I do not own Naruto

THIRD PERSON POV

Natsu Fukuda Vs. Riko

It's that boy with the brown hair from earlier. Riko thought. "Kakashi, can you teleport me down to the arena?" She asked. He looked at her for a minute before nodding.

"Wait a second, Riko. Are you sure you can do this? I mean, you can't walk." Sakura pointed out.

"Trust me Bubblegum, I'll be fine." Riko assured the pinkette. Sakura and Naruto looked a bit worried, but didn't press any further. Kakashi grabbed a hold of Riko's arm and they teleported to the arena where Natsu was already waiting.

Kakashi teleported back up to the stands, leaving Riko by herself. She sat with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.

"The fight will now begin." The proctor shouted. Riko placed her hands on her thighs and kept her eyes closed. I have to be alert. I don't have much lower body strength for this fight and I don't know much about my opponent, so I'll need to use my upper body and make a plan. She thought as she took a deep breath.

Naruto looked at Riko worriedly. "Kakashi Sensei, why isn't Riko opening her eyes?" He asked.

"I don't know. Why don't we watch and find out." Kakashi replied. Naruto gulped and turned back to the arena.

Natsu threw a few kunai at Riko, but she dodged them all. "Ugh! Can't you see that I'm trying to think?! It's really rude to interrupt people like that!" She opened her eyes and groaned in annoyance.

"You're talking all big for someone who can't even stand." Natsu smirked. He quickly ran up to her and tried to punch her, but she rolled out of the way.

"Since I can't really attack you, it's all up to you. I may be crippled right now, but that doesn't mean you can go easy on me." Riko glared at him.

"What's she doing, is she stupid or something?" Sakura asked, unsure what Riko's plan was. Neji and Gaara were silently wondering what Riko would do, as were most of the people in the arena.

"Wind Style: Wind Release!" Natsu shouted as he blew a gust of air towards Riko. She flew to the other side of the arena, her back harshly hitting the wall. Damn! That bruise from earlier was almost healed! She winced.

"Maybe if one of your limbs didn't work, it would be a fair fight." Riko's bangs covered her eyes as she began a string of handsigns. "Lightning Style: Electric Needle Spread." She muttered. Hundreds of electric senbons emerged from her skin and pointed themselves at Natsu. His eyes widened as the senbons shot at him at top speed. He dodged a few of them but got hit by most of them. He grunted as he got electrocuted by the needles.

He tried to do a jutsu, but couldn't move his arm. Riko smirked. "Your left arm's gone numb, hasn't it." She chuckled. Everyone was shocked by her attitude change. Natsu growled and charged at her. He punched her into the wall making a large crack. "Firestyle: Firestyle jutsu." She grunted after quickly composing herself. A large fireball sped towards Natsu. He narrowly dodged it, burning his arm a bit.

"That's it, I've had enough of you!" He shouted. "Waterstyle: Water Cannon Jutsu!" He began doing handsigns with one hand. Riko's eyes widened. No way, that's a jonin level technique!

Natsu spit out a stream of boiling water towards Riko, who couldn't move out of the way quick enough. The water smashed her against the wall as she screamed out in pain from the hotness of the water.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the girl who was now shaking in pain. Is that really she's got? Pathetic.

Neji crossed his arms. I would've liked for Riko to win, but nothing can change her destiny.

Team seven looked down at her in horror. Riko's hair was dripping wet and she had slight burn marks on her arms. Naruto gripped the railing in anger. "COME ON RIKO! YOU CAN DO THIS, DON'T LOSE TO THIS JERK! I KNOW YOU CAN WIN, BELIEVE IT!!" He hollered down at her.

Riko let out a shaky breath. I'm better than this. I'm stronger than this. So why am I holding back? Why am I purposely losing? I know. I feel bad for lying to my friends. I feel worthless. Like I don't deserve to win.

"YEAH GO RIKO! YOU CAN'T LOSE TO THIS GUY!

At that moment, something in Riko changed. A fire ignited in her heart. But they want me to win. I want to make my friends proud. I want to make Sasuke and Sakura proud. I want to make Kakashi proud. I want to make my family proud. Especially Itachi and Naruto. She slowly stood up, adding chakra to her legs and held onto the wall to keep her from falling over. I will win.

