AN: The newest and longest chapter so far. The chapters will start being a little slower with their release, but i cant really find a whole lot of spare time to write... the curse of schoolwork. So savor this chapter as long as possible.

Dislcaimer: I own nothing you are about to read. So dont accuse me of doing so.

Chapter 7

Naruto and his team walked into the building that would serve as the location of the first test, and headed to the room that they were supposed to take the first part of the Chunnin Exam. After reaching the second floor, they ran into a group of Chunnin who were having an argument with a group of Genin over not letting them enter the room. Sasuke was about to confront them about dispelling the obvious Genjutsu until Naruto stopped him.

"Wait, let them keep it up. This will weed out some of the Genin teams who really shouldn't be here. It'll be for their own good."

"Hn."

They made their way past the second floor and up to the third to where Lee was waiting for Naruto and his team, intent on challenging Sasuke to a fight before the first portion of the exam started. When Naruto caught sight of the green-spandex clad ninja, he ran up to him.

"Hey there Lee! What are you doin here? I thought for sure you would already be in the room with the others."

Lee watched his fellow 'dead last' approach him and smiled. "Unfortunately, the rest of my team isn't here, and so I have been made to wait outside until they show up." Lee eyed Sasuke and Sasuke returned his look with a fierce scowl. "But I would like to challenge him to a friendly spar."

Naruto knew that Lee was adamant about his spar with Sasuke, it was his chance to show that his hard work would pay off against those who were born with talent. Naruto also knew that this would be pivotal in showing Sasuke just how much he could stand to improve his skills in Taijutsu.

Sasuke stepped forward to answer the challenge. "Move it dobe, if this weirdo wants a fight, I'll give him one."

Naruto frowned and close his eyes. *Sigh* "Alright teme, just don't come crying to me when you get your ass handed to you."

Sasuke smirked. "Heh, in your dreams."

Unfortunately for Sasuke, the spar went the exact same way as it had happened in the past, and he was soundly defeated by Lee, who had been holding back quite a bit. Again, Gai had shown up on his turtle before Lee was able to execute his devastating Konoha Senpu attack. Sasuke made his way back to the team, glaring at the ground in humiliation while trying to ignore Naruto's smirk.

"Well, I must say that I just had one hell of a good dream."

Sasuke glared at his team mate. "Shut it…"

After their meeting with Lee, the three finally made it to their classroom. After entering the room, Naruto saw Gaara and his team, so he quickly went over to greet his newest friend. As he approached, he noticed Gaara looked a lot more calm, and the bags under his eyes were nearly gone. Gaara was the first one to see Naruto approach, though he looked a little mechanical, almost if he wasn't the one moving.

Naruto waved at the Suna siblings. "Hey guys! How's it going?"

Gaara answered very strangely. "Hello… Naruto-san… it's going… well."

Temari snorted at his response and shot a look at Kankuro. "Well? He haven't been able to do anything the last few days cause Gaara here decided to sleep for three and a half days straight! It has been boring as hell being cooped up in the dam apartment!"

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I can only imagine how tired Gaara has been, I'm surprised he was able to get up and come here at all."

This time it was Kankuro who snorted. "He didn't."

"What?"

Kankuro folded his arms across his chest. "He isn't awake. I've been moving him with my chakra strings. He has been great to practice on thought! I've even managed to figure out how to use my chakra to vibrate his vocal chords and make him talk. Pretty sweet huh?"

Naruto looked away. "Yeah… I guess so… Well, I better get back to my team. See you Temari and Kankuro… and Gaara I guess. Tell him I said hi when he gets up."

Temari laughed. "That's IF he gets up…"

"Right."

Naruto walked around the room, talking to the people he knew, he chatted with Team 10 and a few other various Genin whom Naruto had befriended from his childhood. He soon saw Haku make his way into the building, eliciting a few sighs from some of the female Genin in the room as they were captivated by his presence.

"Hey Haku! How've you been? I heard that they started training you to be a medical-nin because of your near-perfect chakra control."

Haku smiled at his first real friend. "Hello Naruto-san, yes, you are correct. I have been taught the basics of medical ninjutsu, but I still have a long way to go. Several of my senseis have told me that they haven't seen a level of chakra control in a ninja since the Sannin Tsunade, and they assure me that my skills will improve rapidly if I apply myself."

Naruto patted Haku on his shoulder. "Well that's great news! I'm glad that things are going great for you. So have you been given any trouble from any of the civilians or shinobi? I know they aren't the most accepting of foreign shinobi, and if you have any trouble just come get me."

Haku nodded. "Thank you Naruto-san for your consideration, and I have had some… altercations… with some of Konoha's populace, but it isn't for the reason you have stated. A few of the female Shinobi and even several of the civilians seem to be infatuated with my being, though I don't understand why, as I have done nothing to encourage such advances."

"HAHAHAHA, those are just girls being girls. That kind of stuff happens. You should have seen Sasuke-teme in the academy! Don't worry too much about it, they will go away, eventually. Anyway, I gotta get going, I wanna talk to Hina-chan before the exam starts."

Haku tilted his head to the side. "Who?"

Naruto face palmed. "Oh, wow, I can't believe I haven't introduced you to Hina-chan. She is someone who is very close to me, someone that I would lay my life down to protect." He decided to put her relationship to Naruto in terms Haku could understand.

"I see, well I look forward to meeting this person. Good luck Naruto-san."

"You too Haku!"

When he approached Team 8, Kiba made it a point to get in between Naruto and his female teammate.

'Great… there goes my good mood… I can't act like a jerk in front of Hina-chan, I will have to be the bigger person here I guess.'

Kiba glared at Naruto not intending to give him the chance to talk to Hinata and doing his best to stir up as much contempt in his voice as he could.

"What are you doing here loser?"

Naruto tried to look around the Inuzuka. "Well, I am trying to see Hina-hime, now if you don't mind I would like to talk to her before the test begins."

Kiba snorted at his response. "I didn't mean what are you doing over here. I mean what are you doing in this test. This is only for people with a chance of becoming Chunnin! Sasuke is the only one of your team who has a shot in hell of passing this thing! Losers like you should just get out before you get hurt."

Naruto sighed. "Kiba, I'm not sure why you despise me so…" Naruto leaned over and looked at Hinata. "Well, I guess I do, but just because there is someone you can't have doesn't mean you have to have so much hatred towards me." Naruto pushed pass Kiba and addressed Hinata directly. "Sorry Hina-chan, I guess I'm not welcome here. I should get back to my team before he creates a scene."

Hinata smiled at the blonde. "Ok Naruto-kun, I will see you in a bit! Good luck!"

Naruto leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, and he was almost happy when he turned around and saw Kiba go red with rage. "Thanks Hina-hime, good luck to you too. I know you will do well, just have confidence!"

Naruto walked away, and was heading back to his team, but was stopped when he heard Kiba's last comment.

"Neji was right… she IS a damn fox-whore…"

Naruto froze in his place. Sure, people could call him any name they could think up, he was used to that all his life. He had grown up bearing the hatred of the villagers, and had to go through it again as he grew up a second time. All in all, he could take it quite well. But when someone came at a person he cared about, especially if that person was as close to him as Hinata was, he couldn't let that slide.

Naruto released enough killing intent to freeze everyone in the room. Kiba was in a daze, he had never been as scared in his life as he was as that minute. He had never felt the kind of killing intent that the supposed "loser" of his class had been able to direct at him. All eyes were turned to Naruto still radiating killing intent, their breaths trapped in their throats, even those who had been Gennin for years were afraid of the person standing in front of them. Those Genin who hadn't been shinobi for very long were cold sweating, afraid for their lives and doing their best to keep their pants dry.

"Kiba. For your sake I hope we are not paired against each other if there is a fighting portion to this test. If there is I will come at you with everything I have. I will drag your face through the mud, and when I am through with you I will drag you back to Hinata to apologize for the comment you just made."

Naruto walked over to his team and took his seat while he began to smother his killing intent. Everyone in the room was still watching him making sure to avoid his gaze as much as possible. Just when everyone had settled down, Neji, Ten-Ten, and Lee made their way into the room, only to find everyone silent and still staring at Naruto with a certain amount of fear in their eyes. Lee, always one to hate silences, decided to question Sakura on the state of the room.

"Sakura-chan. Why is everyone so quite in here, it's as if they saw a ghost or something?"

