The Red Flash Chapter 68 (Unlucky Seven) (Patreon)

Naruto stood silent as his sword fell from his burned hand, the blade piercing the concrete like paper; Naruto fell to his knees, the pain of his burned hand unbearable, biting his tongue because he didn't want to scream, his hand on fire. Everyone's eyes widened as they saw the outcome of the battle. Karin fell to her knees, a massive slash across her torso, blood leaking to the floor.

When he looked down at his hand, it felt like it was burning from the inside, with his skin crawling and burning, and his skin had turned bright red like blood.

Hayate moved forward; Karin had fallen on the floor but clearly still breathing, but despite the pain, she didn't scream; she didn't show weakness or pain in front of anyone. I will never show weakness, she thought with clenched teeth, her right hand touching the wound, raising her right arm, moving her sleeve away; she bit down, almost making her own skin bleeding, the wound healed, much to the shock of everyone.

As Naruto slowly rose to his feet and looked around, he noticed that Karin had completely recovered from his attack, with the wound itself almost completely disappearing from her skin as if it had never happened. Naruto was taken aback, as he had never heard of such a thing before.

As Naruto clenched his teeth in pain, his hand began to bleed profusely. He realised he needed to release his Healing Fuinjtsu and raised his left hand in preparation to use it and fight once more.

However, Karin was panting because, despite healing the wounds and alleviating the pain, the amount of chakra required to perform her Kenjutsu move had depleted the majority of her reserves.

Returning to the audience, Sasuke's attention was drawn to Karin, whose cursed mark appeared to have returned to normal, and the red-headed girl didn't appear to be a monster any longer. The Uchiha survivor wondered if this was due to Naruto's attack or her chakra had run out altogether.

That kind of power?! What is that? Sasuke asked himself, and he couldn't help but compare himself to her; even with Sharingan, he doubted that he could defeat the Uzumaki girl when she had used her strange, cursed mark.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Naruto's chakra restoring health to his wounded hand; she knew next to nothing about medicine, but she recognised that the way his skin had turned bright red indicated a bad situation.

On the outside, Kakashi maintained his composure, but on the inside, he was worried about Naruto's hand, knowing that Naruto would require more than just a simple bandage.

Ashara looked at Naruto with concern, but she also looked at Karin with curiosity; she was aware that the Uzumaki clan possessed a variety of different abilities, but being able to heal wounds of that nature was something she had never heard of before.

No wonder the other villages feared our clan, she thought to herself; looking down at her hand, she wondered how far can an Uzumaki go when it comes to abilities to enhance themselves.

Ash could tell that if it were anyone else, they would have lost consciousness by now, but Karin was able to use her cursed mark, get wounded, turn back to normal, heal herself, and remain on her feet until the end of the battle.

Naruto had better get this over with as soon as possible, she reasoned.

Tsunade, couldn't help but be impressed by the Uzumaki girl's ability. Her ability is very similar to Byakug's, except she can heal others as well, Tsunade reasoned, wondering if there was some kind of side effect to the user when they used it on another.

Naruto smirked before a chuckle escaped his lips; fully standing up, he walked over to his sword; his right hand grabbed the pommel before pulling it out from the concrete.

In a friendly manner, Naruto remarked to his fellow Uzumaki, "You're quite good."

For her part, Karin felt utterly spent, but she knew that if she used the curse mark again, she might have a chance.

If you survive this, I would like to offer you some ramen; despite using a Kenjutsu move that would kill him, he still showed concern for her well-being.

Touching her shoulder where her seal was, she knew she could use it, but... it felt horrible to be controlled like that, to feel as if someone else was controlling her, like a puppet. I don't want ever to feel like that, her nails cutting through her skin around her shoulder.

She raised her hand in the air, biting the inside of her lower lip slightly and closing her eyes.

"I'm giving up," she announced, much to the surprise of those around her, including Naruto, who appeared to be taken aback by what she had done.

"Karin Uzumaki has surrendered, the winner is Naruto Uzumaki," Hayate announced, and every Leaf Shinobi, including Fuu, Ashara, and others, burst into applause.

Putting his Katana back in its scabbard, Naruto looked at Karin, who gave him a friendly smile before walking upstairs... Naruto wanted to speak with her...

With a goofy smile on her face, she said, "If it's okay with you, I'd still like that Ramen." Naruto, who had returned to his place, returned the smile with his own.

"Can you tell me how you're feeling, Naruto?" Kakashi immediately inquired as to when Naruto had arrived, but the redhead simply waved his hand to indicate that he was all right.

