Chapter 9- Silent Vow

Anko let the Genin to a training ground, which had a circular fence with gates surrounding the edges and a sign that was written 'Forbidden: only Chunin and Jonin allowed.' The Tokubetsu Jonin turned to them and said, "Welcome to Training Ground #44, the second stage of your exam. In Konoha, it also bears another name, the name of the Forest of Death."

Naruto commented, "It doesn't really look like much to me…"

Anko trained her eyes on him and smiled, "You are a spirited one…" The Jinchuuriki instantly knew that she was going to try something and the proctor popped out a hidden kunai from her sleeve quickly to throw it at Naruto's head.

Naruto tilted his head to the side to avoid it completely; the knife embedded itself into the ground after cutting a strand of a Kusa Genin's hair. Anko appeared behind Naruto with a kunai at his neck, "Aww, you didn't get cut...but all of the spirited ones are the ones that are killed first, spilling that red blood that I love so much."

Then she turned with another kunai in hand as the Kusa Genin returned her weapon using her tongue. "Yeah…please don't creep up behind me like that; I have a tendency to kill people when they do that." The Genin replied, "I apologize…I just wanted to return your kunai. It cut my precious hair and after seeing you in action…my blood is just rushing with excitement."

Hinata thought in fear, "Naruto-kun…."

"What is up with this examiner? This is bad." Sakura thought, "And that Kusa girl too…"

"Looks like we got some bloodthirsty ones in this test. Hehehe….this should be fun." Anko said with a smirk while Naruto thought, "You are the bloodthirsty one…"

Anko regained her composure, "Well, then before we start the exam, you have to sign these papers…there will be deaths in this one and if you don't sign these, it will be my responsibility. I am going to explain the test, and then you can sign them. After that, each team will check in at that booth behind me."

She handed Naruto the waiver forms and he passed them out as she said, "Simply put…you will attempt the ultimate survival. First, I will explain the area….there are 44 gates exactly and there is a forest, a river and a tower in the center. Each gate is exactly 10 km away from each other. During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using the weapons and jutsu that you have, you will compete in a no rules scroll battle. You will fight over these two scrolls 'heaven' and 'earth'. Since there are 26 teams here, half will get heaven and the other will get earth. To pass this test….you must reach the tower with both scrolls."

Sakura muttered, "So half of the teams will definitely fail because of this requirement."

Anko said, "There also is a time limit, the test will last for 120 hours, for those of you who hate math, it equals up to five days…"

Ino protested loudly, "Five days?!"

Choji said, "What about food?"

Anko said, "You are on your own….the forest is filled with food, you just have to watch out for the man-eating beasts, poisonous plants, poisonous insects, etc. and 13 teams passing is not likely. As the days progressed, the time to rest is shorter and the distance to the goal is farther, plus the area is filled with enemies, you will not get that much sleep. So you can fail not only for losing the scroll, but the harshness of the course."

She smiled, "Now let's talk about what will disqualify you…first, those who don't make to the tower within the 120 hour time limit. Second, those who lose a teammate or have their teammate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle of the exam, so if you are going to be a pussy, don't sign those papers. You will be in the forest for five days and also you can't look inside the scroll until you make it to the tower."

Shikamaru asked, "What happens if you do?"

Anko said, "Why spoil the surprise when you can dare to find out yourselves? Chunin are asked to handle classified information, this is to test your trustworthiness. That is it, exchange your 3 forms for your scroll, and then choose a gate to get ready for the start."

Naruto smirked as he already signed his on the spot while Anko was explaining the rules. Anko said, "Oh, and a final word of advice….just don't die." Just then a random Chunin came out from the tarp to state that it was about time to exchange the scrolls to the teams.

As the teams went to get their scrolls, the Uchiha thought as he watched, "I see…so you can't tell which team gets which scroll or who on the team is carrying the scroll, the times that I wish I had a Byakugan. It is just exactly what Ibiki said, in this test we will be risking our lives fighting for information…everyone is an enemy and everyone is determined, there will be killing."

Anko looked around, "Hehe, looks like the meaning of the signing that form has sunk it." Soon the Genin teams were placed at different gates to go through and Anko said, "Everyone, follow an instructor and go to your gates….we will begin the second phase in thirty minutes."

As thirty minutes passed, Anko declared the start and the Genin raced through their gates. Somewhere in the forest, there was a team in matching spandex suits that were watching Team Eight. Kiba stated, "So basically everyone is headed to the tower, right? Then setting traps near there would be best." Akamaru quietly barked and Kiba said, "So they are here already, eh? Where?" Akamaru shifted his head to the left and upwards.

One of the spandex Konoha ninja said, "Heh, kids just standing there out in the open. Do they want to be found? Looks like they have sensed us, but they don't know where exactly we are." Abruptly he started to shiver and one of his teammates said, "Hey, what's wrong, you are turning blue…"

Then he noticed something out of the back of his shirt, "What the hell is that?!" Suddenly giant leeches dropped from the canopy and fell to the ground. "Konoha jumping leeches will sense all life forms and attack in a group, five minutes of sucking and you will be shipped off to the next world. Realizing that and setting traps where the enemy might escape to. One down!"

Suddenly the trap that the Konoha group was under activated and they screamed loud. Anko heard them and commented, "Well, looks like they started already…."