Sakura didn't have time to answer his question as Kabuto, in his Konoha disguise, approached and answered for her.

"Blondie over there decided to show off and scare everyone with some theatrics. If I were on his team, I would be pretty upset cause now everyone will be gunning for him, trying to see if he can back up his killing intent he released not too long ago."

Sakura turned to face the silver-haired boy. "And who are you four-eyes? I don't seem to recall seeing you around, even though you are a Konoha-non."

Kabuto bowed. "My name is Yakushi Kabuto, and I am mostly in the hospitals learning medical ninjutsu, which is why you don't see me around much."

This time it was Neji who spoke. "So, you are a medic-nin? That means you have to have perfect chakra control. Do you have any other talents?"

Kabuto smiled at Neji's request. "Yes, I happen to have information cards on each participant here, and if you ask nicely I might just let you see a few."

Neji's eyes narrowed, obviously not wanting to bring himself to show humility, but that didn't mean Lee wasn't about to ask.

"Please, Kabuto-san, may we see information on Uchiha Sasuke, Sabaku no Gaara, and Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sasuke kept his ears open, wondering what information Kabuto would have on him.

"Hmpf, it's good to see that at least someone on your team has some manners. Anyway, first up is Uchiha Sasuke: Age 13, Male. Sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan, famous for the Dojutsu Sharingan and possessing the Katon elemental affinity. Taijutsu capabilities, mid-level Chunnin. Ninjutsu capabilities, high-level Chunnin. Genjutsu capabilities, low-level Chunnin. Specific Jutsu unknown."

Sasuke wore a satisfied smirk on his face. 'Well, that all sounds about right. I am above these pathetic excuses for Shinobi.'

"Next up is Sabaku no Gaara: Age 14, Male. Youngest child of the Yondaime Kazekage. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu capabilities are all unknown."

'Well, that was pretty anti-climactic.' Was the thought everyone had when they heard the lack of information Kabuto had.

"Last up is Uzumaki Naruto… Hmmm, well there doesn't seem to be anything here on him."

Neji wore a dissatisfied frown. "I thought you said you had information on each participant here? You don't even have any information on him at all besides his name."

Kabuto chuckled. "Well, usually their records are open for other people to see. In Naruto's case, this means that someone very high up is making sure that his files aren't made known."

Everyone turned to look at the blonde in their midst, wondering who would pull those kinds of strings and why.

'Well, if they knew that I could fight a Kage right now I don't think they would be very happy.'

'Few are when they find out just how weak they really are.'

'Good point.'

Naruto was interrupted when a group of Oto-nin entered the room. When one of them saw Naruto and his group, he charged at Kabuto, swinging a punch towards his face. Kabuto was able to easily dodge, but he suddenly dropped on his knees when his head started aching and he vomited on the floor. Naruto chuckled, glad that this part hadn't changed.

'For what he did to my world, he deserves so much worse.'

'Don't worry Naruto, you'll be able to stop him much sooner. His Edo-Tensei is a large part of the reason we came back.'

'I know, but I still can't believe that he can just nonchalantly walk in here and be responsible for so many deaths. I can't wait to see his face when he sees me when the invasion starts.'

'Me either. Now you should get back to it, looks like the test is about to start.'

A surge of chakra was felt throughout the room, and Ibiki appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"HEY! You Oto-nins, if I catch you engaging other Genin teams outside of the allotted battle times, I will fail you on the spot. Am I clear?" There was silence in the room, no one dared to anger the stone-faced man. "Good, now get your asses into your seats, I don't want to be here any longer than I have to. Okay listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. The first stage of the Chunnin Exam is a written test composed of ten questions that you have one hour to complete. You'll find nine of them on the test that will be passed out by my Chunnin assistants, the tenth will be given to you when there is only fifteen minutes left. Your team's scores will be averaged after the test is completed to determine if your team passes. The only thing left to cover is cheating, and if you look around the room, you will see Konoha Chunnin that I have personally handpicked. They all have sharp eyes, and will be watching you all very carefully to check for cheating." As he was speaking a few of the Chunnin assistants were distributing tests throughout the room. Ibiki waited for them to finish, "You have one hour to complete the test, beginning now!"

Naruto listened in amusement as he saw many of the Genin around the room go visibly pale, obviously intimidated. When he got his test he was pleased that this time around he was able to answer the questions, all of them. Naruto groaned when he realized that he would have to tell Kurama that he was thankful for his tutelage early on in his childhood.

'Ah crap… if I tell Kurama that I'm happy he made me study my ass off, he would never let me live it down… Whatever, let's just finish this'

Every few minutes, the Chunnin around the room would hurl a kunai at the desk of one of the Genin in the room, signaling their failing of the test, and three people would soon leave the room. A half hour later Naruto finished his Ninth question, confident in his answers. He took a look around and noticed about half the room was empty now. He saw Sasuke using his Sharingan to get answers from the Genin around him, and he saw Sakura furiously filling out her test as well. After another 15 minutes passed, Ibiki once again addressed the room.

"45 minutes are up, now, before I give the last question, I will give you all a choice: If you want to leave, now is your chance. If you don't answer this tenth question correctly, not only will you and your team fail, but you will also be barred from being able to take this test ever again!"

Ibiki smirked as he looked around the room and saw more people get up and leave the room. He waited a few minutes for everyone who was going to leave to exit the room. When no one else showed any signs of giving up, he gave them the last question.

"Well, since you are all so confident in your abilities to pass this question, then I guess you all… PASS!"

There were a few shouts of disbelief, but they were soon interrupted by the entrance of the second proctor. Anko burst through the window, causing half the Genin to jump out of their seats. When she saw the number of Genin still left, she let out a small sigh.

"Seems to be quite a few more Genin this year Ibiki. I guess you just aren't as scary as you were, I hear that it's the first stage of going senile. You should really go get checked."

Ibiki threw a kunai at the purple-haired woman but she easily dodged it. "Shut it Anko, there just seems to be more talent this year than there has been the past few years."

Anko looked between Neji and Sasuke, completely ignoring Naruto, much to his frustration. "Yeah I guess you might be right. Anyway, by the time I'm don't with them there won't be more than half this number! You brats, follow me!"

Anko jumped out the window, not waiting to see if the Genin were following. She ran at a quick pace, and several of the Genin were unable to keep up. After about 15 minutes of running she finally stopped in front of a large fence with caution signs all around. Past the fence was a very foreboding forest, where the trees themselves looked dangerous. The group landed a few seconds behind her, waiting for her to tell them all what their objective was.

"Okay this is Training Ground 44, but is better known as the Forest of Death. It's where your second exam is going to take place, so I hope you like what you see. You're going to be in there for a five day survival exercise."

"Five days," Naruto turned to see Chouji sweat, "what are we supposed to do for food?"

Anko let out a hearty laugh. "This is a forest! Kill something or forage, there's plenty of food in there. Same goes for you all though, some of the beasts in that place can get pretty big, and we don't exactly feed them. Anyways, these are what you all will be after." She reached into her trench coat and pulled out a pair of scrolls, one with the kanji for heaven, and the other with the kanji for earth. "Before the exam begins, each team will be given one of these two scrolls and assigned a gate where they will start off from. The Forest of Death is a perfect circle, with gates evenly spaced at the perimeter and a tower in the center. Once the exam begins you will have five days to acquire the scroll your team doesn't have and make your way to the tower in the center of the forest. You can't open the scrolls until you have arrived at the tower with both of them in your possession, so even if you manage to make it to the tower in one piece, you will fail if you don't have the scrolls. Once you get into the forest it'll turn into a free-for-all between the teams. You can use any jutsu or trick you have at your disposal and may use any amount of force you like. I just want you all to know that killing is allowed, though it is discouraged, so don't enter this forest unless you are absolutely confident in your abilities."

As she was speaking she began to notice that Naruto looked way to calm, almost bored. Her eyes narrowed when she concluded he explanation, and as quickly as she could she reached into her kunai pouch and threw a kunai at Naruto's cheek, expecting to instill some fear into the Genin.

When Naruto heard the familiar sound of metal clinking together, he quickly dodged the kunai hurled at his cheek moving his head slightly to the side. As the kunai whizzed past his face he put his finger through the hole at the handle of the kunai, catching it and spinning it around his finger. He griped the kunai backwards just in time to point it at Anko's midsection as she Shunshined behind him. Needless to say everyone in the area was stunned, they couldn't believe that a Genin had been so agile, able to catch their Chunnin instructor completely off guard.

