Act I: Welcome to Leaf Arena

Chapter 1: Historical

She withdrew her long sword from its holster. Her clothes were stained with the very blood that dripped from her sword; and her opponent. He reverted to groveling, merely begging for his life. His left arm had been severed; not that it would do him any good since she had already crushed every bone in it. He clenched his shoulder, or whatever was left of it, and was down on his knees. Tears ran down his face as he pled for survival. She was merciful, but the crowd, however, was not. There was loud hooting and hollering. 'Kill him! Kill him!' they chanted, and she was a crowd pleaser. That was her job. She turned around and headed for the exit, dropping the blade on her way out. The crowd booed. "What?" The dying man shouted. "You're going to leave me hear? Please, just let me die with dignity. Please!" The woman sighed. She muttered under her breath, "You asked for it." In a flash, she spun around and threw a kunai knife straight into his forehead, silencing him forever; but sending the crowd into an uproar. The man fell flat on the ground, face first, effectively pushing the kunai further into his head. Sakura swiftly exited the arena. She was a crowd pleaser; that was her job.

Her name was Sakura Haruno, yet her stage name was Sakura Cherry Blossom. She thought it rather redundant to have a stage name, especially since there was no stage, but she was a performer; the best performer that Leaf Arena had in their roster. There were other excellent fighters like 'Dog-tag' Inuzuka and Ino the Spirit, but Sakura was top dog around the arena, for now. When Sakura first arrived at the arena, she wore a white flowing robe. Now her robe was tattered, shredded; not even a speck of white was left on the cloth. Blood stained every fiber and the bottom pieces fluttered in the wind.

Leaf Arena is an eight story combat ground. It is the largest of the five coliseums, and now the last. All other arenas have been shut down due to the fact that all of their fighters were killed, slaughtered, or offered a better career at the Leaf. Arenas were once a simple plan to kill off any extra criminals or convicts. However, it escalated into one of the biggest entertainment features in all the countries. This particular arena was built right on top of the old Leaf Village Stadium. The stadium once held many events, including the historic Chunin Exams. Now the age of the shinobi is over. In the course of three years, the Leaf Village lacked most of its former ninja; as did the rest of the villages. From the public view it was a simple play, an act if you will. They don't realize how many good shinobi, or gladiators as they were now called, lost their lives to some of the most dangerous rogue's on the face of the earth.

Sakura wasn't in it for the fame, or the fortune, or the lust to kill that so many gladiators had. She loved the audience, she loved the applause; she loved how the spectators reacted at every strike, every blow that she landed. They respected her; she was renown throughout the country. Sakura traveled down the hall, glowing with pride over her most recent victory. Along the way, she passed some of the polished statues of the former champions. There at the end of "The Hall of Warriors" was an empty podium; a space waiting to be filled by the next great gladiator to come along. She wanted that place in history. Her statue would light the halls of the arena. She turned left at the empty space and continued to the rest room. She opened the door and found Ino Yamanaka fondling with her hair in the mirror. She was called The Spirit because of her techniques, like body stealing and such. "Nice fight out there, Sakura." Ino complemented while brushing her long blonde, obviously unaltered hair. "He almost had you, there."

Sakura smiled as she wetted a paper towel to wipe the dried blood off of her face. "He didn't even come close. I hear you're fighting Kiba tonight, those gladiator rounds are tough." Sakura pulled off her tattered dress and under them was her normal attire of a mini-skirt and pink shirt.

"I didn't want to participate in it, but Kiba said it was a good idea."

In Leaf Arena, normal rounds are fought against criminal scum and traveling gladiators from across the land. A Gladiator Round was a one-on-one match in the arena with one gladiator fighting against another, from the same arena. Gladiator Rounds can put friends against each other. It is not usually fatal, unless the Director calls for it. The Director is the current owner and manager of the arena. He hires his gladiators, and can make or break careers. The current Director was a devious man who fancied the strongest contender he had, Sakura herself. She however did not return his feelings and it is assumed that is the reason why she does not yet have her own pedestal in The Hall of Warriors. That's Sakura's theory, but others just think it's because he is a total douche.

The Arena is also a prison for criminals, waiting to be executed. What better way to execute a prisoner than in front of a crowd? The two friends exited the rest room and headed to the mess hall. For a violent, cut-throat prison/warzone, the food was very exquisite. 'The best food for the best gladiators,' The Director said at the last board meeting. Ino and Sakura got in line and grabbed a tray. After selecting their lunching they sat down at the table in the center.

Sitting next to them was Kiba 'Dog-tag' Inuzuka and Hinata 'Violet' Hyuuga. Kiba was a wild child who preferred to take his opponents head on with his companion, Akamaru (or 'Wonderdog' as the press has been known to call him). This frightened Ino the most because, in battle, she needed time to perform her jutsu. She loathed the very idea of fighting him in close combat. Hinata was a shy girl, but she stood up for what she believed in. She favored the long sword, but was revered in the coliseum for paralyzing blows to the chakra network. Her fighting style was similar to her cousin, Neji 'The Vortex,' who had just recently disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

"So Ino, are you ready for our match tonight? I'm totally psyched!" Kiba shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

"Uhh…" Ino stuttered, "Yeah, I sure am." She chuckled, faking a smile as hard as she could. Suddenly the doors burst open and The Director swaggered though the café. He made his way over to Sakura's table and stared down at her.