Team Seven- "Okay, now who is holding the scroll?" Naruto asked. Sakura answered logically, "It should be the middleman in terms of strength, here in Konoha, it is established that Sasuke-kun here is the strongest out of our group, therefore underestimating you, Naruto. You should hold on to the scroll while Sasuke holds a decoy, just in case something happens."

She turned to Sasuke, "Do you agree with this plan?" The Uchiha smirked, "Not bad, Sakura…I agree to this plan, besides I just want to fight strong opponents and in this exam…" He looked at Naruto as he continued, "You have no choice, but to fight me in the exam if you want to become a chunin."

The Uzumaki sighed, "Alright, Sasuke, let's just get through this part now and be alert for anything…" Then he thought, "There is no doubt in my mind that Orochimaru will definitely appear in this part for Sasuke, I just hope my plan works…"

Serenity said, "Actually, Naruto-sama, he is already here…."

"What? When?"

"That Kusa Genin that returned Anko-san's kunai confirms that it was Orochimaru by a chance of seventy-eight percent."

"I will take that chance, how couldn't I have noticed that factor? So it is that Kusa team we have to watch out for, but no doubt that display earlier will make Sakura and Sasuke wary of her….him." As they ran through the forest, "Now what is the plan?" Sakura asked.

"Simple, we find a team, take their scroll and get to the tower….easy enough." Sasuke said and Naruto glanced at him, "You just happened to glance at which team has which kind of scroll?"

"No, I called in a favor from Hinata…she used her Byakugan and told me that she found two Ame teams who had the Earth scroll we need and four Konoha teams who had Heaven before she was caught."

"What did you give her in exchange?"

Sasuke smirked, "Some information on her cousin…." In reality, it was Naruto's likes and dislikes that he gave to Hinata and Naruto commented, "Good thinking, Sasuke…" Then he tensed up and whispered to his teammates, "Heads up…we are not alone."

Suddenly shuriken and senbon were thrown at the three teammates, who scattered about momentarily to see that it was an Ame team. Sakura looked over at Sasuke for confirmation and saw him give her the slightest nods.

Naruto activated his gloves while the leader of the Ame team spoke up, "I hope you don't mind us taking your scroll, kids." Sakura retorted casually, "You mind giving us a name, oji-san?" Then she thought to herself, "Naruto must have rubbed off of me…"

"I am called Shigure; these are my teammates, Baiu and Midare. You will pay for your insolence, little girl!" He shouted as he threw up his umbrella, then flipped through hand signs, "Ninpo: Joro Senbon!"

"Doton: Doro Domu!" Naruto slammed his hands on the ground and an earth dome quickly came over Team Seven, protecting his teammates from the senbon. "Okay, Sasuke, Shigure is yours…Sakura, you take the one called Midare and I will take the short one."

The two nodded and Naruto released the dome from the back, letting Sasuke and Sakura discreetly entered from the back, just as the Ame Team were coming around. Sasuke kicked Shigure in the face while Sakura sent a kunai at Midare, who dodged it.

Naruto burst from his earth prison and fired blasts of flame at Baiu, who was forced to dodge and then pulled out hidden swords from his two umbrellas. The Jinchuuriki dodged a thrust from his left one and ducked under a swipe with the right one to give Baiu a strike to the stomach.

Baiu stumbled back, clutching his stomach and then Naruto gave him two punches across the face, one on both sides and gave him a savage roundhouse kick to the head, knocking Baiu into a tree and knocking him unconscious.

As Baiu slumped to the ground, Naruto checked his pouch to see that he was carrying some ninja wire; Ame issued kunai and shuriken along with some scrolls. He took the ninja wire and tied up Baiu securely, but enough to that he wouldn't be able to get out for at least a few minutes.

With Sakura, she was in a knife/taijutsu match with Midare. She blocked a swipe at her midsection and then returned the favor with a well-placed kick to the chest. She sprang at him to stab his arm, but the Ame Nin sent his feet up in the air, catching her chin. "You will not beat me that easily, little girl…" he declared with a smirk.

Sakura spat out blood from her cut lip and launched herself at him. Foregoing his swords, the Ame Nin flipped through hand seals as he shouted, "Suiton: Suikodan!" The water from the lake behind him sprang out over him towards Sakura, but to his surprise, the water went through her.

"A Bunshin? When did she?!" He said, but then he saw Sakura coming at him with a punch, causing his head to snap to the side, then she slammed her knee into his stomach. Midare stumbled back, holding his stomach and Sakura didn't relent to give him an uppercut, making his head snap up.

Finally the Haruno performed a sabat kick to his chest, making Midare gasp for air. Next, the pink-haired kunoichi used the ring of her kunai to knock out her opponent, sending into his temple, the Ame Nin fell into the bliss of unconsciousness.

Sakura also searched to find the same equipment as Naruto did, but she also found a set of twin Fuma Kodachi within a scroll, making her smirk and kept them as she tied up Midare with his own wire as the Jinchuuriki dragged his downed opponent to her position.

"You found the scroll?"

Sakura shook her head no and looked over at Sasuke, who had the upper hand, "Well, let's put them together, so we can watch Sasuke's entertaining fight. With Sasuke, the Uchiha dodged under Shigure's kick and then caught his other one to twist it, making the 19-year-old fall to the ground, then grappled with him by sitting on his back and pulling his leg back.

