The Chunin Exams, Chapter 3

Origin frowned.
"...You realize a double-knockout means that none would go on from this round, correct?"
It only took her a moment to realize that Jacob wouldn't waver; a draw is better than a loss, after all.
"...Fine. I suppose this's the end of our little game. Good night, Jacob; I sincerely hope you become a chunin from all of this."
And then, all was dark.

---

Neither of the combatants were moving, and Coren knew exactly why. It wasn't exactly common knowledge that Hyuuga's had a second seal, but Liligant had told him about it. Being friends with an ex-battlefield medic has that sort of bonuses.
That's why, as they both sat there, Coren just sighed and stood up.
"Anko, call the match as a double-knockout. Jacob's brain's gone under lockdown, and it'll stay that way for some time. Get Inoichi to extract Hanako's consciousness and put it back in her body."
Anko sighed, scratching the back of her head.
"...I declare this match concluded, then. Double knock-out."
At that, the two of them were taken by the medical team to figure out what happened.
Coren had absolutely no idea what went on right there, but that's when Inoichi called for him to follow.
He made it to the medical quarters, where a trio of blondes, all Yamanakas if Coren had to guess, were standing there.
"Mr. Keitaro," Inoichi, Hanako's father, said.
"Sir." Coren snapped off a salute. Normally, he wouldn't do that sort of thing (he has limits on his formality, after all) but something told him that this was serious. "Why did you call me?"
"To explain a few things. Sit."
Coren quickly did so, mainly out of fear. Yugito was a torture enthusiast, but Inoichi was a torture expert. He turned the skill of mangling minds into an art form, and that scared the boy.
"Explain what?"
"Well, to put it simply, Hanako has DID."
"...Huh." Coren scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I was expecting she was schizophrenic. She's very casual, but someone like me can see through that sort of thing. The insane recognize their own, after all."
Inoichi nodded.
"Yes, I read your psychological evaluation. And how have your visits with the psychiatrists been going since the incident?"
"Quite well. Lilligant's a nice person, and she's very good at what she does. Assigning Anko to keep an eye on me was a nice touch as well; I suppose the similarities between the two of us were somewhat unnerving."
"Indeed. Both of you show a willingness to slaughter and maim shown only in the psychologically unbalance; fortunately for you, a ninja's line of work calls for that sort of thing."
"It also calls for less digression, I suppose." Inoichi nodded.
"Good point. Anyway, be careful around Hanako, alright? I've trained her so that can control them, but this is important; you must never let her see your memories, do you understand?"
Coren's face tightened a bit.
"Why? I thought memory surfing was an important part of Yamanaka training."
"Here, let me rephrase that then." The blond man took a short breath. "Don't let her see memories from anyone you suspect to be like you. If she sees your mind or Anko's mind, she will succumb to darker urges. She has four selves; Hime, the darkness, Ranpu, her light, Kuro, her pain, and Origin, from whom all were born. Are you following me?"
Coren nodded.
"Hanako's mind is very unstable. If one of these four were to gain too much power, I think you can imagine the consequences."
"Origin would lose out to the strongest."
"And if it's Kuro..." Inoichi began,
"...Then her pain will control her body and spirit," Coren finished. "...I assume you're telling me this because it's important?"
"No, I'm telling you because I know Hanako wouldn't hide those three from the Hyuuga, and therefore you would hear about it anyway."
"I find your lack of trust in me quite offensive."
"And I find your lack of a real moral compass disgusting."
"Touche."
Coren stood up, recognizing the end of a conversation.
"Tell me when they wake up; I'll need to work with Jacob on that seal in his noggin and do a few upgrades."
"And how do you plan to get into his Mindscape?"
Coren smirked.
"How hard can it be?"
As he walked out the door, Inoichi sighed.
"...What an idiot." Turning to his three family members, he began giving out orders on how to extract Hanako.
Today's gonna be a long day...

---

Coren sat back and watched the final fight of the first portion of the fighting. As it turned out, two Kiri-nin were pitted against each other for this portion of the exam, and it ended very quickly.
A girl named Sen Yarizui lost against Kiba Yuuto.
However, with nobody passing from the previous fight, it didn't matter much. None of Coren's team members were in that bracket any more, so his attention wavered a bit.
However, this Yuuto's ability to use chakra to mold weapons from steel he holds in sealing scrolls, and to be able to enchant them with magical properties by manipulating the steel definitely did intrigue Coren. It was certainly something well out of his league, what with his low skill in crafting, but it was certainly something that was cool.
After that, everyone was given a thirty-minute break, as the first bracket was completed.
Now, what did Coren decide to do in that time?
Absolutely nothing!
And that means he could focus on his body regenerating.
Unfortunately, someone decided on having other plans.
Yugito Nii sat down next to Coren, before saying
"You realize how you're still missing half an arm?" she asked.
"Yup, and you're not helping," was his annoyed response.
"Well, I would, but you don't seem to be in a good enough mood to let me."
Coren sighed.
"I'd rather not see what happens when you mix bijuu chakra and my Hickey from Hell."
"Then have fun failing."
Coren frowned. She had a point.
"...Lead the way," he said, a bored tone hiding how uncomfortable he was.
Yugito laughed, doing so.
As they walked, Coren decided small talk was a good idea, asking
"Why are you helping me?"
Yugito laughed.
"Well, your opponent is the Ichibi's container, and honestly, I'd rather fight you in the finals than him. He's... Cold."
"...So you're doing this because you don't like Gaara?"
"Yeah; you got a problem with that?"
"Yes, I do. Unfortunately, I need your help more than my ego, so I think I'll grit my teeth and bear it."
Yugito nodded.
"Here we are," she said. "Step inside my office, please."
Coren frowned.
"This... Is a supply closet."
"Shut up."
He sighed, walking in, already regretting his choice in accepting her help.
Taking a seat, he asked
"So, what are you gonna do?"
Yugito cracked a few knuckles, the sound reverberating throughout the small room.
"Oh, you'll see."
That only made Coren's frown deepen.
This is not so good.