Naruto smirked. "Anko-san, that wasn't very nice. What if I had dodged the other way? No part of your explanation did you say that we would have to face our own instructors."

Anko had a strange glint in her eyes. "Very good Naruto-kun . I'm impressed with your speed, but it will take more than that to survive in this forest."

Naruto laughed. "Don't worry, I have much more up my sleeve."

Anko went back to her original position before talking again.

"Well, in addition to everything I just said, I need everyone here to fill out a waiver."

Everyone had heard enough from the purple-haired woman to not question her any further. After about an hour everyone was in position with their perspective scroll, ready to start the second phase of the exam. Team seven was stunned when Haku approached them and informed the group that he was to be put on the team for this portion of the exam, a direct order from the Hokage.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Haku, are you on our team for this portion of the exam?"

The effeminate male nodded. "Yes Naruto-san, the Hokage has deemed it necessary to put me with another team, and since your team is the only one I have had any sort of contact with, your team was the only choice left. I will do my best to incorporate my skills into your group dynamic, and will harmonize my long ranged senbon attacks with your group's battle strategy."

Naruto grinned. "Sounds like this exam just got a lot more fun! I look forward to see what you learned, well lets go to our gate then!"

A large siren signaled the beginning of the exam, and Naruto's team rushed inside, giddy with anticipation.

'These next few days will be the most important thing I will have to change, if I can help Sasuke avoid the curse seal, he might just be able to see that he doesn't have to go to Orochimaru. I might be able to save him from his hatred before it consumes him.'

'Don't hope for too much, he is as stubborn as you are. They only way your plan will work is if you kill Orochimaru, which I wouldn't have any problems with, but that is easier said than done.'

'Don't underestimate me Kurama.'

Several Hours Later

Naruto and his team were able to get a decent way into the forest, but were forced to make camp for the night. The four took turns with the guard shift, though Naruto secretly made a Kage Bunshin just to make sure nothing happened, and to his relief, nothing did. Naruto decided to test his team's ability to work together, and so for the next few days he would make a few three man cells of Kage Bunshin, henged into other groups of shinobi, giving them enough chakra to survive being struck if necessary.

True to Naruto's prediction, Sasuke would charge in first, blaring his Sharingan and using several of his Katon jutsu. Due to the amount of chakra Naruto put into each clone, they were able to easily handle Sasuke. It wasn't soon after that Sasuke would fall back, and eventually the four began to work as a cohesive team to deal with each Bunshin. Naruto was careful to make sure they only fought into a draw, knowing his team wouldn't be too happy if they found out they were fighting Naruto's Kage Bunshins.

Sakura was able to display her strength to Sasuke, showing her huge increase in raw physical power and speed. She managed to almost dispel one of the Bunshins using her speed to get behind the clone ready to strike full force at its chest, but got caught up in one of the branches before she was able to deliver the hit. Nonetheless, Sasuke was beyond stunned, he was wide-eyed at how strong his teammate had become.

Haku, true to his word, was expertly able to integrate his presence into the group's dynamic. He complemented the other three's techniques with his longer ranged attacks, providing the needed cover for each of them to get within striking range. Naruto's Bunshins found it slightly difficult to avoid Haku's pinpoint accuracy, enhanced with Haku's expert knowledge of the human anatomy.

Altogether, Naruto was very pleased with the progress that his compatriots were making. Sasuke was well beyond his capabilities at the time compared to himself in Naruto's time, given to all the special training sessions from Kakashi. Sakura was many times stronger than she ever was before she became Tsunade's apprentice, due to the fact that she wasn't trying to impress Sasuke with her looks anymore, but instead is trying to display her capabilities as a possible wife. Haku was an enigma, due to his early death in Naruto's time. From what Naruto was able to put together, Haku would become a valuable shinobi of Konoha. Naruto of course didn't display any of his true strength, and was careful to increase the gravity seals on his body to keep his movements in check.

Elsewhere in the Forest

"Please! Just let us go! Don't kill us!" An Ame ninja pleaded with the small read-head who had trapped him and his team in sand cocoons.

"It was never my intention to kill you. That side of me has been sealed away. I will simply take your scroll and render you unconscious. Lucky for you someone has shown me that there is another way to live besides being a machine of death."

Gaara then knocked out the three Ame shinobi with a swift strike to the base of the neck with a whip of sand. He then retrieved their scroll and put it inside his shirt before turning to his siblings.

"Temari, Kankuro. Let's go. I don't desire to be in this forest any longer than necessary."

The three took off, heading for the middle of the forest to enter the tower. Just when they left, Kiba jumped out into the clearing from behind some bushes.

"Damn! I would have loved to fight them, I could have taken them easy!"

Shino was the second to leave the bushes.

"Kiba, I doubt you have managed to land even a single hit, those three are probably only Genin because their village has deemed it necessary to hinder their promotions. They could easily be Jounin should they choose. You false bravado will get us into altercations if you don't keep it under control."

Kiba turned to his spectacled team mate with angry eyes. "What was that four eyes!? If you want to fight me so much just tell me when and where!"

Hinata then left the bushes, aggravated by her boisterous teammate.

"Kiba, Shino is right. We wouldn't have stood a chance. We should leave before those three wake up though, I doubt we want to be here when they do."

Elsewhere in the Forest

Orochimaru ran through the forest, intent on finding Sasuke and giving him the cursed seal, the first step on his grand plan of Sasuke's desertion of Konoha. He had spent the first few days trying to get a fix on Sasuke's chakra signature, but it had taken him longer than he anticipated, especially when several Konoha Genin decided to get in his way. Though they were taken care of quickly, it still angered Orochimaru that he was so far behind schedule. His spirits were lifted though when he saw Naruto, standing on a branch, seemingly waiting for the snake Sannin.

"Why hello there Naruto-kun. What are you doing out so far by yourself… You should know better than that, after all, there are dangerous people in this forest…"

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. "Put a sock in it snake bastard! You make me sick, preying on children to fulfill your own vile fetishes. Has it ever occurred to you that Sasuke has already had enough darkness in his life? The last thing he needs is some pervert trying to use him for his own selfish gains."

Orochimaru's face was contorted in anger, though he was skilled at controlling his temper, he couldn't help but play into Naruto's goading.

"You know an awful lot for some Genin… More than I can allow you to. I was only going to rough you up a bit, but now," Orochimaru dashed at Naruto, extending his snake-like neck to bit Naruto in the neck, trying to sever his brainstem "I'LL KILL YOU!"

When Orochimaru's teeth sank into Naruto's neck, all his fangs hit was smoke as he dispelled the Kage Bunshin.

"Damn that brat… ill make him suffer…"

Back with Team 7

Naruto winced as he gained all of his Kage Bunshin's memories. He immediately yelled at his team to stop, wanting to at least warn them of the approaching threat.

"Guys, there is a very dangerous shinobi approaching us, fast. He is way above Jounin level, so we can't beat him, he would tear us apart. His main target is Sasuke, he wants to put something called a curse seal on you which will sap your self-control, rendering you no more than a puppet to this guy. We CAN however lure him into a trap, but it would have to be very well laid out."

Sasuke eyed his teammate. "How do you know how strong this guy is and what he plans to do?"

"Because my Kage Bunshin just fought him, and he didn't even get a chance to attack, though he was a bit loose with his information."

Haku and Sakura weren't as hesitant to listen to Naruto. "Well, what do you think we should do"

Naruto smirked. "Sasuke, I want you to stay back with Haku and use you long-ranged Katon jutsu. Sakura and I will do our best to deal with him I close quarters combat. We will lure him in to get the element of surprise. If my guess is right he will be here in a little less than a minute, so we have to hurry."

Sasuke sighed. "Dobe, the only reason I will go along with this is because I don't like the idea of someone controlling me, so don't let this go to your head."

"Heh, works for me."

Back to Orochimaru

"DAMMIT! Where did they go… I know I felt their chakra here. They couldn't have been able to escape that quickly… It's all that damn brat's fault! When I get my hands on him I'll-"

His rant was answered with a punch from Naruto, a full strength punch. What caught Orochimaru by surprise was that he wasn't able to sense Naruto at all. He was sent flying to the ground by Naruto's vicious hit.

