Ino, Hinata and Haku went and congratulated Naruto on his victory. He smiled sheepishly before telling Hinata and Ino that he's sure that they'll do even better. Soon the blonde shinobi found his way towards Anko and stood by her, only to find that he's now noticeably taller than her.
Tsunade, Orochimaru thought as he looked at her unnoticeably in his disguised as an Oto Jounin, It's clear that you've been very busy molding your son into a most unique shinobi; and having my former apprentice as his Jounin sensei only make things more interesting.
"Nice work out there Yondaime-gaki," Anko smiled toothily as she now had to look up to him for a change, "Five days alone and you come back as a sight for everyone to behold. (Grinned wider) Or did you have someone in particular in mind?"
Kurenai sighed and shook her head again at Anko's behavior. She soon noticed that whatever else the Special Jounin was about to say next to Naruto was cut short when Tsunade shot Anko a look that promised immense pain should she trying anything funny in front of her and everyone else.
(A/N: By now everyone should know how the preliminaries went so I won't bother wasting everyone's time writing entire scenes in how the match went. I'll just state who won first matches with a few alterations)
Shino vs. Abumi Zaku: Winner: Shino. Zaku being quick to act without thinking and properly weighing the consequences for his actions left him without the use of his arms after his defeat to Shino and his kikai bugs.
Sasuke vs. Akadou Yoyoi: Winner: Sasuke, who was immediately taken away by Kakashi after the cursed seal started acting up.
Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin: Winner: Shikamaru.
Sakura vs. Ino: A double knock out, neither advanced.
Chouji vs. Kinuta Dosu: Winner: Dosu. Dosu was equipped with a special speaker implanted into his wrist which served to amplify sound waves and dramatically strengthen his sound-based attacks. With his speaker, Dosu could use Kyōmeisen (Vibrating Sound Drill) to damage Chouji's inner ear, throwing him off balance and making him nauseous after he tried using his Nikudan Sensha (Human bullet Tank).
Kankuro vs. Tsurugi Misumi: winner: Kankuro.
Lee vs. Gaara: Winner: Gaara. The fight between them was very intense and brute. Lee opened five of his gates and used his increased abilities against Gaara. In the end however after the jutsu wore off, Gaara used his sands to deliver a leg and arm injured to Lee's already worn and damaged body. The injury sustained by Gaara's final assault, compounded with the injuries he sustained during the match, was to leave Lee hospitalized for some time. However Gaara didn't damage Lee's arm and leg beyond repair, remembering the alliance he made with Naruto; nor was Lee's injuries beyond Tsunade's healing and medic capabilities. Though healing him would take some time she noted however, Tsunade estimated that Lee would be up and running after being hospitalized for the next two and a half weeks. Gai sighed in relief on hearing that.
Kiba vs. Temari: Winner: Temari. Her battle with Kiba was brute and one-sided sad to say. Neither Kiba nor Akamaru had a fighting chance against her. Both Kiba and Akamaru gave it their all with all the the jutsus they knew. However Temari was able to use her knowledge on wind jutsu at her disposal to block and counter all of their attacks. Both Kiba and Akamaru ended up heavily brutalized and cut up by her wind-jutsu attacks. Akamaru was the first to lose consciousness after Temari performed another wind jutsu on him after her fan reached the second star. After her fan reached the third star, Temari performed her Futon: Tatsu no Oshigoto (Wind Release: Severing Pressure) on Kiba, trapping and cutting him up in the process before having him land painfully on top of her large fan and then tossing him to the floor in a heap next to his dog.
Amazingly Kiba managed to remain conscious despite his injuries. Haku and the other medic nins went over to tend to Kiba's and Akamaru's medical needs. As he was being placed on the stretcher with Akamaru, Haku complimented Kiba on his performance and how great he was on facing Temari. She also said to him that Naruto had told her a number of things about him and his and Akamaru's style of fighting. Kiba made a mental note to thank Naruto later before losing consciousness.
Moments later Shizune re-entered the chamber and rejoined Tsunade. The Slug Sannin saw the look on his apprentice's face. She knew Shizune was distraught about what happened earlier but Tsunade didn't hold it against her. After all, it wasn't everyday that someone a girl/woman looks at as a kid brother leaves for five days and comes back with a built and stature that would catch many girls' sight.
"You OK," Tsunade asked with a concerned demeanor.
"Yeah," Shizune assured while trying to act as her normal self, "…I'm fine; really."
"It's not your fault," Tsunade replied, "You don't have to be so hard on yourself Shizune."
Shizune looked at Tsunade in surprise.
"…But Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied with feelings of guilt, "…What I did…How looked at…"
"None of us was expecting what happened earlier to have happened," Tsunade made clear, "It caught all of us by surprise, not just you."
"You're not mad at me," Shizune asked with a surprised expression. Tsunade looked at her and said, "We're humans after all and we're all prone to make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. Besides…"
Shizune waited for Tsunade next words…
"If your uncle Dan was still alive and wore those tiger-skin loincloths, who knows how much self-control I might have lost," Tsunade smiled.
"Tsunade-sama…," Shizune laughed.
"And if it was you both wore those tiger-skin loincloths," a voice said lecherously, "Who knows how-"
Jiraiya was cut short when a fist came and plunged hard into his guts, sending him down to his knees while holding onto his pain-inflicted stomach with his breath briefly knocked out of him.
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