---

Stepping out onto the field, Coren rubbed his new right arm.
"I'll never get used to regrowing limbs..."
Anko frowned, looking at Coren; she didn't hear what he said, but she didn't need to be annoyed with the boy.
Stubbornly, he'd refused to give up every time the chance was offered, and now, he was standing on the field, ready to fight against the Ichibi no Tanuki's jinchuriki.
"...Don't die."
"I won't; I promise."
With that, he turned towards his opponent who floated towards him on a platform of sand.
"...You will not run?"
Coren just smirked, responding with a jovial look in his eyes.
"If I ran away when I have a chance to win, then what sort of ninja could I call myself?"
Gaara closed his eyes for a moment.
"...Then let us begin."
Coren nodded at Anko, who sighed.
"...Begin."
And just like that, Coren burst into action.
Pulling out a sealing scroll, he poured out half a river's worth of water.
Needless to say, everyone was pretty shocked at that.
Everyone except Gaara, who blocked the waterfall with his sand.
"Is that all you've got?" he asked dryly.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullets!" was Coren's response.
Large blobs of water slammed into the sand repeatedly, Gaara just sitting there bored.
After hitting him with the full force of the water, Coren leaped into the air and took a deep breath.
"Wind Style: Double-Sided Hurricane!"
He blew out hard, sending out a large gale wind at Gaara, surrounding him.
"This will do nothing."
Coren ignored him, firing off a second round and turning the tornado into the Double-Sided beast it was named to be.
Gaara simply frowned.
"This is nothing," he said. "I'm tired of waiting for you to fight me; it's time to die."
However, when he tried to move his sand, he noticed something.
They were slowly getting encased in ice.
The gale-force winds were spitting out winds below ten degrees, and the water was all-but-frozen when it was put in.
Coren was freezing his sand.
"...Again, this is nothing."
"Wrong."
Coren forced his chakra into the ice of Gaara's gourd, compromising it without the boy noticing.
"This is how I planned on beating you, mate; not with a flashy, long fight with giant explosives. I plan on beating you fast, and unfairly. That is how a ninja fights, after all; the mission comes before one's pride."
Gaara frowned, before feeling a sudden pulse of chakra in his gourd.
He felt something stabbing into him, and responded in the only way he knew how.
He crushed the offensive thing.
Coren's scream rung out through the area, the hurricane now fading.
Gaara began to panic; he'd never been hurt before.
What was going on? he asked himself.
Coren, on the other hand, was nursing his arm, now crushed completely.
But it was already regenerating; in fact, in the thirty seconds Gaara spent panicking, the entire thing regenerated.
"Thank you, Yugito," Coren breathed out, the last of the Nibi's chakra fading from his arm. "Come on, Gaara," he called out, this time loud enough for the jinchuriki to hear, "Is that all you've got?"
Gaara just looked at the boy in pain and horror.
"You-"
And then, it was over.
Gaara didn't notice the fact that Coren had been collecting ice behind the red-haired boy, and still didn't notice as an ice-clone appeared behind him.
His sentence stopped at the first word as a bone-shattering blow was delivered to the base of his neck, rendering him unconscious.
He'd be dead if it were for Shukaku protecting him at the last moment.
"I suppose that's game over, then," Coren said with a bored tone. "That was easier than I thought it'd be."
Everyone looked at the boy with a look of shock on their faces.
Catching Anko's expression, Coren tilted his head quizzically.
"...What? He was practically screaming out his weaknesses the entire time! Sand is weak against water! It's common sense!"
That didn't change a damn thing about the group's expressions.
The Mizukage was the only one who wasn't in shock from Coren winning.
No, she was shocked because the Yuki clan, the only ice manipulators, went extinct during the Bloodline Purge, yet here's a boy with the same power.
What in the unholy Fakku!?

---

Five minutes later:
Hanako groaned, pulling herself up in her bed.
"Ow... Dude, you gave me a nasty migraine," she said to Jacob. "That knock-out thing you did was painful!"

"It's your fault for breaking into my brain like a... Like a..." I scratched the back of my head a bit, sitting up. "...I don't know."
I felt a twinge of pain from the real fight with Hanako, then looked around the room. "What're we doing in the infirmary? We weren't hurt that hurt, are we?"

"Father probably brought us here." Hanako sighed. "This sounds like something he'd do; he's always worrying needlessly. I suppose we'd besy get up; chances are, we've already missed Coren's fight."
She pulled herself out of the bed, already feeling the fatigue from the fight.
"Shall we, then?"

---

Coren took a seat next to Yugito, rubbing his arm.
"Thanks for the help."
"No problem; just beat Yarui and you're golden, and from what I saw in your fight against Samui's team, you're a shoe-in for the finals."
She smiled, turning to the boy.
"Don't disappoint me, alright Kei-chan?"
Coren chuckled.
"Oh, don't worry; I shouldn't have too much of a problem with that brute if his hits are as hard as his interrogation."
Yugito laughed.
"Says the one who was missing half of his body by the end of it."
"Well, yeah; I don't see anyone else who could've said it."
Yugito looked at him for a moment, but with how stone-cold Coren's poker-face was, she couldn't help but laugh again.
"Whatever. Just get ready for the fight; you're right after me."
Coren nodded.
"Of course. Good luck, Nii."
"I don't need luck against some punk swordsman!"
With that, she stood up and began to walk away.
Staring at her walk away, Coren called out
"It seems that your bust isn't the only large thing around!"
Coren caught the kunai just before it hit his face, and he just chuckled.
"Have fun!"

