Naruto: Jinchuriki of the Six Paths by X009

Chapter 13

Lee pumped his fist and let out a whoop as the scoreboard showed his name, "Yahoo! I was afraid that I would have to wait until the very end for my match." He kicked the air in celebration. "But fortune has smiled on me and given me the second match!"

Gai chuckled at his side. "Ah, the youth are never willing to wait for things to come to them." He then gave his student a thumbs up. "But such is the nature of youth! You can settle down and be patient once you go gray. Until then, keep those fires burning!" He said, throwing out his fist.

"Yes sensei!"

Naruto chuckled as he watched them before turning to his teammates and pointing to the pair with the oversized eyebrows. "You know, they may be a couple of goofballs but they I like their style."

Everyone around him, even Kakashi, looked at him like he was crazy. It was Sakura who voiced their thoughts with a flat, "I'm sorry, come again?"

"What? Don't you think it's funny how their like father and son? And it's nice that their sensei lets him know he's appreciated. Sure, they're a bit out there some times, but they seem like fun people."

After a few moments Sakura, with a hint of apprehension, said, "Uh, you're not going to follow their example... are you?"

Naruto scoffed, "No. I said I liked their style, I didn't say I'd wanted to be like them. Besides, I'm one of a kind. I'm not going to rip off someone else."

Sakura gave a sigh of relief and raised a hand to her forehead. "Thank kami..." She mumbled. Lee seemed all right, but she didn't think she could deal with that 7 days a week! She threw Tenten a pitying look, which noticed and gave her a thankful expression.

Gai leaned down, bringing up his hand and closing all but his index finger. "Now Lee, you know the basics of the Aburame clan, they are one of our most famous after all, so you know what to look out for, right?"

Lee seemed a little sheepish at the question and averted his gaze for a moment. "Um no... Do you have any advice Gai-sensei?"

Sakura perked up at that. 'Oh. Maybe this guy's more on the ball than he acts...'

Gai's expression became deadly serious as he advised his pupil, "I'm fairly certain he's a member of our resident bug using clan, so be on the lookout for insects, alright?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

Sakura deflated. 'That's all? Guess not...'

Tenten face palmed. 'Couldn't he have come up with something a little more helpful? And what does he mean 'fairly'? Hasn't he worked with them before?'

"Then go for it, Lee! Show them all the power of your youth!" With that, the green clad boy leapt over the railing and quickly took his place on the far side of arena, shifting into his stance and smirking in anticipation as he awaited his opponent.

"Sheesh." Kiba said with a grimace before turning to Shino, who remained there with his hands in his pockets. "That guy might seem like a total goof, but if he's one of Neji's teammates you've got your work cut out for you." He briefly looked to Hinata, who fidgeted at the mention of her cousin. "Be careful."

"There's no need to tell me that. Why you ask? I'm always cautious, unlike someone I know." Shino replied in an emotionless tone, getting an annoyed grunt from Kiba.

As Shino slowly made his way to his place in contrast to his hotheaded opponent's more enthusiastic action, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he observed the two as he remembered his bout with the older boy. 'In pure taijutsu, he's definitely got an edge over me... I expect him to pass although...' his eyes turned to Shino as he reached his destination. 'I don't know the first thing about what Shino can do...'