Shigure struggled as he grimaced in pain, then he swung his elbow into the Uchiha's side in rapid succession, causing Sasuke to lose his grip and the Ame ninja flipped him over, but Sasuke rolled to the the side and stood up quickly. The two circled each other as they drew their respected weapons.

Sasuke took out two kunai while Shigure unsheathed a hidden sword to put it in a reverse grip. "You are pretty good, but you will not defeat me with that level of skill." Shigure commented and the Uchiha smirked, "Then it looks like I will have to take it up a notch…Sharingan!" Immediately, Sasuke's onyx eyes transitioned into a dark red with two tomoe surrounding his pupils in both eyes.

Shigure narrowed his lone eye, "An Uchiha…I thought that accursed clan were all wiped out, but no matter…at least I can reply the kindness that one of your clan member did when he took my eye away from me when I was ten."

"In my opinion, I think it suits you better…women these days dig battles scars, plus it does attract attention away from that ugly mug of yours."

Shigure growled in anger as he launched his attack by swiping at Sasuke's head, but the Uchiha used his two kunai to block. Then the Rain ninja sent a punch to Sasuke's face, but his Sharingan caught it and he craned his head to the side to dodge.

Next, Shigure went for a roundhouse kick, but Sasuke ducked under it and sent his weapons at Shigure's head, but the Ame Nin leaned his head back and the Uchiha smirked as he gave him a left-right combo to the chest, then another combo to his face and ended it with a jumping kick to the face.

"Eat it…" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Why you…Suiton: Suishoha!"

Sasuke's smirk disappeared as the lake sent out a huge wave from behind, he jumped in the air as he flipped through hand signs, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The fireball sprang from his mouth and evaporated some of the water that was coming at him.

"I have got you!" Shigure shouted as he was poised to kill him, but the Uchiha immediately used Kawarimi and appeared behind the Rain ninja to land a chop to the back of his neck. "Well, that was slightly entertaining…" Soon the three Ame Ninjas were left on the ground, unconscious and tied up.

"Did you get their scroll?" Sasuke asked.

"No, I believe that Shigure has got it…" Sakura said and the Uchiha checked the Ame Nin for the scroll to find it and said, "Alright, now all we have to do is get to the tower…" Suddenly Naruto felt the wind stinging against his cheek and a large wind came through to blow them away, but all three of them stood their ground.

"Oh, I wanted to blow all of three of you away…oh, well, I may as well play with you before I take your scroll and your life." A feminine voice said from above. Team Seven looked up to see that it was the mysterious Kusa Nin with the long tongue.

"Shit…it's Orochimaru! Damn, I didn't think that he would get here that fast…he must be here for Sasuke's Sharingan!" Naruto thought. "Or he could be after you, Naruto…you do have me inside of you, augmenting your abilities." Serenity added.

"The thing is why didn't he grab any from the massacre happened?"

"If he had implanted them like Kakashi-san did, it would have sap his reserves. He would need to be an Uchiha to use it to the full extent, my guess that he either has the power to possess Sasuke's body or needs to do an experiment on Sasuke to imprint his being into Sasuke's brain; this is also the factor that he would need a lot of blood to incorporate into his system. Either way, he has to take him away from the village to do either of those."

The female Kusa Nin chuckled evilly as she pressed her finger on her eyelid while she launched her killing intent, freezing Team Seven in place as they each saw their own gruesome deaths. "Master, it is an illusion! Fight it!" Serenity cried out in alarm.

The Jinchuuriki complied and he was able to move a bit, but Sakura wasn't used to it. Due to Itachi's use of Tsukiyomi, Sasuke was able to move and override the killing intent with pain to grab Sakura and Naruto followed after him.

"What is she?" murmured Sasuke, "A monster…"

"Sasuke…we have to make a stand…"

"What? No way! You saw what she did to us back there; there is no way that we win this battle!"

"We've no choice, but to fight. She will just pressure us until we are dead. We must take a stand against her and come on; fear didn't stop us from taking on Zabuza, right?"

Sasuke bit his lip a bit as Naruto continued, "I am terrified of her power as well, but I am terrified of losing my teammates…my friends to death. I have already lost someone to its clutches and I will not let that happen again, now when I am around…"

Sakura's eyes fluttered a bit and snapped open as she shouted, "Look out!" The three of them moved in opposite directions to avoid a snake from swallowing them whole. Sasuke threw shuriken into the snake's mouth, ripping its insides to shreds and it fell dead.

"Way to give yourself away, Orochimaru…" Naruto said.

"Oh, you have heard of me, Naruto-kun?"

"You are the only one who can summon snakes that big beside our proctor, Anko Mitarashi…what do you want?"

Orochimaru burst from the snake's carcass, dripping with slime and ripped the skin off his face to reveal his pale face with purple markings and slitted yellow eyes, "Isn't it obvious? I want Sasuke Uchiha and the power of his Sharingan."

Sasuke replied, "I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am straight…strictly, very strictly and as for the Sharingan, over my dead body." Orochimaru chuckled, "I need you alive for that….it seems that you need some motivation."

Instantly Naruto acted by throwing a flash ball, which blinded the Snake Sannin momentarily and Naruto activated his gloves to send a flaming ball in the air, which exploded. Anko looked up and said, "Go! Quickly! The ANBU will be there in five minutes, we must provide support!"

The flames came down at Orochimaru, who dodged them much like a snake and Naruto came in forward on him to stab him with a kunai. Orochimaru gurgled, but then he turned into mud and Naruto thought, "A Doton Kage Bunshin?!"