Orochimaru shook his head to deal with the pain. 'That punch was way more powerful than what a Genin could muster… If I hadn't turned my head at the last second in response to the punch, I would have been dead on the spot. That punch was stronger than Tsunade was in her prime! Just what in the hell is going on here?'

Just when Orochimaru was about to hit the ground, he was kicked in the back, sending him crashing into a tree. When he looked up he saw Sakura already retreating up into the canopy, but before she could hide herself, Orochimaru spotted a seal on her abdomen.

'So that's their secret. They are using seals to hide their presence from me. I wonder who among them is a Fuinjutsu user. It must be that brat; that would certainly explain his devastating punches. No matter, I will accomplish my mission.'

Orochimaru jumped from his position to avoid a massive Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique). As he was in mid jumped he twisted his body to avoid a barrage of ice senbon needles, aimed at his pressure points.

'These brats amuse me to no end.'

Orochimaru landed on a branch upside down, and began looking around for his prey. He twisted his body around to block a barrage of Naruto and Sakura's strikes, deciding to play with them a bit before he killed Naruto. After Orochimaru knocked Naruto and Sakura to the ground, he was forced to jump from the branch by yet another batch of ice needles.

He was soon assaulted again by Naruto and Sakura, and their confrontation lasted for a few minutes. Haku had managed to throw ice senbon at Orochimaru through Naruto and Sakura's opening, creating several openings for the two. When Orochimaru disengaged he was assaulted by Sasuke's Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Art of the Phoenix Flower) forcing Orochimaru to the ground to avoid the fireballs soaring overhead.

Orochimaru smirked. "Your little tricks won't work on me. You all would need another ten years of training to even hope to fight me for real."

Naruto landed in front of him with a large smirk on his face.

"Is that right? Well, unfortunately for you, you have already been caught in my trap."

Naruto then put his fingers together to channel chakra into the seals he placed on Orochimaru during their brief encounter. Orochimaru cursed as his legs became anchored to the ground, as he was effectively rooted in place.

"Sasuke! Now!"

Orochimaru looked up to see his primary target perched on a tree branch, taking a deep breath and yelling, "Katon: Karyu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)". Team seven looked as they watched Orochimaru burn alive, and when the fire subsided, they saw a burnt body lying on the ground. Sasuke went to go see if the shinobi was really dead, but just as he approached, Orochimaru burst out from the ground, and shot his head forward from his body and bit Sasuke on the neck. Orochimaru was surprised however, when instead of screaming in pain, Sasuke just smirked at the snake Sannin as the henge dispelled and a Naruto Kage Bunshin took its place..

"Game over Orochimaru."

The Bunshin erupted into a massive explosion, forcing the team to jump back from the shockwave. This time Orochimaru wasn't so lucky in dodging the explosion, and though he wasn't seriously hurt, he no longer cared to prolong the fight any more. His arms and legs were lightly burnt, and his legs still ached from the seals.

"Consider yourself lucky brats, you get to live a little longer." He turned his attention to Sasuke. "Your talents are wasted on this pathetic excuse for a village. If you desire more power you should seek me out, I can give you all the power you would ever want."

Orochimaru disappeared in a gust of smoke and leaves, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, pleased with himself on how he managed to deal with the snake Sannin this time around. He looked around at his team, and noted their exhaustion as everyone collapsed to the ground.

"I don't think I've ever used so many intense Katon jutsus in succession like that… I feel like my lungs are on fire… Plus it didn't help that I had to have my Sharingan active the whole time." Sasuke managed to say between pants.

Haku sagged against a tree. "I too have never had to form so many ice needles before. It wouldn't have been so hard if we were near a source of water, but our here in the woods it consumes a lot more chakra than I would like."

Sakura looked down at her ankles and wrists. "Maybe I should have taken off my weights? I might have been able to go faster and might have been able to land some hits…"

Sasuke and Haku looked at Sakura in disbelief, they never knew that Sakura was weighted down during her fight since she was able to move so quickly during the fight. Then they all noticed Naruto, who hadn't even broken a sweat during the whole encounter.

Naruto shook his head. "No Sakura, you should leave those on until you are sure there is no other chance at victory. Surprise is a shinobi's greatest asset." Naruto turned to face the rest of his team. "Guys, that was great. I don't think he ever expected us to be able to put up that kind of fight. I think we should rest here for tonight though, we probably won't be able to cover much ground anyways with how tired we all are right now."

No one had the energy to complain, so they set up camp with Naruto taking the first guard shift.

'If I'm right, tonight is the night the Oto-nins attack. I can't let them get close to everyone else, they are all too tired to put up much of a fight. I might as well make a Kage Bunshin while I deal with the Oto-nins.'

It wasn't soon after Naruto left his camp that he stumbled on the shinobi he was looking for, the same ones who had attacked Kabuto during the first part of the exam. There was a boy with tubes coming out of his hands, probably surgically implanted, and black spiky hair, a kunoichi with very long black hair but otherwise had no other visible alterations, and finally a hunched-back boy with wrappings covering his entire face. It was the boy with the tubes, Zaku, who spoke first.

"Well, it looks like one of their group got a little separated! Too bad for you, but hey, we can work something out. If you tell us where Uchiha Sasuke is, we will only beat you severely instead of killing you. Not a bad deal if you ask me. How about it?"

Naruto chuckled. "I think that you sound too similar to your traitor of a master. I would never sell my teammates out, even if it means I have to lay down my own life."

This wasn't the answer Zaku was looking for, so he shot a highly condensed stream of air at Naruto, intending to push him down into the ground. What he wasn't expecting was for Naruto to Shunshin behind him and knock him out with a swift chop to the back of the head.

Naruto turned to the other two. "One down, two to go. Now I think it's my turn to offer a deal. Give me the Earth scroll, and you can take your teammate here and leave."

The boy with the bandages seemed to be looking back and forth between Zaku and Naruto, while carefully thinking over the deal that had just been proposed. His female teammate, on the other hand, decided to charge right in, regardless of Naruto's obvious skill. She dashed at Naruto, swinging her fist towards Naruto's face.

"Stupid brat! I'll teach you to underestimate Otogakure!"

Her fist hit air, and when she looked down, Naruto's fist slammed into her jaw in a massive uppercut. Naruto made sure to infuse chakra into his fist to be sure he knocked her out. She fell to her knees then planted into the ground, out cold.

Naruto looked over to Dosu, the last one still standing. "My offer is still on the table. We don't have to fight you know, I don't have anything against you or your team."

Dosu looked at his teammates, then back to Naruto. From what Dosu could tell, Naruto had not even begun to show even a hint of his true strength, and he knew that he could never take Naruto one-on-one. He slowly took a scroll out of his robes and threw it at Naruto before walking over to recover his unconscious teammates.

"Take it, we have plenty. Don't think that we will let you get away with humiliating us like this."

Dosu quickly disappeared as he Shunshined away, heading for the tower to get his team to safety. Naruto sighed, not wanting to have to deal with a couple of enraged Oto-nin. Naruto turned around, and headed back to his team, who were all still resting. A few hours later, they all awoke, feeling a little tired but still able to continue. Naruto had to come up with a plan that his team could buy in order to explain getting the scroll instead of just saying he found it.

Naruto waited for everyone to get their things together, and just as Sasuke left the cave, one of Naruto's Kage Bunshins henged as Dosu tackled Sasuke to the ground, while other Bunshins henged as Kin and Zaku appeared at the front of the cave to separate Sasuke and 'Dosu'. Haku threw ice senbon needles at 'Zaku' while Sakura rushed at Kin, dodging 'Kin's' own barrage of senbon. Naruto rushed between them and kicked 'Dosu' off of Sasuke. The Bunshin henged as Dosu was sure that the kick knocked the scroll out of his jacket, having it drop to the ground. When Sasuke got up off the ground, he stared in amazement as 'Kin' was sent flying through the air after 'Dosu' from a hard punch from Sakura. Haku had managed to hit 'Zaku' with a few of the Senbon needles, though 'Zaku' made sure that the needles only hit spots that wouldn't disrupt the Kage Bunshin or the Henge itself.

After 'Dosu' recovered, he got up off the ground, trying his best to act injured.

"Damn you! Mark my words, Konoha brats, Otogakure will show you all what true power is!"

Sasuke snorted at his words. "If what you three have is what you call 'true power', then Otogakure must be a miserable failure of a village."