Riko raised her head and glared at Natsu, a shadow covering her now glowing purple eyes. Everyone's eyes widened. "Kakashi sensei, what's up with her eyes? Is that a kekkei genkai or something?" Sakura asked, keeping her eyes on Riko.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. There's still so much we don't know about Riko. Hopefully before this fight is over, we'll have learned something new." Kakashi sighed.

RIKO POV

I slowly raised my head and felt chakra run through my veins. What the hell? Where did this surge of power come from?

"I've decided to give you some of my power."

Minato. . . What do you mean? And how are we talking?

"I entered the small mindscape in your body that would be used if you had a tailed beast. As for the first question, I'm letting you use my Flying Raijin Jutsu. Just follow my lead."

I smirked and grabbed a kunai, following the lead of the Hokage that only I could see.

"How the hell are you still standing?!" Natsu growled in anger.

"Guess I'm just that amazing." I replied cockily as I marked the kunai with a sealing jutsu and threw it across the arena.

"Amazing, yeah right! You missed me by about a mile!" He shouted, referring to the kunai.

"Actually, I didn't miss." I said as Minato quickly showed me how to teleport to the kunai. I took a deep breath and emitted chakra from my whole body, reverse summoning myself to the kunai. I grinned as I caught the kunai in mid-air, spinning around to throw the kunai at Natsu, adding lightning release to the kunai.

He screamed in pain as the kunai lodged itself into his left shoulder and the electricity paralyzed him for about a minute.

"This is your chance, Riko." Minato encouraged.

I nodded and threw the same kunai just above Natsu's head. I teleported to it so fast that I left a streak of purple from my eyes. I grabbed the kunai and kicked Natsu's head. He flew into the wall and was knocked unconscious.

I let the chakra drain from my legs, and skidded to a stop in the middle of the arena. I placed my hands in between my legs and looked up at the stands. Everyone was frozen in shock while Sakura was smiling and Naruto was cheering for me. Kakashi on the other hand, looked a bit suspicious. I don't blame him, I mean I did just use a jutsu only known to the Fourth Hokage.

"That was really good. I didn't expect you to be able to keep up with me. I guess I should call you the Purple Flash now, huh?" Minato smiled

I chuckled at the thought of people calling me that. No, that's your thing. I wonder how I was able to do that. I borrowed your power. I said in disbelief.

(Riko can now talk to the dead in her mind, like how Naruto can talk to Kurama)

"I'm not sure, but let's figure it out later." He said.

"Yeah. You better make up a good excuse. Kakashi looks rather suspicious, don't you think?" Kushina appeared. "By the way, you fought really well, ya know."

I sighed to myself and nodded as the couple disappeared from my mind.

"Seeing as the other participant can no longer continue, RIko wins and will move to the finals." The proctor told everyone.

Naruto hopped over the railing and ran towards me. "That was amazing, Riko!" He beamed as he put his arm around my waist, helping me stand. "You're so cool! Believe it!"

I blushed at the close proximity and the compliment, and turned my face away from him. "Thanks." I mumbled. As we approached team seven, Kakashi gave me a look. I sighed and let go of Naruto, limping over to Kakashi.

"How did you do that?" He asked quietly so that the other wouldn't hear.

"I don't know." I responded honestly.

He narrowed his eyes at me. After about a minute he finally spoke again. "That was a special jutsu that was only used by the Fourth Hokage. Even if I do believe you, I can't overlook this. You might want to keep your business a mystery and that's okay, but we need to know. Since we don't know anything about you, and since you just pulled that little stunt, it might be needed for an ANBU to watch you." He told me.

I sighed and looked to the ground. "Okay, I understand."

Our attention turned back to the board. Sakura came out of the bathroom, laughing at the thought of Ino being stronger than her.

"Now isn't the time to be laughing, Bubblegum." I told her.

"Huh, what do you mean?" She asked. Kakashi turned her head towards the boards. Her eyes widened as she read the names.

Sakura Haruno Vs. Ino Yamanaka

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