He turned to look behind him to receive a kick to the face and Orochimaru said, "You are in the way of my ambition!" Sakura flipped through hand seals as she shouted, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" She spat out small fireballs and the Snake Sannin deftly dodged them only to get Naruto's foot in his face.

"You will not get your hands on Sasuke…"

"Sasuke-kun needs my power in order for him to kill his brother." Orochimaru stated.

Sakura glared at the man, "That is completely bullshit! Nobody can give the power to defeat a Jonin without some kind of recuperation of a deal."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with us!" Naruto shouted in anger, "Admit it, you could have infiltrated Konoha during the Uchiha Massacre to implant some Sharingan into your eyes since there were plenty of them, but that would sap your chakra since you knew Kakashi's predicament. So somehow you have found some way to make yourself an Uchiha by needing Sasuke or Itachi's blood."

The Jinchuuriki smirked, "I bet you were too weak to get Itachi's own because he is stronger than you, so why should Sasuke go to you when you can't even defeat Itachi yourself?!" Orochimaru glared at Naruto and said, "I am going to deal with you first!"

He sprang at Naruto, but suddenly kunai stopped him from getting any closer. "That is far enough, Orochimaru!" The Snake Sannin glanced up to see three squads of ANBU in front of him and one of them asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Sightseeing…"

"Regardless, you are wanted for treason, kidnapping and unlawful experimentation…as the captain of the ANBU, I place you under arrest."

"Sorry, but I still got my get out of jail free card." The Snake Sannin backed up into the branch and melded with it while the leader shouted orders, "Squad Alpha and Beta, search for him, do not let him escape! Squad Theta, escort Team Seven to the towers if they have their scrolls."

"HAI!"

Naruto recognized one of them, "Neko-san…"

"Hello, Uzumaki-san, does you team have both scrolls?"

"Yes, we do…"

"Good, then you will pass on the next phase, let's go…"

Tower- Squad Theta and Team Seven appeared at the tower without difficulty and there was the Hokage standing. "Report!" the old man barked out. The ANBU team knelt before him and Neko reported, "Hokage-sama, your informant was correct, Orochimaru has revealed himself and it appears that his primary objective is to possess the Sharingan from Sasuke Uchiha."

"I see, so he had finished that jutsu…" Hiruzen said.

"What jutsu?" Sasuke asked and the Hokage said to him, "I suppose I should tell you three about my student. After Orochimaru's parents died, he became obsessed of immortalizing himself; he delved in researching of making a jutsu that would allow to live forever in a sense. He was working on a jutsu that overtakes a person's soul and supplanting his own thus taking over the body along with its special abilities."

Sasuke was disgusted with the idea and said, "Naruto mentioned that Orochimaru did the same thing with my brother, but it backfired and it seems that he was very pissed about it." The Hokage said, "Maybe the Sharingan when it is fully mature can negate the effects…I would isolate you, Sasuke, but I am afraid that Orochimaru would do something to the village and placing Sasuke in open like nothing happened may place you at high risk. Sasuke…I am afraid that I will have to restrict your movements to a minimum and have you trained as well as watched by Kakashi regardless if you pass or not in this next phase."

He turned to Naruto and Sakura, "Naruto, Sakura, I am going to ask you to keep quiet about what I have said in these past minutes. Sakura, if you pass this part, I will have you trained by Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuhi. Naruto, your trainer will be coming here as well…"

Team Seven nodded and Sarutobi said, "Your team will be watched until the end of the second phase, no questions asked." Again, they nodded and they were escorted to a room with Squad Theta outside of their door.

Room- Team Seven sat in silence as they replayed the events in their heads until Sasuke said, "We have to get stronger…" Sakura stated, "Yes, but over the span of a few years…we can't exactly protect each other let alone ourselves."

"We can try…" Naruto said, "Mikoto-san and Kakashi can protect themselves, besides Orochimaru wouldn't dare to approach Sasuke around Kakashi and Mikoto-san, especially a mother trying to protect her child is a dangerous person to fight. As for me and Sakura, we are obstacles to getting to you…because you are our friend."

Sakura said, "Yuhi-san is the sensei of Team Eight and I have heard that she is the best at using genjutsu while Anko Mitarashi…you mention that she summoned snakes, right, Naruto? Was she taught by Orochimaru?"

"Yes, she was…she was the only one that has been taught by Orochimaru and because that she is not well-liked because of that factor, but on the flip side, she is the only one who knows how Orochimaru works, his techniques, mannerisms etc."

Sasuke said, "Like me, he specializes in ninjutsu and genjutsu, so the only way to stop him from using those is to work mostly on our taijutsu. To keep up with his hand seals and moves, I will need to upgrade my Sharingan to the third tier in order to reverse the effects."

Naruto stood up, "Then that settles it…we will get stronger after the exams are finished and when we meet Orochimaru again, we will defeat him." He put his hand out and said, "Let's make it official…" Sasuke and Sakura put their hands over Naruto's own as they each made a silent promise to become stronger.

The three of them took a rest, each of them with a kunai under their pillow in case that should someone slip into the room.

Hokage Tower- "Orochimaru has made his move; I want everyone to be alert for anything. One of the villages may be in cohorts with Orochimaru since we know that he doesn't have enough manpower to destroy this village." Sarutobi said to the Jonin and Chunin.