Naruto was more than happy to hear Sasuke's words, and was pleased with himself for managing to kill two birds with one stone. Team seven was about to pursue 'Dosu' and his team before Naruto stopped them.

"Wait, we already have their scroll. We should go to the tower before we run into another group. They might all not be as weak as those three were."

Haku nodded in agreement. "Naruto-san is right. The most intelligent decision right now would be to rest at the tower and wait for this phase of the exam to end. We are all still tired, and we need to be at full strength in order to have the best chance of passing the next phase."

Everyone in the group agreed, and so they headed quickly to the tower with Naruto in the lead. Naruto was very careful to direct them away from any other group, not eager to risk a potential confrontation. After a few hours of leaping through the trees, they arrived at the tower. They walked inside and opened up the scrolls. After a brief surge of chakra, Iruka appeared before them.

"Congratulations Team 7! You have cleared the first part of the second stage of the Chunnin exams. You still have 32 hours left before the five day time limit expires, so you may rest, eat, or train as you see fit. Now that introductions are out of the way, great job guys! I'm surprised you guys were able to make it here, especially with Naruto being a part of your team."

Naruto gave a blank face. "Thanks Iruka-sensei… that makes me feel real good about myself…"

Iruka waited for the rest of Naruto's team to leave before he embraced Naruto in a tight hug. "I was kidding and you know it. I was worried about you guys, it isn't uncommon for Genin to die during this section of the exams."

Naruto chuckled. "Well I guess I'm not your average Genin then!"

Iruka ended the hug and stood back up. "I guess you aren't. Well, like I said, you should take this time to rest and get something wholesome to eat. You still have plenty of time before we have to start the next part of the exams."

"Don't worry, I will!"

Iruka left Naruto to go help prepare for the next stage of the exam, and Naruto began to walk around the tower and talk to the different teams who had made it. He met up with Gaara and his team and was happy to learn that Gaara had resisted the urge to kill the group of Ame-nin. After Naruto spoke with several of the teams he went back to his own team. The team he was looking for was the team he didn't find, team 8. While he didn't want to have to deal with Kiba any more than he had to, he still wanted to see Hinata.

Team 7 was finishing up a short nap when Naruto walked in.

"Hey guys! Feeling better?" Everyone looked up at him with confused looks. "What?"

Haku was the first to answer. "Well, we were talking and we were worried about your health. You haven't slept since before our encounter with that Kusa-nin, and you have barely eaten anything."

Naruto got a little nervous. "That isn't true, I have a stash of soldier pills that have kept me going, not to mention that my stamina is practically my only strength, so don't worry about me! I was actually coming up here to grab a bite to eat"

Naruto mentally cursed at himself. 'DAMMIT! How could I have been so careless? Genin aren't supposed to know how to convert chakra to keep their bodies going for long periods of time… I need to be more careful.'

Naruto wanted to change the subject quick. "Hey guys, after I'm done, let's say we go train for a bit?"

Naruto was counting on Sasuke to immediately grab the bait. "I'll go, I don't feel that I got enough out of that forest in terms of progress, so I guess this can make up for it." Haku and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Perfect."

An Hour Later

Team 7 was in one of the many training grounds within the tower. Haku and Sasuke were busy sparing against one another, but Naruto pulled Sakura away from the group.

Sakura of course got upset. "What do you want Naruto? This is one of my chances to show Sasuke how strong I've become!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Just listen to me. This is going to help you on that front." Sakura immediately became quite and began listening intently. "Now that I have your attention, I want to ask you how your chakra control exercises are coming along?"

"I've mastered the leaf exercise, and I can hold at least five leaves at the same time for about an hour."

Naruto smiled. "Good. Well, now I think you are ready to take your training to the next step."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Naruto smirked. "It'll be easier to show you. Just don't move." Naruto gathered a sizeable amount of chakra in his index finger, and brought it up to Sakura's forehead. She was about to ask him what he was doing, but he cut her off with a flick of his finger. The chakra enhanced flick sent her stumbling back several yards from where she had been earlier, earning the surprised looks of Haku and Sasuke, but they soon were back to their spar.

Sakura picked herself up off the floor. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!? IT FELT LIKE I WAS HIT BY A-" Sakura didn't finish her rant as she grasped what Naruto was trying to imply. She now understood why Naruto had made her train so hard in chakra control and basic strength exercises. She walked over to Naruto once again, hitting him outside the head in just retribution.

"So, I get how I'm supposed to gather chakra in my limbs before I strike, but my question is how were you able to do it? For you to hit me with your index finger and send me flying it must mean that your control is better than mine. So tell me, who taught you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura, you have two options. I could tell you what you want to know, but by doing so I would never train you from that moment forward. Or, you could accept the fact that I know what I know without any questions and I will train you in what I know. Those are your two options, which is it?"

Sakura glared at him for a few seconds, but she knew the obvious choice. *Sigh* "Fine I won't ask any more questions, just tell me how to do what you just did."

Naruto smiled. "Glad to hear it! Anyway, this is going to take a while and the chakra consumption is pretty hefty, so I don't suggest you use this technique anytime soon, though due to your excellent chakra control you should have the basics down before the next part of the Exam." Sakura nodded in understanding. "Anyway, let's get started."

At the Tower Entrance

Team 8 made their way to the base of the Tower, just barely making the time limit with only four hours to spare. Their team had run into trouble in obtaining a set of scrolls. They had managed to gain the scrolls, but one of the more brash members of their team made it a point to challenge each team they ran across, and so had lost their scrolls early on in the second day of the test. It had then taken them another two days to get back the scrolls, and were just now returning to the tower. The team entered in silence, and it was obvious to anyone passing by that there was much anger directed at the one with red facial markings. The team had just finished summoning their Chunnin, and were about to go their separate ways before Shino turned to Kiba.

"I will say this only once, so you had better listen well to me Kiba. In the future if your actions once again put the rest of our team at risk, I will treat it as an act of desertion towards our team and will respond with due force. You would do well to heed this warning, since there will only be this one."

Shino then turned on his heel and began walking down one of the many hallways that webbed throughout the massive tower. Kiba was left in silence, and was about to say something to his female teammate before she too turned to him.

"I'm sorry Kiba, but I agree with Shino-san."

Then she too disappeared, leaving Kiba to mull over their words.

"Heh, they can try, but they both know that in a one-on-one I can take them both. Shino's damn bugs can't zap my chakra too well when I'm merged with Akamaru, and Hinata… well, it shouldn't be too much trouble to get past her defenses… Guess I'll go get ready for the next test."

Several Hours Later

The Hokage had gathered all the teams who were able to pass the second portion of the Chunnin Exams. He explained that the number of participants were still too high, and so they had to host a round of preliminary matches to cut the number in half, though he gave all the Genin one last chance to drop out of the matches, which this time, Kabuto didn't take.

'Hmmm, I wonder who he will be matched up against. That should be an interesting fight.' Naruto thought to himself.

After explanations, all the Genin who were going to participate went up to the balcony overlooking the large area which they were given to spar in.

When Naruto and his team got up to the balcony, Naruto noticed Hinata running over to him. He was glad to see her, but was sad at the same time because he didn't want her to get hurt. When Hinata reached their group she gave Naruto a strong hug and after a few moments they broke for a love-filled kiss. Sakura looked at them with an "Awww" kind of happy face while Sasuke turned away from them as an embarrassed blush spread across his face.

Naruto figured this would be as good a time as any to fulfill his promise to Haku to meet Hinata. "Haku, this is Hinata, she is my… ugh… girlfriend…"

'No matter what, I will never get used to saying that.'

Haku approached the girl who was still wrapped around Naruto. "Hello, my name is Haku, it is an honor to meet you. I have devoted my existence to repay Naruto-san for giving me another chance to live for something. I will therefore protect those that are precious to him, and by extension that includes you."

The young Hyuga gave an awkward nod before breaking her embrace. "Thank you Haku-san, it's good to meet you too."

When the teams had taken their positions, the proctor Hayate appeared in the area, and began explaining the rules to the spars. The fights would continue until one contestant forfeits, or was deemed unable to continue fighting by the proctor. His explanations were frequently interrupted with bouts of coughing, much to everyone's annoyance. Eventually, a large monitor appeared on and the matches were decided by random draw.