"I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei, there's nothing a Seal can't fix," he said, a cheeky grin on his face. Kakashi sighed and patted Naruto on the back, congratulating him on his victory, but it appeared that Naruto did not reciprocate with a friendly smile.

Tsunade quickly examined his hand and instructed him to refrain from using it for at least a week until it was completely healed.

"The next match will now begin," Hayate announced, and all eyes turned towards the sorter. Finally, two names came up.

Inuzuka Kiba Vs. Nii Yugito

"You're up, Yugito," Karui said as she glanced at her teammate before looking at her opponent, who seemed rather cocky.

"Oh man oh man," Omoi muttered nervously, "what if this guy is actually a Jonin and kills Yugito, then Bee-Sensei and all of us will get so angry we will attack him, but then all the Konoha Genin and Jonin will attack us as well along with the Hokage. Bee-sensei and Darui-sempai will help back us up, but the Hokage has an ace up his sleeve. He has some sort of super complex mind control seal, which he uses on Bee-sensei, Gitago, and Yugito before killing the rest of us. Then they have no choice but to be ordered to attack Kumogakure and have to fight their friends and family Raikage-sama weren't able to face much less kill their brother and Yugito and fall in battle. Then the Hokage will make them release their Bijuu effectively annihilating Kumogakure." He finished and took a deep breath from his long and fast ramble.

Everyone around him sweatdropped, "... thanks for your words of encouragement, Omoi," Yugito said before jumping off the railing and into the arena.

Gitago just stared at the dark-skinned boy before leaning towards Karui, "where do you think he gets all those ideas?" he murmured in Karui's ear.

Karui shrugged, "no idea, stay sharp; the match is about to start."

When Kiba saw his name selected, he grinned. "Yahoo! It's my turn!" Despite knowing that the girl he was to face was strong, thanks to Kabuto's cards, he always loved a fight against a strong opponent. He was going to go full out on her; shame really, she's pretty hot, though she reeks of cat, he thought with a grin.

Akamaru barked at his lifelong companion to pretty much say, don't underestimate her.

"I know Akamaru, man." Kiba jumped over the railing onto the arena and approached his waiting opponent

"The second match will now begin. Inukuza Kiba of the Leaf Vs. Nii Yugito of the Cloud... Begin." Hayate announced as he used his hand to signal the beginning of the match before quickly shushing to the area where the rest of the participants, sensei, and Kage watched.

The two opponents, one from Cloud and the other of Leaf, merely stood there, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Oi," Kiba said, "you don't have to fight me, just quit. I'm an alpha, and I never lose." He exclaimed with a grin while Akamaru jumped out of his jacket and growled at Yugito, whether for being his opponent or the fact that or she smelled way too much of a cat. Akamaru also noticed the power that was inside her; it reminded him of the redhead from Suna, right as he slaughtered the rain team without hesitation or remorse. His tail tucked behind him, he whined.

"Hmm?" Kiba turned towards his puppy in concern, "Akamaru, what's wrong-" Kiba never got to ask as he was punched in the face, making him skid back a couple of meters; Akamaru whined again and rushed towards his partner.

Fast! Were the thoughts of the surrounding ninja along with Kiba, Naruto smirked.

Kiba picked himself off the ground and rubbed his cheek, and scowled at Yugito, who smirked, "you should always pay attention, don't ever forget about your enemy, and for your information," she crossed her arms and looked at him as though it was some inside joke, "I'm more of a cat person."

"Tch," Kiba threw a kunai at her, which she easily caught in her hand and idly threw it at a wall, so it stuck, using that for time he crouched down and formed a single hand seal, "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Four Jutsu!" a haze of blue chakra burned around Kiba.

Kiba slammed his hands on the ground, his whole body twitching. His nails grew longer and sharper until they resembled claws; the fur along his jacket seemed to spike upwards. "Get ready!" Kiba yelled; he leapt forward at the Nibi jinchuuriki.

Yugito quickly moved to the side as Kiba appeared where she had been moments before, his elbow ready to crash into her. Yugito promptly grabbed one of his arms and spun around, Kiba's own speed being used against him. Yugito then threw Kiba at the nearest wall.

Kiba managed to hit the wall on his hands and feet sticking to it with his claws and chakra but cringed a little from the pain. Kiba quickly rushed back towards Yugito, slashing at her with his claws but was infuriated when Yugito gracefully dodged all of his attacks.

Yugito suddenly dropped to the floor, and using her hands to support her weight, she swung her legs in an arc, making the boy fall. As Kiba fell to the ground, Yugito's feet kicked him in the chest, making him fly and skid across the floor.