---

Walking out of the medical bay, Hanako sighed as she watched the cat-jinchuriki walk away.
"We really did miss it... Damn. Let's go figure out what happened, hmm?"

"Yeah, sure; why not?" I chuckled. "I mean, what's the biggest thing he could've done in a few minutes?"

Anko glanced at Coren's teammates, only just noticing them.
"A damn lot, apparently," she said, Shunshin'ing next to them instantly. "I've gotta start the next fight, but I think the Kage's wouldn't mind to much if you went up there and asked. It was really a... Surprise, to say the least."
With that, Anko was back on the field.
"Yugito Nii, versus Aurorus; begin!"

---

Hanako scratched the back of her head.
"...I'm gonna need to read the memories of that fight out of someone's head. In the meantime, though, wanna follow up with Anko's advice?"

"Yeah... Her saying it was surprising probably isn't such a good thing. Who did he fight, though, and how fast did he finish it? I mean, we weren't out that long, but he still managed to win. What's up with that?"

Hanako shrugged.
"Let's go ask, shall we?"

---

After Minato finished his synopsis of the battle, Hanako just stood there, steely-faced.
"...Well, I didn't know he had Hyoton, to be honest. That's... Kind of a new development."
The Mizukage's head suddenly turned to Hanako, her stare broken from the boy they were talking about.
"Wait... You mean he learned a Kekkei Genkei?" she asked incredulously. "That's impossible!"
"Actually," A cut in, "Darui from the team that the boy fought; his black lightning is a Kekkei Genkei, but it could still be taught. My father was the one to teach him it."
The Mizukage's expression turned only more shocked.
"But- How does-"
"Terumi-san, sometimes I find myself in a situation where I just can't handle the info given," Minato said casually. "When I'm in that situation, I listen to the Golden Rule."
He smiled at her, saying
"Roll with the crazy, because there's always something more stupid than what you just witnessed."
Suddenly, Coren turned to look at the Kage's booth, which slightly unnerved the group.
Of course, they didn't hear him say
"That's not The Golden Rule..."
Mei just sighed.
"Anyway, that's what happened between Gaara and Coren. Any questions or anything?"

"So he beat Garra, as fast as we got up, and he did it with a technique that he's not suppose to know. Is that right or did I miss something?" I said as I looked at Mizukage wonderingly.

"...That's what I said," she said, slightly annoyed. "In any case, if you want more information, you would have to get it straight from the horse's mouth."
Hanako nodded.
"Alright; thank you very much for the information."
With that, she dragged Jacob away from the Kages, who were now having some sort of Kekkei Genkei discussion.
They did walk up to Coren and ask, but he didn't seem to notice the duo at first; he was concentrating fully on the battle between Yugito and Aurorus, which had begun maybe thirty seconds ago.
"Coren!" Hanako yelled into his ear, finally breaking him out of his trance.
"...Oh, you woke up," he said, a bored tone in his voice. "You really should've taken him out without your clan's techniques, Hanako."
Said girl frowned.
"I would've, but those dice were loaded and you know it."
Coren just chuckled, before turning his eyes back to the fight.
"...It's odd, you know? Something's... Wrong, with this picture."
Hanako's frown deepened.
"Wait... Last time you had a bad feeling, Orochimaru nearly killed us." She crossed her arms. "Do you think something's gonna happen?"
He sighed, running his hand over his neck.
"...I'll be able to tell after the finals. Until then, though, I'll just blame paranoia and mental instability."
Leaning back in his seat, he frowned.
"...Yugito-chan should've won by now. She's..."
His eyes widened for a moment, before his fists tightened.
"...Taki," he hissed under his breath. "Green eyes, serving as the jinchuriki's retainer..."
Coren pulled a seal out of his pocket, glaring a hole in Aurorus's form.
"...The Earth Grudge Seal," he muttered, a snarl escaping his lips. Turning towards his teammates, Coren's face softened a bit. "If Aurorus goes overboard, I'm going in to stop him. I hope I can count on you two for help."

"Dude, we're a team; you could sick Orochimaru on us again and we'd still help out. Whether or not we'd actually do anything helpful is questionable, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Coren smiled slightly.
"...Yeah. Just remember, though; we need to survive maybe a few seconds before the Kages get involved. If Aurorus is who I think he is, then living that long might be an ordeal."
With that, he turned back to the fighters, keeping his eyes peeled for even the slightest thing.

---

"Damnit..." Yugito dodged another black tendril before enforcing her arm with her chakra and cleaving through another. "What the Hell are you?" she asked between movements.
"Does it matter?" Aurorus said, his smirk visible from under his hood. "All that matters right now is this fight. Fuu may have been defeated, but I won't be, even by a jinchuriki."
Several black tendrils shot from his arms again, and it took all she had just to not get impaled repeatedly.
"Tch. If it goes on like this..."
Her thoughts were interrupted as Aurorus yelled out
"Focus, Nibi!"
She quickly dodged to the side.
"It's Yugito damnit!"
"Shall we, kitten?" a familiar voice within Yugito suddenly asked.
"Yeah; this prick's playing with fire, and you know how the saying goes."
"I'm a demon who's inside of your stomach and has been since birth. How would I know the saying?"
"...Damnit Mata-chan..."
Aurorus stood there, a bit annoyed at how long Yugito was lasting, yet enjoying the fight quite a bit. It'd been a while since he fought someone who could dodge the tendrils of his Earth Grudge Fear.
"Alright, it's time to rock," Yugito said, focusing on him.
She locked eyes with him, her pupils turning to slits as her chakra began to pump out around her. Blue flames began to scorch the earth around her, and glass was formed wherever Gaara's sand had remained.
"Let's see you handle this!" she screamed out, her chakra creating a flaming suit of energy around her.