Forest of Death- "Curses! I was so close, that damn Jinchuuriki interfered with my plans to get Sasuke!" Orochimaru said angrily, "Kabuto! I want you to keep an eye on Naruto Uzumaki and when you get the chance, kill him…I will have Sasuke's body and the destruction of Konoha during our invasion with Suna."

Kabuto bowed lowly, "It shall be done, Lord Orochimaru…I will take care of everything."

Four days later, The Rookie Nine, along with Team Gai, Team Kabuto, Team Dosu, and Team Gaara stood before their senseis, proctors and the Hokage himself. "First off, for the second test, congratulations on passing!" Anko said, and then she thought to herself, "I never would expect 24 of them to be here, I was expecting single digits actually…but at least I cut them in half practically."

Gai stated, "Your team is not that bad, Kakashi. Maybe they got lucky, but with my team around, getting any further is nigh impossible now since from now it's about real skill. Well, with youth, there are sweet times and sour times, eh, Kakashi?"

"Huh, oh, I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Damn you, Kakashi! You make me so mad! Why do you always have to act so cool?!"

"For so many to be here and most of them are rookies…" Sarutobi thought, and then he whispered as he looked at their senseis, "No wonder they nominated them all…" Anko spoke up, "Now Hokage-sama will now explain the third test, listen carefully."

"Thank you, Anko…now before we begin the third test, there is something that I must bring to your attention, it concerns with the true reason of this exam."

"True reason?" thought Sakura.

"Why do we have all the allied countries taking the exam together?" The Hokage asked rhetorically, "To promote friendship among the countries? To raise the level of shinobi? I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. The exam is…"

Tenten thought to herself, "Is…"

"A replacement for war between the allied countries." Sarutobi finished. The bun-haired kunoichi asked, "What does that mean?" The Hokage answered, "If we were to go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that countries chose for battle…the origins of this Chunin Exam."

"Why the hell do we have to do this crap? Wasn't this test for deciding who is a chunin?!" Naruto voiced out. "It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobi have what it takes to become a chunin, but on the other hand, the exam has another side to it, where each country's shinobi risks their own life to protect their land's reputation." Sarutobi replied after taking a puff from his pipe.

Ino piped up, "I don't understand…"

"Watching the third phase of the exam will be leaders and influential individuals. From many countries that make up the clients of the shinobi and the leaders of those leaders will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, then that country will gain more clients and conversely, if seen as weak, that country will lose clients. This also send a political message to potential enemy countries, by saying that 'our village has this much power'."

Kiba blurted out, "Yeah, but why?! Why it is that we must risk our lives in battle?!"

"Simple…the strength of the country is the strength of the village, which is the strength of the shinobi and a shinobi's true strength is only shown through life-risking battles. This exam is a place to observe each country's power and to show off your own power. It only has meaning because lives are at risk and that is why those that have come before you have fought in the Chunin Exam for this dream are meaningful."

"But then why…" Tenten asked, "Do you say stuff about it being for 'friendship'"

"I said it in the beginning; I don't want to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance, this is the shape of friendship in the world of the shinobi, now before we begin the final test, I will tell you one more thing, this is not only a test…it is a life-risking battle with your dreams and your country's reputation on the line."

"I get it…" Naruto said to himself as he crossed his arms while Gaara said in monotone, "I don't care what it is…just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails." The Hokage said, "Of course, I would like to explain the third test, but…"

"Actually *cough*…" A sickly voice interrupted. A Jonin appeared before the Hokage, "I apologize, Hokage-sama, for the interruption. From here on, as the referee for this part of the exam, will you please allow me, Gekko Hayate…"

"By all means…"

Hayate turned to the Genin, "Hello, everyone, I am Hayate…umm, before we begin, there's something that I would like you to do. Umm, it is a preliminary for the third phase to decide who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?" The bubblegum- haired Genin whispered to herself.

Shikamaru shouted, "Preliminary?! What do you mean?"

"Sensei, I don't understand this preliminary, but why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next test." Sakura said meekly.

"The first and second test proved to be too easy for you Genin, so in a result *cough* we have too many people remaining. According to the Chunin Exam Rules, it is required to have a preliminary to reduce the number of participants for the next test."

"No way…"

"As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many people watching your fights, so the fights could take too long, we are limited in time. Umm…so anyway…those who are not feeling well or who feel like quitting after these explanations please come forward now since we will be starting the preliminary immediately…"

"What?! Right now!?" Kiba shouted in disbelief.

Kabuto looked at Orochimaru, who nodded his head, indicating that he should stay in to gather information on his primary subject, Uchiha Sasuke and possibly kill Naruto Uzumaki."Nobody wants to retire? Oh…umm, I forgot to tell you that you all will be battling individually, you may raise your hand based on your own judgment." Hayate said with a cough.

One of the teammates on Kabuto forfeited his position and Hayate checked him off as he left the arena.

"Alright, then since we have an even number of 20 contestants, we will have 10 matches…and the winners will advance to the third test. There are basically no rules, the fight continues until one of you dies or knocked out or concedes defeat. *Cough* If you don't want to die, then I suggest that you forfeit quickly…but when I clearly decided who is the winner since we don't want pointless corpses, I will jump in and stop things and the object that controls your destiny is…" Hayate stated.

Anko muttered into her headset, "Open it."

