordinary amount of chakra, based on what his brother Bee told him.
"Congratulations on reaching this far in the exams." A said to the assembled genin
"A month from now, the final phase is going to take place. Isamu, one of my jonin will give you details about it now." A finished as one of the Kumo jonin stepped forward.
"Thank you, lord Raikage." The jonin said, to which he received a small nod from A
He then turned to the genin before saying: "My name is Isamu, and as lord Raikage said, I will explain the last phase of the exam."
"The last phase of the exam is going to be a tournament that will be held in the arena where you are going to fight one versus one." Isamu explained
"The matches will be decided by pulling lottery numbers, which will happen shortly." Isamu said
"Why wait? Can't we just start the matches now, as we are all already here?" Said a Genin from the Kiri team with a bloodthirsty smirk on his face.
"Your excitement is noted. But this is an event that many influential figures in the Elemental Nations attend. In addition to inviting the Kage of your respective villages, many Daimyo are also expected to attend. The month is meant to give all of them time to arrive here at Kumo if they choose to accept the invitation." Isamu explained
"Any other questions?" Isamu asked, but was met with silence.
"Alright then. Before we proceed to the lottery, I must explain the rules for the final phase," Isamu stated.
"One, you should be present before the start of your match. If you don't show up on time, you are disqualified. Two, from the beginning of a match till the end, you must listen to the referee's instructions. If you don't, you might get disqualified. Three, during ongoing matches, the genin on the sidelines are not allowed to interfere. Interfere and you are disqualified. Four, any ninja technique is allowed to be used except summoning jutsu for those who hold contracts, as it is considered outside interference. Five, Killing is allowed but not recommended due to the presence of an audience." Isamu said to the genin
"Any questions?" Isamu asked
"Why is summoning jutsu banned?" Anko asked with a frown on her face. A lot of her jutsu is snake-based, so this rule affects her heavily.
"As I stated before, it is considered outside interference. Summons vary in intelligence and power. If you summon one, it is as if you add another teammate against your opponent. A summon may be as powerful as a genin, a chunin, or even higher. The final phase is about showing you individual strength and skill, so outside help of any kind is prohibited." Isamu explained.
"Any other questions?" Isamu asked, but was met with silence.
"Since there are no further questions, we will start the lottery," Isamu said as two other Kumo jonin pushed a board and a small table that had a box on it into the training grounds
"You all are going to take turns reaching into the box and pulling out one slip of paper. There are eight papers in it, you will find a number between 1 and 8. After you all get a paper, the numbers will be called from 1 to 8. The number holder is to speak up their first name and where they are from. Is that understood?" Isamu said, getting nods from the genin.
"Then you may begin," Isamu said, making the genin take turns reaching into the box
A few minutes later;
"Now with the board complete. Each of you should know your first opponent." Isamu said as he stepped back from the board after writing the last competitor on the board.
On the board, all those present could see the matchups.
They are:
First match: Naruto of Konoha Vs Samui of Kumo
Second match: Masaru of Kiri Vs Anko of Konoha
Third match: Mabui of Kumo Vs Yugito of Kumo
Fourth match: Haru of Kiri Vs Zabuza of Kiri
Fifth match: First match victor Vs second match victor
Sixth match: Third match victor Vs fourth match victor
Final match: Fifth match victor Vs sixth match victor
"If nothing unexpected happened, the matches will be according to the matchups on the board. Any comments?" Isamu said, but was met with silence
"Then you all are dismissed. See you all in a month." Isamu said
With that, the Raikage and most Jonin started to leave as the genin approached their Jonin instructors.
"Are you going to be ok, Anko?" Naruto asked as he and Anko reached Kakashi and Guy.
"Yeah, I am. Why do you ask?" Anko Replied as the group started to walk out of the academy.
"Your Jutsu arsenal is severely limited with the ban on Summon use. Will you be ok?" Naruto said
"I will be fine, don't worry." Anko said with a confident smile
"You might need to be concerned. Before you have the chance to fight Naruto, you will have to fight that Kiri genin. That team might be candidates for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Kakashi said with a serious tone.
As soon as Kakashi finished, Naruto noticed the dramatic change in Guy's emotional state, which affected his usual cheerful face.
"I am serious, guys. I will be fine. I have some tricks up my sleeve. I will win, then I will have my fight against you, Naruto." Anko said with a reassuring smile. The guys weren't convinced, but they dropped the matter seeing Anko's confidence.
"Are you ok, Guy-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking at Guy
"Of course, I am my youthful student." Guy replied with a wide smile, but Naruto could see it was very strained
He could feel loss, sadness, grief, and some anger coming from Guy, making him look at Kakashi for an explanation.
Kakashi, seeing Naruto's look, looked at Guy for a moment before sighing and saying: "The reason I am saying they may be candidates for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist because four out of the previous seven fell in the last war. Currently, there is no news on what happened to the remaining three or what happened to the other four empty positions."
"This affects Guy as he was ambushed by the seven swordsmen in the last war. He was rescued by his father, Might Duy, who took down four of the swordsmen and made the remaining three retreat. That costed Might Duy his life as he fought to the end to give Guy and his team a chance to escape." Kakashi said with a soft tone, making the group walk in silence.
"My condolences, Guy-sensei." Naruto said in a soft tone, with Anko nodding sadly.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. My dad may have died, but he died victorious while protecting me and my two teammates. He will stay in my memory and heart as my hero." Guy said with a grin, but one could feel the sadness seeping from it.
A couple of hours later, in a barbecue restaurant in Kumo's market;
The group from Konoha sat around a table grill enjoying their food as the smell of grilled meat filled the air.
"Since we are going to stay here for a month, there is one more rule I will add to the ones I said before." Kakashi said as he flipped a piece of meat on the grill, making the others look at him.
"I hope you trained enough before, as most training is prohibited from now on." Kakashi said
"What? Why?" Anko said shocked
"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but we are in an unfriendly village," Kakashi said sarcastically before continuing: "So all kinds of training is prohibited except ordinary physical training and what you can train in the privacy of your own room."
"Ninja techniques are village secrets, so no training in Ninjutsu, taijutsu, or any other techniques that need space for training. You don't know who could be watching." Kakashi said with a serious tone, to which he got a nod from Naruto and a forced but reluctant one from Anko.
"So do we have to stay in our rooms for the entire month?" Anko complained
"That's not what I said. I said most training is a no-go for this time. You can go and explore the village as much as you want, you can go on runs, and do regular physical training. But like I said before, when you do that, you need one of us, Jonin, to accompany you." Kakashi said
After that, the group continued to eat quietly. Naruto ate with his mind, wondering what the finals would be like. A month spent idling isn't fun, but he has all the time for fuinjutsu training.
An excited smirk appeared on his face. If everything went as he expected, He would be facing Yugito in the final match. The thought of fighting a jinchuriki like him makes him look forward to it.
End the Chapter.
Guys and Gals, show me those powerstones.
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**Important** Please vote. Go to the chapter named 'vote relocation'. It will take you to my Patreon page and Poll links. Please find the two polls posted there, read them, and vote on what you prefer. All your opinions matter to me.
'100 power stones if you want an additional chapter with next week's release.'
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
I would appreciate feedback, comments, and power stones from you guys. I would like to read all of your comments, I would like to know if I am doing well and if you enjoy what I write.
Thank you all for your support.
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