---

"...Hanako, take a note," Coren said to her. "Remind me to flesh out 'Demon Flame Armor' when we get back to Konoha."
"What's that?"
"A technique that I'm quite sure that Jacob will fall in love with."
With that, he turned back to the fight.

---

The tables had turned now; whenever Aurorus struck, Yugito could easily cleave through his tendrils with the ease of a hot knife through butter, and now it was his turn to be on the defensive.
"Tch. You're tougher than I thought," he said, a light smile on his face.
"You're not the first one to say that," she responded, only barely missing with her new, sharpened claws.
"Oh? Well I have something I'm sure that you've never heard before."
As she swung downwards again, this time he leaped back. Her nails raked into his chest, but he managed to put some distance between them.
"Take this! Lightning Style: Thundering Wyvern!"
He suddenly began collecting absurd quantities of electricity into the air, until it collected into what appeared to be what the technique was named after.
A giant blue dragon of lightning rose up above the field, before shooting down at Yugito.
"Been there," she casually remarked. "Done that."
She quickly pulled something out of her pocket, throwing it into the air.
Coren smirked as he watched.
"A small price to pay for an arm, don't you think?" he asked himself playfully.
"Lightning Seal!" she called out.
The entire dragon crashed into the seal, disappearing completely.
It fell down into Yugito's hand, and the girl smirked.
"What now, Aurorus?"
At first, the Taki ninja was in shock. She had just blocked his most powerful lightning technique with something that she shouldn't have.
But then he saw the smirk on Coren's face, and his own appeared.
Then, it expanded into a grin.
"I see, I see..." he said, beginning to chuckle. "If that's the way you want to play, then I suppose I'll need a different caliber of technique. Let me show you my final form, hmm, Yugito?"
The girl gave a slight chuckle.
"It's about damn time you got my name right."
That smirk on her face faded as Aurorus took off his cloak. She could only say
"...Oh, balls."
His appearance was something out of bad horror movie, with the botched up surgeries. His entire body looked completely normal apart from the fact that his limbs looked like they'd been cut off and then sewn back together with the black threads he'd been attacking with. In fact, those same black threads coursed underneath his skin, occasionally forcing their way out. He wore a simple black sleeveless shirt that did nothing to hide the writhing mass of tentacles beneath his skin, and his maniacal grin did nothing to help his image.
"You may have exhausted my lightning heart," he said with a laugh, "But can you take four more?"
He didn't even give her time to respond as he rattled off more handsigns.
"Let's see them all at once, shall we!?"
Everyone's eyes widened as he screamed out several technique names in rapid succession.
Hellfire Dragon, Water Serpent, Earthen Drake, and Wyrm of the Wind.
All of these rose above him, each the size of a four story building.
"The Five Apocalyptic Dragons," Coren said, his eyes wide. "Fire, Water, Thunder, Wind, and Earth. At the end of the technique, none shall survive."
His tone was listless, like he was just reading off a book.
Then, he launched himself into action.
If the Kages question him, he'd give an excuse like 'that technique will kill bystanders' or something.
Then, the attacks shot towards the girl, and Coren pulled something out of his pocket.
"This match is over!" he screamed out.
With that, he threw out four kunai.
Aurorus turned to Coren, scowling.
Then the kunai hit.
The first struck the water dragon; it had a sealing scroll strapped to it and absorbed the water.
Then the fire seal absorbed the flames, before turning to ash.
The third struck the wind dragon, though strike is not such a good term; forming several hand-seals, Coren immediately redirected the dragon into the sky with his own wind affinity, mixed in with a chakra-pulse grenade (a type of seal) that had landed in the dragon. It dissipated harmlessly in the sky.
And then came the fourth dragon; the one of earth. He couldn't seal it in a scroll, he couldn't dismantle it with a grenade, or stop it with an explosive without killing everyone anyway. So what did he do?
Well, even a long time ago, Coren had been interested in seals.
That's why he stole one of the Flying Thunder God kunai from the ninja academy that had been on display.
Forming a seal, he teleported to the dragon and landed on top of it, and just before it struck Yugito, it disappeared in a sudden blast of golden light and chakra.
Every person in the entire area was stunned and shocked.
Mei then turned to Minato, saying
"Roll with the crazy, right?"
He could only respond with a facial expression similar to that of a fish.
God damn sealing is overpowered.
A massive explosion then erupted in the distance, near what Mei Terumi knew to be the ocean.
Since they were several miles in-land, the fact that they could hear and feel that was slightly terrifying.
Then, Coren suddenly dropped from the ceiling, his clothes charred and his hair filled with dirt.
He fell onto one knee, bowing before the Kages.
"You have my apologies for interrupting the battle," he said curtly, "But that technique was far to dangerous for Aurorus of Taki to have been using in an arena filled with civilians. I request that he be disqualified."
Everyone looked at each other, a bit shocked.
The Raikage was the first to speak.
"I agree with the boy. He put the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people in danger from that attack. I say that Yugito should advance."
"I can't agree with that," said the Tsuchikage. "The jinchuriki would've lost if not for the interuption of the battle from this boy. I say we disqualify the ninja from Taki, and let none pass."
"Then there would be no final battle," Mei said, throwing in her two cents.
"Frankly, ma'am, I don't think either Ms. Nii or I are in any state to be partaking in yet another battle." Coren looked up at her, a bit of blood smeared over what appeared to be a broken nose. "If you so wish, we will continue combat, but I think that doing such a thing would be reckless considering the conditions of our bodies."
"How do you know the Hiraishin!?" Minato suddenly asked, his mind finally shifting into gear. "And the Rasengan, and Hyoton! You can't have those!"
"Would you like me to answer them in that order, sir?" Coren asked, his voice steeled. When Minato nodded, Coren began. "The Hiraishin, as you know, works by bringing someone to a chakra beacon using a reverse-summoning seal. Originally, it was designed only to use your chakra, Hokage-sama, but I adjusted it recently so that it could take my own. I simply used your technology for my own gains.
"And the Rasengan can't really be called that. I learned it at the same time as Hyoton; using my control over wind and over water, I simply froze the water I came in contact with, and that was it. The Rasengan came from using two separate mini-hurricanes and crushing them into a small orb to cool off the water faster than normal. That's also how my Hyoton works.
"Any other questions before I lose consciousness?"
Minato opened his mouth, but his red-haired bodyguard stopped him.
"No," she said softly. "You've done well; now rest."
And with that, Coren fell unconscious for the first time today.
Considering the fact that he's lost an arm several times and nearly killed himself repeatedly, that's saying something.