"My dear Cherry Blossom." He said soothingly.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Hello, Director."

He coughed, "That's Mr. Director, sir, but you know you can just call me Sasuke."

"Yeah, well, what do you want?" She asked, already annoyed by the ten seconds of life she will never get back. He smiled slyly and tickled her chin with his finger. Sakura quickly slapped his hand away and walked out. Ino followed suit and soon the rest of the table joined them. Sakura growled, stomping out of the eatery. "I can't take him. The only reason he's Director is because he cheated his way to the top."

To become the Director, you need to face the 9 Challenges. It is rumored that Sasuke Uchiha, Leaf Arena's most underhanded fighter, became owner of the arena because he cheated through most of the challenges. The previous Director, "White Fang," gave equal care to all of the fighters; back when this wasn't such a bloodthirsty business. Now, Sasuke only gives premium care to anyone on top. Many of the lower fighters like 'The Black Beatle' and 'Green Giant' don't receive such admiration like Sakura or Kiba. That is why most low-class fighters frown upon Sasuke and the top-rank gladiators.

Ino walked up behind her distressed friend and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, "Calm down, Sakura. I know he's a jerk, but he is kind of cute."

"Don't make me sick." Sakura scoffed. "He's a dirty double-crossing, no-good, pretentious jackass!"

There was a large clang noise and everyone ran to the fight area. There was a second clang and Sakura was startled. Two clangs meant one thing, "New arrival!" Ino shouted. The four friends ran to their special box seats on the second story. All top gladiators had special box seats in the arena; second story, not too high see the fight, but not too low to be hit by collateral damage and debris. As they took their seats a large carriage pulled into the coliseum gates.

Out of the carriage came two guards, carrying a relatively tall man wrapped up in chains. They kept a bag over his head and threw him onto the ground. The pulled the bag off his head and undid the chains, leaving him only in handcuffs. The one guard lifted him into the air and displayed him for the entire crowd to see. Sasuke appeared at his special podium and rang the bell, signaling the match to begin.

"We found this scoundrel outside of Konoha, looking for food scraps in the dumpster. He is being charged for thievery and being a public nuisance," the guard shouted. He threw the man to the ground and pulled out a kunai. "You will die," the guard whispered.

Sasuke cleared his throat, "As judge, jury, and defense; law and order. I declare this man guilty of all crimes."

The guard stabbed down with his knife, but the man rolled right out of the way. He got to his feet and brushed himself off. He was a tall, strapping young man with bright blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes that glistened in the sunlight. He wore a black and orange jacket that was open, revealing a light black t-shirt. He managed to zipper up his jacket and pulled a kunai out of his sleeve. Both guards ran at him, but the blonde jumped over them and stabbed the larger one in the back. As he fell, his partner spun around to face the criminal. The last guard charged with his sword and struck downward, easily breaking the cuffs on the man's wrists. The mysterious newcomer smirked and jumped high into the air. He performed his first, and last, jutsu of the match. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A thousand other identical bodies appeared in the sky. There were so many that they completely blocked out the sun. Immediately, they all began raining down on the final guard. Body after body, they piled up on the poor man until he was absolutely crushed under the pressure. The original stranger fell out of the sky like a shooting star and landed onto the giant pile. With a huge crash and a loud poof, the man stood victorious over the guard's crushed lifeless body. There was a silent murmuring in the crowd, when suddenly they burst out cheering. Sasuke jumped down from his seat and greeted the intriguing newcomer. Needless to say, he was impressed.

Sasuke gave his trademark, devilish smirk and held his hand out to the boy. "If you fight for me, like you fought today, I am willing to clear you all charges and give you a home here at Leaf Arena. What is your name?"

The victor smiled and walked right past Sasuke with his arms behind his head, into the arena mess hall. "Naruto Uzumaki, don't wear it out!"

Sakura's friends observed with interest as well. "He shows potential." Ino noted.

"…" Sakura was silent. Whenever she was silent, she was thinking. He was good, too good. He could show her up and take her spot on the podium. She would have to stay on top. She was, after all a, performer; that was her job.

Special Preview
Original Biographies:

Sakura Haruno (Sakura Cherry Blossom) – Leaf Arena's current strongest fighter. Has currently caught the eye of a certain Director. Is known for her extreme strength, medical jutsu, and use of all sword-type weapons.

Ino Yamanaka (The Spirit) – Sakura's closest friend and fellow top contender. She has certain feelings for the current Director. Famous for her mind possession techniques and use of poisons.

Kiba Inuzuka (Dog-Tag) – wildest fighter of all the top contenders. Has a crush on Hinata and loves animals. Known for fighting with Akamaru using close range hand-to-hand combat.

Hinata Hyuuga (Violet) – extremely shy but well rounded fighter. Cares deeply for Kiba and is a strong believer in justice. Known for her long sword, chakra-disrupting strikes, and 360 degrees of vision.

Sasuke Uchiha (Director) – current owner of Leaf Arena and a dirty fighter. Is hated by most of his own fighters. Seeks the hand of Sakura. Known for his infamous mastery of Sharingan.

Naruto Uzumaki – a new-comer from off the streets. Shows great potential and is known for his Shadow Clone Jutsu.