The names Akado Yoroi vs Haku flashed up on the screen. Naruto gave his friend a few words of encouragement before he jumped down to the ground where his opponent was already waiting.

Hayate waited until both fighters were in their positions. "Ready?... Begin!"

Yoroi didn't wait for Haku to make the first move, he rushed Haku and got behind him. He managed to get Haku into a headlock.

"Hahaha! What a pathetic excuse for a Genin. This will be over in just a few seconds, so just sit tight while I suck your chakra dry! Don't worry though, it won't hurt too-"

Yoroi looked at the person he was clutching as it began to dissolve into a large pool of water. 'A Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone) eh? Where is the real one?' Yoroi didn't get a chance to find Haku before he felt several senbon lodge themselves in his back, hitting pressure points on his spine, knocking Yoroi out cold before he even hit the ground.

The rest of the crowd gawked in silence, all except Naruto, they couldn't believe that a Genin had been able to so efficiently defeat his opponent in such a one-sided fight. The silence was broken a few seconds later when Hayate declared the match between his bouts of coughing.

"Winner: Haku. Will the medic team please retrieve Akado Yoroi and can Haku please return to the balcony while the computer declares the next match."

The room watched once again as names flashed across the screen before finally settling on the names Tsurugi Misumi vs Kankuro.

'Well, at least this match is the same.' A certain blonde-haired shinobi thought to himself as he watched the match play out in the same fashion as it had done the first time around. Tsurugi attempted to intertwine his limbs around Kankuro at the start, and proceeded to snap 'Kankuro's' neck. Once again Kankuro revealed himself after he jumped off the back of his puppet, and then broke Tsurugi's bones with his puppet. A brutal but nonetheless efficient way to win the match.

"Winner: Kankuro. Can a medic team please retrieve Tsurugi Misumi and take him for emergency treatment?"

After the broken Genin was retrieved, the computer once again flashed into existence before the names Nara Shikamaru vs Tsuchi Kin flashed up on the screen. Kin started by dodging the Shadow Imitation Technique and throwing a barrage of senbon needles, using strings to ring the bells from unexpected positions to divert Shikamaru's attention and attack him from behind.

Kin mentally smirked. 'This guy is a pushover, too bad Orochimaru-sama gave us all information on the contestants already, so I know all about his Kagemane'

Her thoughts stopped when she felt her body come to a halt, and she heard her opponent say, "Shadow manipulation, successful."

With Kin matching Shikamaru's movements, each drew a shuriken and flung it at the other. When it came time for them to dodge the attack, Shikamaru ducked successfully. Kin, having previously retreated, smashed her head against the wall and knocked herself out because she was too close to the wall. Once again Hayate called the match.

"Winner: Nara Shikamaru. Will medic-nins please come and take the kunoichi for an examination. She likely has a concussion."

No one really paid attention to the coughing man, they were all focused on the computer screen, waiting for the next match. Soon enough, the names Abume Zaku vs Temari appeared on the monitor.

'Oh, this one sure is different. I wonder what Zaku will be able to do this time around without having his arms broken by Sasuke.' Naruto mused to himself as the fighters took their positions.

As soon as the match started, Zaku lifted his hands and shot out several highly condensed jets of chakra-infused air. This attack was easily blocked by a gust of wind summoned by Temari's large fan. The match was quite one-sided, as Temari cut up Zaku with gusts from her huge fan, not letting the Oto-nin even have the chance for a counter attack. Less than a minute after the match began, Zaku's hands were bleeding heavily, rendering his chakra tubes useless. Hayate stepped in to prevent another Genin from getting knocked unconscious.

"Winner: Temari. Abume Zaku, please make your way to the medical bay to have your injuries treated"

All eyes once again turned upwards as the monitor flashed into existence. After a few seconds the names Rock Lee vs Aburame Shino appeared on the screen. Most people tried to ignore the green-spandex clad ninja who was yelling words of encouragement to his student, mostly rambling on about the 'product of hard work' and 'living in the springtime of youthfulness'.

'This has GOT to be interesting! Let's see if Shino's bugs can keep up with Lee's speed.'

The match began as a simple Taijutsu fight between the two fighters, though Lee clearly seemed to have a distinct advantage. After a few minutes the fighters broke apart, and Shino reached up to fix his sunglasses.

"This match has already been decided Rock Lee. I have already implanted several Kikaichu on you, and soon they will drain your chakra until you won't be able to cast any ninjutsu or genjustu. When enough time has passed, you will eventually fall unconscious due to chakra exhaustion. Forfeit now."

Sino raised an eyebrow when his opponent began laughing, not a mocking laugh but simply a humorous laugh.

"I apologize Shino-san, but your bugs are useless to you now. Unfortunately for you, I was already unable to perform any ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind, so your strategy won't work on me, as I simply rely on taijutsu."

Shino mentally cursed when Lee disappeared, landing a roundhouse kick to Shino's back sending him skidding across the floor. When Shino got up Lee was once again gone. Shino barely had time to block Lee's punch to his gut, only able to thanks to his bugs enhancing Shino's feeling for vibrations in the air. The fight drug on for a few more minutes, with Shino clearly on the defensive as he did his best to block Lee's quick movements, in vain more than half the time.

Early on in the fight Shino's bugs had detached themselves from Lee, full to the brim with as much of his chakra as they could siphon, but Shino was unable to implant any more on his opponent, he was simply too fast. Lee was able to dance around Shino and his bugs as if they were moving in slow motion. It soon became clear to Shino that he had almost no chance at victory.

"Proctor, I forfeit."

Hayate nodded before announcing the match. "Winner: Rock Lee. Will both fighters take their positions at the top of the balcony."

Shino returned to his team, welcomed with a snide comment from Kiba about how he could have kicked Lee's ass. Shino remained impassive, just hoping that Kiba's matchup would pummeled him into the ground. Lee on the other hand, returned to a teary-eyed sensei, and the two embraced while the rest of the team looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

By the time the fighters returned to their balconies, the computer monitor already had the next match, Yakushi Kabuto vs Sabaku no Gaara.

This match proved anticlimactic as well, as Kabuto forfeited right as the match was called, not wanting to reveal any of his own strength or that of Gaara, whom he still believed was going to help destroy Konoha. The next matchup, however, caught everyone by surprise, and many had to do a double take to make sure they read it correctly. Uchiha Sasuke vs Haruno Sakura.

Sakura's heart sank, 'Sure I wanted to show Sasuke how strong I was, but I never wanted to actually fight him! There is no way I could possibly ever win, and if by some stroke of luck I DID win, Sasuke would be so angry with me that he would never talk to me again!' She continued on for a few more seconds like this until Naruto knocked her outside the head.

"Sakura, I know what you're thinking. Just because you don't believe in your capabilities doesn't mean no one else does. If you don't trust yourself then trust me. Also, which do you think Sasuke would be more angry with, you fighting him with everything you have and MABEY losing, or you forfeiting or worse, letting him intentionally win." The look in Sakura's face told him that she understood. "Good, now go show Sasuke just how strong you have gotten!"

Sakura made her way to the floor where she stood across form Sasuke, whom she could have sworn had what looked like a light blush across his cheeks.

"Ready? Begin!"

Sasuke had intended to end the match before he had to humiliate his teammate, but to his surprise she had been the one to rush at him, and fast. Sasuke barely was able to dodge the strike to his stomach, spinning in mid-air as he flared his Sharingan to life.

'What was that!? When did she get so fast? It was the same in the forest too… I have to be careful'

Sasuke re-engaged his teammate, and the two became caught up in a furious taijutsu fight. Whatever notions either of them had about holding back were quickly dispelled as they began an all-out struggle. After about a minute, they both jumped back, seemingly a bit winded.

Sasuke smiled. "When did you get so strong Sakura-chan? I don't ever remember you having so much skill."

Sakura was doing mental flips. 'Did… did he just end my name in –chan! Wait… That means Naruto was right… DAMMIT! I hate when he's right…'

"Thanks Sasuke-kun! I've been training ridiculously hard with Naruto, but you better get ready, because I'm not going to hold back anymore." She said as she began to take off the weights around her ankles and wrists. When they dropped to the ground they sank into the stone floor leaving spider-web cracks on the floor, even though they weren't that far off the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened at what he saw, and he prepared himself for whatever Sakura could throw at him.

What he wasn't expecting was when Sakura stood up, she disappeared completely, delivering a sweeping kick to his legs, though he managed to jump over it thanks to his Sharingan.