Kiba once again got up from the floor; he glanced at his dog before yelling, "Let's go, Akamaru!" who barked in agreement.

The two rushed towards Yugito again. Kiba's hand went into his pouch and pulled out three smoke bombs, and threw it at Yugito, who quickly disappeared inside the smoke.

Yugito warily looked around, trying to see through the thick smoke; she quickly formed one hand seal and closed her eyes in concentration. She ducked as a fist swiped past her. She quickly dodged a kick to her side. She pushed away a barrage of attacks at her front. All the while not opening her eyes.

Yugito frowned as she dodged Akamaru leaping at her from behind; she quickly caught Kiba's foot with her hands before pushing him back.

The Genin, Jonin senseis, and Hokage watched from above as they stared at the large cloud of purple smoke.

"Damn, I can't see anything," Shikamaru said as all he could see was the swirling of the smoke and hearing the occasional sound of flesh hitting flesh; he glanced at the Kumogakure ninja who didn't seem concerned for their teammates, in fact, Karui seemed to be smirking.

"Kiba's plan isn't working; despite us hearing flesh hitting flesh, I doubt Kiba is actually getting a shot in; she's probably dodging it, but how?"

Yugito dodged Akamaru as he tried to bite her leg; her eyes were still closed in concentration. Finally, she spoke, "I've had enough of this fog!"

Blue chakra surrounded her like Kiba's had for him at the beginning of the match; she made it twirl around her before violently pushing it out.

The smoke was cleared while Kiba and Akamaru were pushed back due to the chakra.

"Her eyes," Asuma stated as he saw that Yugito's eyes were closed and probably had for the entire time in the smoke, "she had her eyes closed the entire time. Does she have a bloodline limit?" he asked Killer Bee and Darui.

Bee merely grinned, "now, what makes you think that? You don't need a kekkei Genkai to see through smoke; you just gotta sense it, like a kitty cat!"

"She's a sensor nin," Kakashi concluded, "she has an amazing talent for it, considering her age. It makes sense why her eyes are closed; it helps her concentrate more."

Killer Bee grinned and gave him a thumbs-up, "yeah!"

The Konoha genin were confused, "that girl, she evaded all of Kiba's attacks without opening her eyes." Neji stated.

"Do you think she has a bloodline limit?" Sakura asked with concern.

A laugh gained all of their attention; they saw it was Gitago. "Nah, she ain't got a bloodline limit; she's a sensor, funny, ain't it?"

"A sensor?" Choji questioned; he wasn't even eating his chips, which showed how confused he was, "what's a sensor."

"There are few of them anywhere; they are usually very rare, which is why most genin don't know of them," Ashara started, "a sensor ninja can use their chakra to find other people's chakra signatures; it's sort of like the Byakugan but isn't a doujutsu and can't see their actual pathways, this makes them excellent trackers because they can easily find the chakra signature. That's how she could dodge all of Kiba and Akamaru's attacks; she could sense their chakra."

Naruto nodded at her words.

Kiba couldn't believe it. She dodged all of their attacks! Time to use it, Kiba decided and grabbed two small red pills before swallowing one and giving the other one to Akamaru, who easily swallowed it.

Akamaru started to shake and growl, his fur grew spikier, and it soon changed to the colour red.

Kiba crouched again; Akamaru jumped on his back, growling at Yugito. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Man-Beast Clones!" Akamaru disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, it cleared to reveal Akamaru, but he now looked exactly like Kiba.

The two Kiba's launched themselves at Yugito, "All-Four Jutsu!"

Yugito quickly backflipped as the two Kiba's hit where she had been before, causing a small crater.

One Kiba jumped high in the air whilst the other went to fight Yugito head-on; Yugito dodged his slashes and kicks nimbly. Some sixth sense rang in her air, and she did a backflip as the other Kiba fell to the ground, trying to land on her.

The two Kiba's regrouped. "I think it's time I went on the offence," Yugito stated before going through hand seals, "Raiton: Lightning Shock Current!" she slammed her palms on the ground, and a significant amount of light rushed out of her hands, heading towards the two Kiba's.

The two Kiba's quickly jumped up high in the air to avoid the lightning, but a figure caught their attention. The Inuzuka's next knew was Yugito's foot kicking their neck. The two fell to the ground in a heap.

Kiba, like many times today, picked himself up along with the other Kiba; he formed a hand seal, "Gatsuga!" he and the other Kiba jumped in the air and started to spin faster and faster until they resembled drills.