---

"Well," Yugito said, walking up to the unconscious boy's teammates, "He's certainly an unpredictable one, isn't he?"

"Unpredictable, insane; I can't even tell at this point. Seriously, that dude is wacked out in the head, and I'm glad that he's on our side. On a completely unrelated note, what'll happen next?"

Yugito shrugged.
"I heard what the Kages said to him, but I didn't really get anything. The Chunin Exams might be over, but jinchuriki heal fast, so as long as Coren's combat ready in a few minutes, the final round'll start.
"The question is; will he be good to fight me in the last round?"

---

Coren was currently thinking that very thought in his Mindscape.
"Status report."
"We've sustained massive internal bleeding, a broken skull, and I think we may have lost a lung from that dragon."
"How long until repairs finish?"
"Seventy-eight seconds in the real world."
"Understood."
With that, Coren sat in his chair, looking at the various clones of himself that he had staffed in his mind.
What? He couldn't be bothered to do everything himself!
"How long until I regain consciousness?"
"Approximately 146 seconds."
"Mindscape time?"
"I would give you around half a year, if you slow everything down to a crawl."
"...Alright. I'll go train for an hour, than speed up until I awaken. Should any complications arise, inform me."
"Thou art I, and I art thou; all I know is your own knowledge," the clone responded.
"...Damn I'm smart."
And with that, Coren disappeared into his Mindscape, to quickly train his sealing.
It'd saved him in every fight in the Chunin Exams, and even won him the interrogation; if it could do that, then he needed to train it more.

---

Yugito sat down next to the two members of Konoha's Team 7.
"So, it just occurred to me that I don't know you two. I don't plan to get to know you either, but Coren's a pretty cool guy, and you can't be too bad if your with him. You know who I am, but I don't even have your names."

"Jacob Hyuuga," I said, a grin popping up. "And the annoying one's Hanako Yamanaka. She was in charge of interrogating Yarui and just being annoying."

Yugito frowned.
"...I thought you said that she was Hanako," she said, pointing at Hanako. "You're really confusing me here, 'cause you seem a lot more annoying than her."
Hanako's frown then turned upside-down, and the two girls then high-fived at the Hyuuga's expense.
...What is even going on here?

---

Coren's eyes tore themselves from the bonds of their lids, his entire body sore as all Hell.
"You're awake, hmm?"
Coren sat up.
"Yes ma'am," he responded quickly.
It was the red-headed bodyguard; Kushina Uzumaki, the wife of the Fourth Hokage, and if sources prove correct, the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.
She laughed lightly at how rigid Coren was acting.
"Don't be so stiff. You know, you've really caught everyone's interest with all the stuff you've been doing. Hyoton, Rasenga, Hiraishin, the seals, and somehow, I don't think that's the end of your repertoire."
She smiled.
"...I think you'd be right, ma'am."
"Just Kushina will be fine. From what I've heard, you'll be stuck around Minato for a while with those techniques you used, so I think we'll end up seeing each other quite a bit."
"There's always a price to being well-known; that's why I prefer fighting from the shadows."
"You can't always hide yourself from the spotlight."
"That doesn't mean I have to like it."
Kushina smiled a bit more.
"True enough. I used to be singled out before; my red hair was a big thing back in school, apparently, and I didn't really like being the center of attention."
Coren didn't respond for a few moments.
"...You're a very uptight boy. Children should relax more."
"To become a ninja is to become an adult, no matter the age. The moment I graduated from the Academy, I stopped being a kid."
"That's really sad."
"The truth is rarely uplifting; you of all people should know that."
Her smile faltered for a moment.
"...I guess you're right. I came here to make sure you were healing quickly; apparently, the fans have really taken a liking to you, and they're practically screaming for an encore."
"Are you sure I'm ready for combat?"
"You heal very fast; I think you're ready."
Coren sighed.
"...I suppose it can't be helped, then."
Pulling his body out of the bed, he turned to Kushina.
"Lead the way, ma'am."
She pouted.
"Didn't I say to call me Kushina?"
"Yes ma'am; yes you did."

---

Time ended up passing almost instantly for Yugito and friends (and Jacob), mainly because Hanako thought it'd be a good idea to describe Jacob's various misadventures with Tora.
Needless to say, her sides have reached orbit.
"Oh sweet merciful Glob, I need to see these cat," she said between laughs, again at Jacob's expense. "This is comedy gold right here."
Suddenly, a voice cut into the arena.
"It has been decided; both combatants are ready for battle, and the final round of the Chunin Exams will go on!"
Yugito's laughs died out quickly, and she turned to the Kage booth.
Sure enough, Coren was falling to the ground, a new set of clothes on his back and looking clean.
A gust of air blew out from under him as he landed on the ground, and he simply walked forward.
The crowd went absolutely insane, and some people even appeared to be fainting. Curiously enough, they all seemed to be teenage girls. How odd.
He walked up to his team and Yugito, a faint smile on his face.
"Here," he said, handing Yugito a soldier pill. Downing one of his own, he said "Let's make one worthy of the textbooks that no student ever reads, eh?"
Yugito smiled back, though hers was less playful and more predatory.
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Turning towards her two chat-mates, she said "We'll continue this after I'm through throttling this guy, alright? I wanna hear more about this Tora of yours."
With that, both combatants took their places on the field.
They both locked eyes as Anko took her spot as proctor.
"Alright you two, by the end of this, I want the crowds to go blind from over-exposure to pure awesome, you hear me?"
"Just remember to cover your eyes," Coren said with a smirk.
And with that, Anko disappeared from the field, the fight having just begun.