'Damn! She's so much faster than before, if she hits me I'll be in serious trouble.' Sasuke thought as he flipped through the air, landing in a low crouch to avoid a blow from Sakura. With his Sharingan, he could see her movements easy enough, but keeping up with them proved to be much easier said than done. Sasuke spent the next few minutes dodging Sakura's strikes, dancing around her punches and kicks while simultaneously trying to land a few hits of his own, with little success. Every once in a while Sasuke would dish out a Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique) or a Katon: Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Art of the Phoenix Flower) to get some breathing room or to deter Sakura from advancing on Sasuke any further, but sure enough she rushed right back in after she dodged the jutsu. All in all, Sakura managed to push Sasuke to his limit, a feat he never thought would have been possible, especially from this fan girl, well ex-fan girl.

Both Sasuke and Sakura were gasping for breath, neither able to overpower the other.

Sakura smirked. "Well Sasuke-kun, I think it's about time you give this up. We both know that I will win this."

'Well, it seems that when she gets into the swing of things, she can be just fierce a competitor as Sasuke is.' Naruto thought to himself as he watched the match.

Sasuke returned the same smirk. "Ha, I think you should heed your own advice Sakura-chan. You don't have any notable ninjutsu to use against me, and I think you are just about out of stamina."

"Well then, I guess I better end this quickly then!"

Sasuke stared in confusion as his teammate began to channel her chakra to her feet, and in a split-second she covered the distance between them. Just as Sasuke was dodging the hand that passed though the space his body was just in, he noticed a strange green glow around Sakura's fist. He almost released his bladder when he saw what happened when Sakura's fist made contact with the ground. She managed to smash the stone floor to pieces, and the entire ground was riddled with a web-like pattern of cracks from the force of the hit. The entire audience, Sasuke included, stared wide-eyed at the pure destruction the young girl had caused, unable to believe that a Genin was able to perform such a feat.

*Sigh* "I told her she shouldn't use that yet. She doesn't have enough chakra to sustain that technique for very long, but she will figure that out in a few seconds anyway." Naruto mumbled to himself.

When Sakura removed her fist from the ground, she looked over to her stunned crush.

Sakura beamed. "Well, what do you think Sasuke-kun? It's a good thing that hit hadn't landed, cause I would have already been on my way to-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her thoughts when she collapsed from chakra depletion, but before she hit the ground Sasuke managed to catch her. Naruto saw Sasuke mouth a few words to the unconscious Sakura but wasn't quite able to make out what he said. Hayate then called the match.

"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke. Will a medic team please take Haruno Sakura for treatment? Also, would Chunnin proficient in Doton please come and fix the floor for the next match."

Sasuke turned to the medic-nins who arrived on the scene. "Don't worry, I'll take her." The medics nodded then turned to let Sasuke follow them down one of the halls.

By the time the two had exited the area, the computer already had the next match up on the screen, Hyuuga Neji vs Hyuuga Hinata.

'Crap, I was hoping this matchup would change…' Naruto thought to himself before turning to Hinata before she leapt down to the floor. "Hina-chan, would you… maybe consider forfeiting this match?"

Hinata looked hurt at his words. "Do you not have faith in me? I'm not afraid of Neji, and I am well aware of his grudge towards you and myself. Though I may not win, would you not even want me to try?"

Naruto let out a long exacerbated sigh. "You're right Hina-hime, I'm sorry; I am just worried about you. Just make sure you are safe ok?"

Hinata pulled Naruto down by the collar of his shirt and gave him a passionate kiss as her answer. She giggled slightly as she watched a blush creep over Naruto's face, happy that their positions had reversed themselves after all these years.

Hinata jumped down to the arena floor to face her cousin. Neji looked at Hinata with disdain, hating her with all his heart for being from the main family. When Hayate began the match he began to berate his cousin.

Neji folded his arms across his chest. "Hinata-sama, you should forfeit this match. You and I both know that my skills in Juken dwarf your own. I do not wish to maim the heiress of my clan so early on in her life."

Hinata smirked. "Thank you for your consideration Neji-san. Unfortunately it is unnecessary, I am confident in my abilities, and even though I may not be able to win this, I will still fight."

Neji's Byakugan flared into being. "So be it."

He charged Hinata with a palm strike to her abdomen, but she twisted around his arm and tried to land one of her own strikes to his shoulder in hopes of taking one of his arms out of commission. If Neji was surprised at her speed, he didn't show it, and was easily able to duck her strike while he swept her legs. As she stumbled to the ground Neji attempted to strike at the tenketsu points along her arm, but from her odd angle she was able to plant her hands on the ground, pushing off the floor and away from Neji.

When Hinata regained her footing, she charged at Neji from above, bringing her palm down on his back. Her hand passed through air, as Neji deftly slipped out from under her assault, allowing her to smash into the floor, leaving a small crater. Hinata barely had time to free herself and jump up around Neji before his own palm strike crashed where she was. Once again Hinata was above Neji's back, while Neji only scoffed still looking away from her.

"Just give up; this fight is beginning to bore me already. This is your last warning before I-"

He stopped talking when a very sharp pain coursed through his back, stunning him momentarily. Hinata charged with as much speed as she could muster, intending to knock him unconscious. He regained mobility at the last second and ducked as Hinata passed over him harmlessly.

He turned to face his cousin.

"W-What did you do!?"

Hinata smiled innocently. "I used strategy to overcome a stronger opponent. Thanks to Naruto-kun's many spars I was able to discover the blind spot in Byakugan, and so I threw the stone I picked up from when my first strike missed. You would do well not to underestimate your opponent Neji-san."

Neji looked at his cousin with seething rage, wanting to inflict as much pain as he could for his humiliation.

"I'm impressed Hinata-sama, you have exceeded what I had gauged to be your potential. It is unfortunate then that I must end this." Neji then settled into a strange stance. "You're within my range."

'Oh shit…' Naruto thought to himself when he immediately recognized Neji's stance.

Hinata looked at her cousin, ready to test out her own technique she had been developing for the past few months, gathering chakra in her palms, "Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protection of the Eight Trigrams 64 Palms)". Neji rushed forward, "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams 64 Palms Technique)". "Two strikes". Neji watched as his cousin managed to deflect his strikes with strange arcs of chakra emanating from her palms. 'It doesn't matter; I will just crush her defense, whatever it is.' "Four Strikes". Hinata was only able to block three of the strikes, and one closed a tenketsu point on her shoulder, restricting her chakra to her right arm. "Eight Strikes". This time Hinata only managed to block a few of the strikes, and the rest of the strikes hit various points on her arms, limiting her defensive technique. "Sixteen Strikes". Hinata was now defenseless as these strikes tore through the chakra barrier she had erected.

Nartuo was gripping the metal bars around the balcony so hard that they began to be crushed by his iron grip. 'If I go down there now, Hinata will be angry with me. I have to let her stand up to her cousin on her own.'

"Thirty-two Strikes". Hinata was unable to so much as wince in pain as she took the brunt of Neji's attack. "Sixty-four Strikes!" The final blow pushed Hinata clear across the floor. She skidded all the way to the other side of the arena until she finally came to a rest. She very slowly managed to get up on her own, though her legs were about to buckle under her at any moment.

Neji smirked. "I am surprised that you are still standing after that. I suppose you are the heiress of our clan, so it isn't too surprising."

Hinata tried her best to steady herself. "I-I feel bad for you Neji-kun…"

Neji scowled. "What did you say?"

Hinata coughed a bit. "I said I feel bad for you. You blame everything on everyone else, not taking any control of your own life as you curse 'fate' for taking your father from you. So I truly feel sorry for you."

Neji saw red and rushed his cousin, gathering as much chakra in his hand as he could muster, aiming for her heart. When he was within a few feet of Hinata, a blur of yellow got in his way, and he suddenly felt pain in his hand. He Neji looked he saw Naruto crushing his hand.

Naruto looked at Neji with blood red eyes with a black slit running down the middle. "You shouldn't have done that Neji. I promised that I would believe in Hinata and allow her to fight you with her own power, but what you were about to do is unforgivable."