The two sped at Yugito with impossible speeds, who tried to dodge one, but another one hit her square in the chest.

"Gah!" Yugito cried out as she coughed up a little blood and skidded across the floor, and lay motionless.

The two Kiba's stopped turning, "Yahoo!" Kiba yelled as the other Kiba barked and turned into Akamaru, who Kiba quickly hugged. "We did it, Akamaru! Wooo!"

All the Genin looked at the Kumo genin, wondering how they reacted to their teammate being beaten. To their surprise, they didn't even look upset. If anything, they looked smug.

Poof.

Kiba immediately stopped celebrating, and where Yugito's body had been, there was nothing there.

"Wha-?"

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu," Yugito's voice rang from behind Kiba, who only had time to look around before a ball of flame enveloped him and Akamaru.

"Kiba!" Almost all the Konoha genin yelled out, thinking he was dead.

The ball of flame ended, and they saw with surprise only a slightly burned Kiba and Akamaru, who were both on the edge of unconsciousness.

"How?" Kiba asked weakly.

Yugito merely pointed at something at the wall behind them; he turned his head to see the Kunai he had thrown at Yugito at the very beginning of the match.

"When you threw that Kunai at me in the beginning," Yugito started, "I created a lightning clone which transformed itself into the kunai; I hid the real one in my pouch so there wouldn't be two so you wouldn't notice it. When you came at me with Gatsuga, I subsitutioned myself with the clone while it pretended to be me whilst I pretended to be the Kunai."

"That," Kiba grinned slightly, "that was pretty smart." He then fell unconscious.

"Winner, Nii Yugito," Hayate announced where the Kumo ninja cheered for their comrade while the medics took Kiba and Akamaru away.

The board stopped, and two names showed. "hmm, this should be interesting," Yugito said as she looked at the board.

Yamanaka Ino of Leaf Vs. Samui of Cloud

"Seems I get a fangirl," Samui commented with a small hint of irritation hidden in her tone.

Lulja snorted from across the balcony, "this won't even be hard," she said, not liking a one-sided fight like this one. "So, I wish you the worst of luck, sun hair." She said, sticking out her tongue much to Samui's irradiation.

Samui didn't say anything but instead gave Lulja a frosty glare which made her shrug it off. She jumped over the railing and onto the arena and waited for her opponent to come down.

When Ino saw her name being selected, she shook slightly in fear, seeing Yugito defeat Kiba without even trying or even attacking most of the time, along with learning how powerful Gitago was. She was wary of any of the Kumo ninja.

"Ino," Choji said, gaining the blonde's attention, "you should get down there."

"Oh!" Ino gasped as she remembered where she was, and she quickly ran down the steps leading to the arena before standing in front of Samui with a determined look on her face.

"The third match between Yamanaka Ino of the Leaf versus Samui of the Cloud will now begin. Hajime."

Ino quickly threw a handful of shuriken at Samui as she quickly hopped backwards away from her.

Samui barely moved as she dodged the shuriken seeing how terrible Ino's aim was.

"I-" Ino never got to finish as she felt a fist punch her in the head; she went out like a light.

"phft fangirl," Samui stated in annoyance, "you shouldn't try and spend most of your time trying to look good just to impress a boy, you won't last long in our field if you are so weak, either get rid of the fangirlness or quit being a shinobi."

Even though Ino didn't hear it, she would hear it later when someone told her what Samui had said.

"Woah," Choji said in amazement as he watched Samui rejoin her companions while "she beat Ino in like five seconds."

"Troublesome." Was Shikamaru's reply, jeez, are all these Kumo ninjas super powerful? Troublesome.

"Yeah, Samui!" Yugito cheered as she rejoined them and held up her fist where she fist-bumped her with a small smile, "you showed her how it's done. These exams are so much fun!"

Naruto kept his gaze on the TV, and everyone watched the names.

Fuu of Takigakure against Ikano of Iwagakure

Naruto had never personally fought him, but he was the only person who seemed to be aware of Kurama and the way his chakra felt, as if it were two separate chakras, despite the fact that he was not a Jinchuuriki.

"Fuu, good luck, but be careful," Naruto said, a tinge of worry in his voice as he looked at his happy-go-lucky friend, who smiled at him.

Before jumping over the balcony and landing directly in front of Ikano, she said, "Don't worry, Naru-kun, I won't underestimate him."

Ikano narrowed his eyes at the girl before noticing something. Her Yami level is almost a void, but she's a Jinchuuriki; how is this possible? He asked himself, knowing this fight might not end well.

Hayate looked at them for a moment before exclaiming, "Hajime."