---

"So," the snake-jonin said, suddenly appearing behind Coren's teammates and placing her arms on their shoulders, "Who do you think'll win?"

"DON'T DO THAT!" I screamed out, nearly falling over. "Don't sneak up on me; you practically scared the life out of me!"
With a sigh, I shook my head.
"And I think Coren'll win; he always seems to do that, no matter how impossible it is. It's like his ass is a sealing scroll, and he always has something hidden up there for him to pull out."

"...So you're thinking about his ass, then?" Anko asked with a smirk. "Good to know your standpoint on these things, kid... But I have to disagree. He'll lose."
Hanako turned to look at Anko, a confused expression on her face.
"Huh? I thought you were, like, a friend of his or something."
"Yeah, but still..." She looked towards the boy in question, sighing. "He's done well in hiding it, but I know what having the Cursed Seal of Heaven is like. It isn't just some hickey from Orochimaru; it's eroding at his sanity at every moment."
"...So you're saying he might lose it here?"
"The Cursed Seal kicks in when the user's life is in danger; chances are, the only reason he survived that dragon without losing it already is because he knew he'd survive. I know Coren; I would trust him with my life, to be honest. But I don't trust that Hickey from Hell, and nothing can change that."
She raised her hand to her neck, frowning.
"...Maybe you should just believe in him. Who knows? He might be stronger than the seal. After all, you are, aren't you?"
Anko flinched.
How did she know..? That's an A-ranked secret.
"...Anyway, I just think Yugito Nii'll win, because Coren'll lose his damn control and get disqualified. He may be smarter and stronger, but the first time one really activates the seal is..."
She just trailed off.
"...If I'm right, you'll see it here. If I'm wrong, than count yourself lucky."
And with that, she was gone.
Hanako just scoffed as she left.
"Not even willing to trust someone you care about, hmm..?" She shook her head. "I'm disappointed, Mitarashi..."