Naruto began strengthening his grip on Neji's hand, forcing the older boy to his knees as he was unable to break the grasp. Even when the Jounin showed up, Naruto refused to let go. It was only after Hayate declared the match and threatened Naruto with automatically failing him in his match did he let go, but not before giving one last strong squeeze to Neji's hand, breaking a few of his fingers. To everyone's surprise Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

While Naruto's Kage Bunshin was dealing with Neji, he had picked up the now unconscious Hinata and began to carry her to the medic-nins before the match was even called. While he was walking away he shot one glance back at Neji.

"I'm not finished with you yet. Although I would much rather be friends with Hina-chan's family, it seems that until you're face-down in the dirt, you won't let go of your hatred towards Hinata."

The Jounin Senseis looked at each other with confused looks, unable to make heads or tails of how Naruto was able to get on the scene before they had, not to mention he had subdued one of the strongest Genin of the entire tournament in a matter of seconds.

Naruto didn't have to look at the screen when he saw Kiba smirk and jump down to the arena floor. After Naruto handed Hinata over to the medic-nins he turned around and glared at Kiba, who just laughed.

"That was too good, Neji really kicked her ass good! Don't worry; I'll make sure that they put you in the cot next to hers in the medical wing!"

Naruto simply shook in rage. 'Kurama… If I start to get out of control I want you to take control of me. I can't do anything that I would regret… No matter how angry I am right now.'

'Just be careful. You still need to hold back. If Orochimaru sees how strong you are he might run and we would never find him.'

'I know.'

"Next match between Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto, Begin!"

Kiba started off the match with his Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique) and a Jujin Bunshin (Human Beast Clone) for an increase in speed and to make Akamaru combat ready. They then both charged at Naruto, Akamaru going for Naruto's legs in an attempt to incapacitate him while Kiba went for Naruto's chest to give him a large gash.

Naruto waited for Kiba to come at him, not moving a muscle. When the two were almost upon him, he moved behind the two, taking them both by the base of the neck and shoving them forcibly into the floor. Naruto then took a few steps back still facing his opponent.

"Get up. You aren't finished."

The Jounin watching the match couldn't help but sweat at how strong and cold Naruto was acting, especially towards a fellow Konoha shinobi. Kurenai, who was standing with Kakashi and Gai, was going to stop the match for the sake of her pupil until Kakashi stopped her.

"Don't Kurenai. Both Naruto and Kiba would be very upset if you interfered now. Naruto isn't just being upset for any reason. Kiba has repeatedly made unwanted advances upon Hinata Hyuuga despite both Naruto and Hinata's pleas to stop. I also heard that recently he made a remark towards Naruto's… prisoner… aimed at degrading Hinata's character."

Kurenai turned to look at Kakashi. "I don't care about what childish encounters occurred between Naruto and Kiba, though I will have a talk with Kiba about it after his match. It doesn't warrant for Naruto to beat him to a pulp!"

"You're right, it doesn't. I just wanted to make sure that you knew the reasoning behind Naruto's actions, but that isn't why I stopped you. Kiba isn't defeated yet."

Kurenai turned around to see Kiba and Akamaru get up to their feet, bleeding slightly from their nose but otherwise fine.

'So he held back after all. It seems that no matter how angry he gets, Naruto isn't able to deal any significant damage to one of his comrades.' Kakashi thought to himself.

Kiba wiped the blood trickling down from his nose. "Bastard… You'll pay for that." He then took two small pills out the pouch around his waist. Akamaru looked at him questioningly. "I know boy, it's a little early, but I want to show this guy just how outclassed he is." Kiba and Akamaru each took a pill, and their chakra flared wildly.

"Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō (Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf)!"

'So, he wants to use his strongest technique to defeat me in terms of taijutsu? I'll best him at his own game.'

After the smoke cleared, a huge double-headed dog stood in the middle of the arena floor. Both heads were looking down at Naruto with large scowls on their faces. Suddenly the massive dog disappeared, though Naruto was able to easily follow it. Naruto looked up to see the giant dog begin to roll in midair.

"Garōga (Fang Wolf Fang)!"

Naruto put his right hand over his left forearm, channeling chakra. Suddenly markings appeared on his skin, and began to move their way to Naruto's palm.

"Fuinjutsu: Gurando Ten Baria (Grand Heavens Barrier)!"

A large purple octagonal mass a foot thick and several meters across appeared between Naruto and the spinning dog. Kiba smashed into the barrier, thinking it was a simple trick to buy some time, but the more force he used to press into the barrier the more pain he felt. Soon, Kiba was pushed back with a huge force, slamming him into the opposite wall of the arena, dispelling the jutsu holding the large dog together.

'I'll give it to him; he is much stronger than he was during the first Chunnin Exam.'

"Let's go Kiba. I haven't even gotten started. Come at me with everything you have. I have a promise to fulfill, and neither of us are leaving till you are face-down on this floor."

It didn't take much goading from Naruto to make Kiba charge him, a mistake Kiba would later come to regret. When Kiba was within striking range, Naruto slammed his fist into his opponents gut, knocking the wind out of him. When Kiba looked up at Naruto, he had enough time to see Naruto's fist make contact with Kiba's face, sending him flying towards the other end of the arena, unconscious. Naruto then held up his hand to his right and caught Akamaru who launched himself at Naruto, still trying to win the match. Naruto caught the dog and held him by the scruff.

"Proctor. This match is over."

Hayate nodded. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto. Can a team please retrieve Inuzuka Kiba for an examination."

Naruto let go of Akamaru who went running over to his owner's unconscious form, yelping mildly. Naruto simply went to the medical bay to stay with Hinata, not caring the outcomes of the next two fights.

When Kakashi and Kurenai came by a half hour later Naruto learned the last to matches. The one after his had been Chouji vs Dosu, and the outcome was the same as Naruto had already seen. Chouji sought to get past Dosu's sound-based attacks by performing the Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank) but Dosu was still able to use his attack by manipulating sound through the water in Choji's body. The next match had been a major disappointment. The final match was Ino vs Tenten, and immediately Ino forfeited the match, knowing that she wouldn't be able to win against the weapons specialist since she couldn't get close enough to use her Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique), and didn't want to get unnecessarily hurt.

Kakashi then pulled out a piece of paper that had the matchups for the rest of the finals of the exam.

Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuga Neji

Haku vs Kankuro

Nara Shikamaru vs Temari

Rock Lee vs Subaku no Gaara

Uchiha Sasuke vs Dosu

Tenten vs winner of match one

After Kakashi finished relaying the rest of the match to Naruto and telling him that he had a month to prepare for the finals, he left the room so Kurenai could get a chance to talk to Naruto.

"Naruto, I think we should talk about your match against Kiba."

Naruto took Hinata's hand in his and held it tight. "I have nothing to talk about. I abided by the rules, and I didn't do any more damage than necessary to win. He should be grateful that I didn't make the match last longer, no matter how much I wished to hurt him. I know Hinata would have been upset with me if I injured her teammate too much, even though she likes him less than I do. So if there is anything to talk about, it should be how you are going to talk to Kiba about changing his attitude, otherwise we're finished."

Kurenai had a mixed batch of emotions about what Naruto just said. At first she was upset with how disrespectful Naruto was with her and she had to resist putting him under a Genjutsu to teach him manners. She then saw what the blonde Genin was actually saying, he played fair and only wanted to get rid of Kiba's superiority complex. Kurenai let out a long sigh, realizing there was nothing she could say to Naruto to make him regret his actions.

"I guess I can't do anything really since it was all fair play according to the rules of the exam. Good luck in the finals Naruto."

'Well, I guess I fixed Kiba's attitude problem, for now. I can always issue another beat-down if he desires a rematch. There is only one more person left now. I hope he is as ready as I am when this month is up.'

'I doubt it. And if you did lose, I would personally take over your body as punishment and never let you have control again.'

'Thanks, I'm glad I can always count on you for encouragement Kurama.'

The giant fox chuckled in Naruto's mindscape.

END

AN: So what do you all think? For any Kiba lovers out there i apologze for making him such a prick, but that is kinda how he acted during teh exams, really really cocky. Plus, i just wanted to give Naruto a good reason to smack him down really hard. Next chapter is going to be a good one, we will finally get to see Naruto's full strength, at least what i can gauge it as... should be fun.

Anyway, please review and send me any comments/concerns/suggestions for improvement, because i seriously do take them to heart. This is a learning experience for me, and i cant get any better if no one tells me how I'm doing. I will try my best to get back to you if you as a question, but please be patient with me.

Anyway, till next time!