The wooden board slid upwards to reveal an electric score board. "Is this electric score board will show the match-ups for each battle. Now this is sudden, but let's announce the names for this fight." Hayate said.

The board flipped through the Genin's names randomly until they stopped at Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado. Everyone did so and Hayate said, "Now Match 1: Sasuke Uchiha versus Yoroi Akado…begin!"

Yoroi did the Tora sign, "Are you ready?" His right hand glowed ablaze with chakra as his left had reached into his pouch. Sasuke reached in his holster. Yoroi flicked them at the Uchiha, but the Uchiha did an overhand strike with his kunai, sending the projectiles back at him.

The overhead strike made it that he overextended himself and Sasuke fell down to the ground. Yoroi saw the opportunity and acts by moving toward Sasuke.

He aimed his right hand to smash Sasuke's head, but the Uchiha rolled to the side and slammed the kunai point into the ground, then he tripped Yoroi using his feet, then maneuvered him into a wrestling move, threatening to break his arm. But Yoroi's hand grabbed Sasuke's shirt and Sasuke felt his strength fading away fast.

His grip on Yoroi's arm slipped and Yoroi elbowed Sasuke in the gut, and then flipped up into a kneeling position.

Sasuke thought, "What was that? My strength just suddenly…"The weird ninja then moved toward the fallen avenger, causing Sakura to shout in alarm. Sasuke looked up to see Yoroi's chakra-infused hand clamped on his head, and the Uchiha began to feel weaker and weaker.

"You…my chakra!" Sasuke said.

Yoroi chuckled, "So you finally noticed, it's about time."

Orochimaru thought, "Yoroi's special ability is that he can suck chakra rendering the person useless and weak by a touch of his hand. When he sucks all of your chakra, you will be weak enough for me to give my seal to you."

Sasuke moved his leg to prop it against Yoroi, "Ugh…damn…you!"

Yoroi was kicked away and skidded away, "So…it seems that you still have power left?" Yoroi charged again, having Sasuke dodged the swipes of his hand. Sasuke aimed a roundhouse kick at him, but Yoroi jumped over and landed away from him.

Sasuke thought desperately, "If he tries to touch me one more time, I am done for and he will try to get in close combat with me. What do I do?"

Gaara thought, "Is that all you have….Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto shouted after he looked upon the pained face of Sakura, "Sasuke! Are you really Uchiha Sasuke?! Is this the best you can do?" Sasuke looked to see Naruto and Lee on the balcony, "That's it…I know what to do." He thought.

Yoroi charged at Sasuke, "It's over, Uchiha!"

But the next move surprised everyone especially Lee as Sasuke used the same move that Lee used on him. "That's my…" Lee thought as his sensei said, "What?"

Sasuke appeared behind Yoroi, "Though from here, it's all original from here." Sasuke said, "It's over." The Uchiha poked him in the back and the opposing ninja recognized the move, "Kage Buyou?"

"Take this!"

"Here it comes." The Uchiha declared.

Sasuke pushed off of Yoroi's back and aimed a kick at Yoroi's right side.

Yoroi blocked the kick and scoffed, "Not enough." Sasuke grimaced and used the momentum of his kick to aim a punch to his unguarded left side.

Kakashi said, "Not enough…eh?" Yoroi's head snapped downwards, but Sasuke did not relent."Get your ass back here!" the Uchiha shouted as he used his right arm to catch his opponent in the chest.

Before Yoroi hit the ground, Sasuke turned to land a kick in the chest as he shouted, "There's more! Shishi RENDEN!" Yoroi's head snapped upwards to cough up blood and he was knocked unconscious.

Sasuke slid to the side before coming to a complete stop. "Like I have to check." The sickly proctor thought as he checked the pulse of Yoroi, and then turned his head to the side to smile at the wobbly Uchiha. "I am stopping this match, thus Uchiha Sasuke is the winner of this match."

Sasuke fell backwards only for Kakashi to catch him with his foot, "Well, good job…" Sasuke let out a small smile as he scoffed a bit, then the lanky Jonin thought, "That movement before the Shishi Rendan was from Gai's Goken…he must have copied it when he tousled with Lee earlier."

"Sasuke! What a lame way to win! You are all beat up, idiot!" Naruto yelled out.

"That damn…total moron." The Uchiha said as he looked at his teammate, then he turned to look at Lee as he thought, "Thanks to you, Lee, I was able to survive…if I hadn't seen your move earlier, then I would have been in trouble…but it is not a move for me to count on." Sasuke's body began to rake in pain as he sat on the ground.

"I see…that time, you were able to copy a part of my technique from just seeing it once. That is your ability…Sasuke-kun, what are a person you are…you will only get stronger and stronger, even I feel…fear." Lee thought to himself.

Gai thought, "Mastering a part of the super taijutsu technique, 'Lotus' is impossible without grueling training…even with the Sharingan, it's not something that can be perfected quickly and the creativity of that finishing move. Kakashi…he reminds me of you when you were young."

Tenten thought as she looked between Neji and Sasuke, "This is interesting…last year rookie was Neji and this year, it is Sasuke...which is stronger, I wonder?"

"But what a guy…to release the true power of the Sharingan here, the terrifying Uchiha blood." Kakashi thought as he looked at his student.

Kakashi said, "Now let's get you out of here now." Sasuke said, "Can you wait until the prelims are over, I want to observe the matches." Kakashi said, "Don't worry, I'm sure your teammates and I will tell you all about them and their fighting styles." Kakashi took Sasuke away as the screen flashed to reveal the next match.