---

Yugito instantly launched into motion, using a small amount of Nibi's chakra to strengthen her nails.
Coren activated the Byakugan, feeling the burning in his eye already.
It felt odd to see two different images in each eye, but it had to be done.
With its help, he managed to dodge the majority of Yugito's attacks, though he did get a small scratch on his left arm once.
"My turn," he said calmly, suddenly letting out a viscous snap-kick.
Yugito easily dodged it, but she didn't realize what Coren's hand-seals were because of it.
He disappeared, her hand digging into a log.
"You can't hide from me!" she called out.
She screamed out in pain all of a sudden, and Coren whispered into her ear
"I don't need to hide."
Jerking his sword out of her chest, he kicked her away.
The wound was already healing as she hit the ground, and she rolled and grabbed her chest.
"Wow, we've got a real heart-breaker here, don't we?" she said between gritted teeth.
"One could say that," Coren said calmly. "I'd much rather fight than talk, though. Shall we?"
Yugito nodded, promptly running forward.
"Cantrip," he muttered.
A green flame suddenly lit up the ground next to her, and she quickly dodged to the side.
Now, if only she realized that cantrip fires are completely useless, then she'd be fine.
Coren snapped his fingers, and explosive seal suddenly going off underneath her.
She was tossed into the air, blood spraying lightly into the air as she crashed onto the ground.
Coren charged forward, ready to put his blade at her neck, but a sudden kick to his knee brought him to the ground, before she shot her foot right into his face.
With the satisfying crunch of his nose being broken yet again, Coren flew back, leaving Yugito to stand up, already mostly healed.
Coren forced himself onto his good leg before roundhouse-kicking a tree hard enough for his knee to snap back into the right position for healing.
"Is that all you've got?" the two combatants asked each other.
The both moved forward, though not with the same speed as when they started.
Coren blocked a chakra-infused slash from raking him open with his blade, and grabbed her by the wrist to stop the other one.
She tried to slam her knee into his stomach, but quickly kicked his good leg over her outstretched one and slid down, raising his bum leg suddenly.
With the sound of shattering bone, Yugito's leg was bent a 90* angle; unfortunately for her, it's pointing the wrong way.
Rolling over onto her stomach, Coren slammed his fist into her face hard enough to leave an indent in the earth beneath her.
She quickly shoved him off, using a small burst of lightning to help ease the process.
He rolled away from her as she leaped at him on all fours, and he quickly jumped into the air and dropkicked her right in her face, the sound of her spinal cord snapping being quite evident.
As she flew back, she slammed into a wall, and was down for a few seconds.
Anko sighed, shaking her head and not even bothering to stand up to call the match.
Sure enough, around five seconds later, Yugito forced herself back onto her feet, her entire body now covered in a cloak of blue flame, with a single blue tail in the back of it.
"Now I'm angry!"
She leaped forward, her cloak swinging down at him in-time with her hand.
Coren quickly dodged to the side, and he could feel blood beginning to dribble down from his Byakugan eye.
He deactivated it; it wouldn't do him any good to go blind now.
He dodged another swipe from the enraged jinchuriki, though this one managed to light his cape on fire.
Immediately dropping the burning article of clothing, Coren pulled something out of the storage seal inside of it.
"It's not over yet!" he called out, shooting out at least 20 gallons of water right at her face. "What's wrong?" he asked as Yugito got pushed back from the powerful torrents of water, "Cat got your tongue?"
"That's it, I'm going to MURDER YOU!"
She leaped forward again, fully intent on gutting the boy.
Unfortunately for her, he was making hand-seals for one of the newer parts of his repertoire.
"If you think you're the only one with a flaming cloak, you're wrong," he said, focusing his chakra around him. "Keep on watching Jacob; I know you'll wanna learn this!"
And with that, Coren ignited the chakra around him, effectively lighting his body on fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the area, but Coren's healing kept him from sustaining any real damage.
As he slammed his fist into Yugito's face, he pushed out as much chakra as he could at once, making a giant explosion erupt from his flaming fist.
She was sent flying backwards, and her face was burnt pretty bad as Coren's flames died out.
"What's wrong?" he asked, hiding his pain well. "I thought you were gonna put up a better fight than this."
She grit her teeth, standing up. More of Nibi's chakra began to pour into her, and Coren could practically hear her body strain as it was pumped to the brim with the stuff.
She launched forward with incredible speed, but forgot to take into account something important.
Something she couldn't know of.
"You're in the range of my Divination," he said calmly.
He stopped sending chakra to his mask, allowing what would have been no more than pieces fall to the ground. Chakra concentration ftw.
But now she could see his eye; the single, pupil-less pale eye.
"Let's do this."
She couldn't back down now; she was too close.
She tried to cleave into the boy's body, but he dodged it and got in close.
"Two palms!" he called, driving his hands into her chest. "Four palms!" Pulsing his chakra into her, she screamed as it forced the Nibi's chakra out of her. "Eight palms!" Nibi's chakra was actually tearing open muscle and skin from how hard it was tearing out.
"Sixteen Palms!" And now, tears began to fall.
"Thirty-two palms!" Her eyes went blank for a moment.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" he screamed out, slamming his hands into her at an absurd rate.
As he delivered the final blow, he said
"I guess watching Jacob use this one really paid off."
He deactivated his Byakugan, which had now almost turned red from the blood in it.
He would need to work on that.
He turned to Anko, who nodded, standing up.
But then, her eyes widened, following by Coren's doing so as well.
He looked down at his chest, and saw a hand sticking out of it, holding...
...A heart? Where'd that come-
...Oh.
Despite the fact that he was now lacking an important organ, Coren turned around, snapping Yugito's arm in the process as he came face-to-face with her, and he stared into her slitted eyes.
"That was for the kitten," she said in a deep voice.
"Of course it was, Nibi."
Coren grabbed Yugito by the throat with his left hand before tearing her arm out of his chest, drawing his blade, and driving it clean through her throat.
"I think it would be best if you didn't underestimate me," he hissed. As she dropped, clutching her throat, he caught his heart.
Placing it in his chest, he began to pump enough chakra for the ventricals and things to re-attach, and now, his heart was out there for the whole damn world to see.
However, out of paranoia, he activated his Byakugan.
And that's when he saw her coming up behind him.
"This isn't over!" Yugito screamed out.
"No, it isn't."
And with that, Coren activated Demon Flame Armor one more time, and whirled around.
He focused every bit of chakra into his body and slammed his fist into Yugito's stomach, channeling that chakra into one clean eruption point.
As the flames tore through her, her eyes widened.
Her entire chest frame was missing, now.
As Coren pulled away, Yugito fell onto her stomach.
"How sad," he remarked, his tone as cold as steel. "What a waste of a perfectly good pair of breasts."
With that, he turned his back to her.
He'd ended up pouring a lot of his chakra into her body so far, and right now it was working in overtime to heal her body, but there was no way she was getting back-
He lifted his blade, blocking the claws of the should-be-unconscious girl.
"...You don't know when to give up, do you?"
"Says the man who I tore the heart out of."
"Indeed."
He pushed her backwards, watching her skin sew itself back together. All of her internal organs were already healed, and her bones and muscles were repaired. All that was left of the attack he'd dealt was the quickly-shrinking hole in her skin.
"You can't beat me and you know it," she said.
Looking over the girl, he could see why.
Her shroud had completely disappeared, yet two fluffy tails were whipping about behind her.
The Nibi was in full control now, and was channeling all of her power.
"...I suppose you're right," Coren said. "But what sort of person would I be if I gave up now? All of my loyal fans would lose their interest."
"Oh, and that'd be such a damn shame to you, wouldn't it?" she asked sarcastically.
"I'm not one who enjoys disappointing others... But let's just skip this banter, shall we? I am a man of action, not words."
"And the same could be said of me. Shall we?"
"Let's."
And then they charged each other again.

---

The battle stretched on for another half-hour. After the first ten minutes, Yugito ended up coming back to fight, but the Nibi came back ten minutes later when Coren nearly ripped her head off with a kick.
Coren was missing his non-Byakugan eye and his left arm, both of which were currently trying to heal with what little chakra he has left, and to be honest, it looked like he should be long dead, not to mention all of the blood on the ground was enough to fill several full-size tankers.
The final was finally coming to an end with Coren on the losing side; Yugito simply had higher chakra reserves and had multiple people to switch out with any time she couldn't go on. Coren, though, didn't.
But he had something she didn't.
As she charged forward one more time, Coren let loose his final trump card; his coup de taut.
Pulling his hand back behind him, he threw a punch.
It collided with Yugito's own punch, and the last of the boy's chakra blasted behind him, giving a bit more leeway.
And then, Coren side-stepped.
He pulled something out of his pocket, and did what nobody expected him to.
He went and kissed the girl.
Needless to say, Anko nearly choked on the food she had someone get for her.
Yugito was nice and shocked to, which made her the perfect target.
He placed a seal on her hip as he pulled back, and said in the ragged voice that only someone who's gone through six sets of lungs can use,
"Activate."
And then, the chakra seal pulsed, taking away Yugito's one advantage.
Her eyes went blank again, but this time, they stayed that way as she fell forward.
Coren laughed, though it was a pained one.
"I bet you didn't see that coming, you annoying little prude!"
And then, he fell over as well, the last bits of his consciousness leaving him. However, the last words he managed to utter were
"I totally won that..."

Anko just stared at the two of them for a moment.
She had to hand it to the boy; that kiss probably shocked the entire world, what with this being broadcasted like that.
That was smart.
She was still gonna rip him apart when he woke up, though. He really should've just given up, but he didn't.
She stood up as the audience began their applause.
At first it was a bit weak, but within a few moments, the clapping, whistling, and screaming took over the entire place, and Anko almost went deaf as she pulled out her microphone.
As the applause died down, she said
"The final battle has ended with no apparent victor. Despite this, I believe I can say that both of these two have demonstrated a strength and tenacity that, in others, would otherwise be impossible. I declare both of them to be the victors of this tournament, because anything beneath that would be an insult to the both of them."
And with that, the thunderous applause screamed out throughout the place.
Anko, meanwhile, could only wonder
"Why didn't the seal activate..?"

---

The Raikage stood up and turned to Minato.
"Namikaze," he said. "I have never seen a ninja fight as valiantly as that boy for a long time. I wish to extend congratulations on training such a man as that."
"I... Didn't train him," he responded, still without words. "...That'll change after this, though. That'll change."
Kushina smiled.
Man, could she call it or what?

---

Coren and Yugito were carted off on stretchers to the medical bay to be administered the best medical attention that money wasn't good enough to buy.
All the while, Hanako just stood there. No shock was on her face.
Turning to Jacob, she said
"Remind me to never, I repeat, never piss him off. Ever."
With that, she turned away, absolutely terrified.
Even Kuro was scared of that boy at this point.

---

Coren sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"Could you repeat that?"
"It should take approximately two weeks for your body to be healed enough to continue training, and you won't wake up for a good three days."
"...Damnit."
Coren sighed, sitting down.
"...Sir, why do you even ask? I mean, I am so anything I know, you already know."
"It's for the readers," another clone rang out.
"Stop it with the readers stuff, damnit!" a fourth voice yelled.
Coren chuckled.
"...Looks like I'll be spending a lot of quality time with myself, huh?"
With that, Coren stood up.
Three days, hmm?
According to the way that time advances here, that means he had 1080 years of training ahead of him.
...Yeah, maybe fast-forwarding a century or eight might be a good idea.

This thread has been concluded.
At long last, the third and final episode of the Chunin Exams has come to a close. Team 7's members have grown stronger, surpassing what they were at the beginning. One threat has passed, but soon, another shall rise.

At the start, all were told that an interrogation would take place. Coren had been chosen to be interrogated while his teammates would do it to another. Two out of three of them came out victorious; the password was gained by Hanako and Jacob, but Coren gave up his own after being mangled almost beyond recognition.
Later, the group all went to bed, though Coren wasn't willing to go without putting in one more session. Having obtained the DNA of Neji Hyuuga and crystallizing it in ice, he managed to implant it within himself and awaken the genes far within his body, giving him the Byakugan. It was after that, that the next portion of the exams begun.
One-on-one battles; many battles took place, from Coren's victory over Fuu to the double-knockout between Hanako and Jacob. Next, Coren fought against the Ichibi no Tanuki, but thanks to use of his knowledge of the jinchuriki's weaknesses, he defeated him with ease.
While that fight took place, though, a battle raged within the recesses of Jacob's mind, and he and Hanako were at the center of it. They fought each other endlessly, maiming and obliterating each other continuously until Jacob discovered the girl's plan. Learning of Hanako's dissociative identity disorder, he nearly lost against the onslaught of attacks before activating his seal within his mind and ending the battle, with none moving on.
Then came the final battle; the battle between Yugito Nii and Coren Keitaro. For a long time did it rage; for half an hour they fought, brutally ripping and tearing into each other, drenching the battlefield in their blood and entrails. However, all battles must come to an end. Coren was smart, but Yugito was strong; they balanced each other out and as they both fell due to a maneuver that none saw coming, a double-knockout was called, and they were both hailed as champions as they were carted away from the area.
But now, Coren finds himself within the confines of his mind, and has resolved himself to train. What will come of his training? Only time will be able to tell.
And what of the future? A darkness has begun to rise within Coren, yet it does not strike; what is the meaning of this? What did Orochimaru do to him, then, if the seal isn't doing what it was designed for?
Tune in next time to find out, at www.TNTNaruUzu.Forumotion.com

Bonuses:
Completed a Thread: +10 EXP
Defeated Fuu – Chunin Exams: +15 EXP (All)
Defeated Hanako – Chunin Exams: +15 EXP (JacobHyuuga)
Defeated Gaara – Chunin Exams: +15 EXP (CorenKeitaro), Santon Unlocked (CorenKeitaro)
Defeated Yugito Nii - Chunin Exams: +20 EXP (All)
Defeated a Jinchuriki with Ninjutsu: +10 Ninjutsu (All)
Defeated a Jinchuriki with Hyoton: +10 Wind Manipulation (CorenKeitaro), +10 Water Manipulation (CorenKeitaro)
Defeated a Jinchuriki with Sealing: +10 Sealing (CorenKeitaro), +5 Sealing (JacobHyuuga)
Survived Interrogation: +5 Endurance (CorenKeitaro)
Completed Interrogation: +5 Charisma (JacobHyuuga)
Deflected the Five Apocalyptic Dragons: +5 All Elemental Manipulation (All), +5 Sealing (All)
Used More Than 5 Seals in One Thread: +5 Sealing (CorenKeitaro)
Trained in Sealing: +5 Sealing (CorenKeitaro)