Hayate coughed, "Will*cough*Abumi Zaku and *cough*Aburame Shino please come down?" Zaku said, "Who the hell is this loser? This will be easier than I thought." Shino quietly walked down the stairs to the arena.

Sakura looked at them and saw Zaku's arms were still in a sling. "That Sound Nin...he looks up to something if he is going to fight with broken arms." She thought to herself.

"Will Shino-kun be alright?" Hinata asked her feral teammate and Kiba answered, "Yeah, he will be…he is strong, he is one person even I don't want to fight." Hayate said calmly, "Match 2: Zaku Abumi versus Shino Aburame…please begin."

"Now Zaku…it will be interesting to see how you fight." Dosu thought, then Orochimaru disappeared and Dosu looked on without saying a word. Shino spoke to Zaku in monotone, "If you fight here, you will never fight again, it's best if you forfeit."

Zaku's left arm twitched a bit and he began to move, "It seems that this one can move a bit, but I only need one arm to kick your weird ass." Zaku flew at Shino, but the Aburame brought his arm to block Zaku's strike.

Zaku cursed, "Damn it!"

Shino replied, "It is useless, you can't beat me with just one arm." Zaku retorted, "Shut the hell up! Take this!" Zaku's hand opened to reveal his air hole, "Zankuuha!" The blow hit Shino full force in the head and Shino rolled on the ground, smoking.

"Hehehe!" Zaku chuckled with a smirk, "Hey, get your ass up!" Shino slowly got up and revealed something that Zaku was slightly disturbed. What the Oto Nin saw was that Shino had bugs crawling under his skin…literally. "W-What the? He has…bugs from inside his body?"Zaku thought to himself.

Then he heard a multitude of noises behind and turned to see an army of bugs behind him. Shino explained, "They are called kikaichu bugs, they attack in numbers and consume chakra. Like I said, if this many behind you get you, you'll never be a ninja ever again. If you don't want that then you should give up." Zaku glared at him for putting him in this predicament.

Shino pushed up his shades, "If you decide to attack me with your arm, then the bugs will get you and if you attack my bugs, I attack you." Zaku cursed loudly, "Damn…" Shino said, "You should always save your trump card at the last moment."

Zaku thought as images from his past of the meeting with Orochimaru came into view, "I can't…I can't continue to fail!" Zaku shouted, "Don't mess with me!" Zaku pulled his right arm out as he declared in a proud voice, "Heh…you should always have a trump card at the last moment, right?"

Kiba shouted, "What? He can use his right arm too!"

Dosu thought, "So it was all an act that his right arm was completely useless…heh, good one, Zaku." Zaku shouted, "Take this!" Suddenly his arms imploded and one of them fell to the ground.

Zaku looked at it in shock as he saw kikaichu coming out of the air tubes. Shino came behind Zaku as he said, "When I told you to give up, I sent some of them to close your dangerous air holes with their bodies. That is a true trump card."

Zaku shouted, "You bastard!" He sent a punch, but the Aburame ducked and back handed Zaku. Hayate declared, "Shousha: Aburame Shino."

Stadium Arena- Hayate said, "Okay, now Match 3: Sabaku no Kankuro and Kabuto Yakushi, will you please come down to the arena?"

Kankuro said, "Heh, this will be easy enough."

Baki, the sensei of Team Gaara, said, "Kankuro, don't get cocky."

Kankuro pretended that he didn't hear him at all and continued to the arena. Temari muttered, "That idiot is going to get himself killed." Kankuro stood and faced Kabuto, Yoroi's teammate. Kabuto glanced at Orochimaru, who discreetly told him to make it look interesting.

Kankuro said, "Hey, sorry, but I plan on winning this match."

Hayate shouted, "Begin!"

Kankuro started things off by throwing a punch to Kabuto's face, but the Konoha spy blocked it with his forearm and then sent a kick to Kankuro's abdomen, only to have arms burst out and wrap around his leg.

Suddenly Kankuro's face started to peel off like ceramic, then Kankuro lifted his head and turned it completely around to reveal that the person Misumi was holding was not a person, but a marionette.

"A puppet? Then where is…." Kabuto said. Then he looked toward the bandages to see something moving and a hand popped out to remove it, revealing Kankuro.

"You're a puppet master." Kabuto said in disbelief.

Kankuro said, "That is correct and now I will think I will have to incapacitate you." Kankuro clenched his fist and the puppet crushed Kabuto's bones in his leg and making him scream out in pain before falling unconscious from the pain.

"Like I said, too easy." Kankuro said.

Hayate thought, "That was a fast match."

Kankuro walked back upstairs while the medics came and carried Kabuto away to the hospital. The board flashed once again as Naruto commented, "This exam has a bunch of interesting people here…" Kakashi replied, "You are one to talk, Naruto."

"Hehe, good one…" Sakura laughed lightly and then Kakashi said, "This is no time for laughing, Sakura…"

"Why?"

"Because you are fighting Ino…" Naruto said as he sat down Indian style, thumbing at the board. Ino and Sakura looked at the board in surprise and the two kunoichi walked down the stairs to stand in front of each other.

"Match 4: Sakura Haruno versus Ino Yamanaka…begin."

"Sakura…I never thought that I would be fighting you so soon…" Ino said, and then Sakura reached up to her headband and took it off. Naruto smirked as he thought, "Looks like Sakura is getting serious, maybe this fight will be worth watching."

"She may not look like it, but Ino is exceptional among the kunoichi, but I wonder if she will be able to go all out against Sakura." Asuma thought to himself. Shikamaru said, "Those two? Looks like this will get annoying…"

"Is Ino going to be alright?" Choji asked.

The young Sarutobi thought, "Yeah, Ino, what will you do?" Sakura said, "Right now, I have no intention of fighting over Sasuke-kun with you."

"What was that?"

"You and Sasuke-kun don't go together anyway and I am completely stronger than you right now, I don't need to be concerned with you."

"Sakura…who do you think you are talking to? Don't get ahead of yourself, cry-baby Sakura."

Naruto said with a raised eyebrow, "Sakura is taking this a little bit too far; Ino looked really pissed right now." Kakashi said, "Hmm, Sakura is the type to brag about her strength or hurt others willingly, the main guess is that she want Ino to take her seriously and don't show any mercy."

The Haruno thought as she stared into the pale blue eyes of Ino Yamanaka, "Ino…I have always believe those words you told me, I always hoped they were true. I wanted to be like you, you were my goal and thanks to you, I am here. That's why, Ino, I want this to be an all out fight. Unless I really surpass you, it's meaningless…"

"Okay, seriously, what is up with the seriousness between these two?" Naruto asked and Kakashi said, "It's a stand-off between the two of them, sort of like your rivalry with Sasuke…they are battling to see who is stronger and more worthy of winning Sasuke's heart."

Ino then smirked as she took her headband from her waist, "I get it…Sakura, all out battle." They both tied their headband onto their forehead and Sakura started things off with a jutsu. "Just a Bunshin no Jutsu." Ino thought.

The Yamanaka declared, "This is not the Academy Graduation Exam, you think that you can beat me with a textbook jutsu like that?!" Then she thought, "If I just look closely, I can figure out which one is the real one?"

Sakura smiled as she directed chakra to her feet and sped in front of Ino's widened eyes, causing Ino to lose track of her and get a punch in the face. "If you think that I am the same cry-baby Sakura, then you will be hurting. Get serious, Ino!"

"I'm glad you said that." Ino said as she wiped her cheek, "As you wish, here I come…"

"Hmph, looks like she is using that exercise we learned in Wave in spades. After all, she is the best one on our team when it comes to chakra control." Ishide commented. Lee gripped his fist as he thought, "Beautiful movement, Sakura-san…"

Sakura and Ino were struggling in a stand-still as Naruto said, "Although Sakura has gotten stronger with her stamina, Ino has been training as well…they look evenly matched and it is possible that they may beat themselves to a standstill."

"No way! Sakura-chan will win this!" Lee shouted.

"Sakura is at a disadvantage; she is against Ino, who has access to her clan jutsu, the Shintenshin no Jutsu. If she finds some way to trap her, she is done, but on the bright side, Sakura is quick and she can think on her feet almost as fast as you, Naruto." Kakashi said logically.

Ten minutes later, the two of them were still going at it and Ino shouted, "There is no way you could be even with me!" Sakura retorted hotly, "Heh, of course! How could I be even someone who worries about growing their hair and looking pretty?"

"You! You better stop disrespecting me!"

"Idiot! Letting that trash talk get to you, I don't know what she's gonna do." Shikamaru chided.

"I don't like that Ino…" Choji commented fearfully. Ino took her kunai and cut off her ponytail while Sakura chuckled, "Hehe, so simple…" The Yamanaka casted her hair to the floor and said, "I don't need this! I am going to end this right now, I will make you say 'Give up' from your very own mouth."

"That hand sign?!" Shikamaru stared at Ino in disbelief. Choji said, "It can't be…"

"I can sympathize with your desperation, but that is useless…" Sakura said.

"Bah, we will see about that." Ino replied.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu…a Jutsu known only to the Yamanaka clan by using your spiritual energy and projecting at an opponent, you can take control over their body for a few minutes, but the downside is that spiritual projection moves at a slow pace and if you miss, your body will be an inanimate doll for a few minutes, leaving you vulnerable."

"So what?! We won't know until we try!"

Suddenly there was silence in the air and Sakura moved to the side while Ino shouted, "Ninpou: Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Both bodies stopped and their heads hung in the air as Shikamaru asked himself, "Which one?"

"Hehe, too bad…Ino." Sakura said, then the girl tried to move, but she looked down to see that she was caught in Ino's hair. "You fell for it, Sakura…it was all an act, this is a special rope using my hair and chakra. Now since you can't move at the moment, I will be ending this duel…Ninpou: Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

This time, Sakura's psyche was suppressed by Ino's own and Ino/Sakura raised her hand as she said, "I, Haruno Sakura, would like to…" Naruto suddenly shouted, "Sakura, remember what I taught you!" Ino looked at Naruto as she thought, "He is so annoying…"

"If you lose to that woman, we won't be able to defeat that man and you will never gain Sasuke's respect as a woman!" Naruto shouted and Sasuke said, "Come on, Sakura."

"What is he smiling about? It is all useless…" Ino thought, and then she felt a shiver run down her spine. "What? This sensation…."

"Geez, Naruto is so loud…but he is right, I can't lose here, there is too much at stake here."

"What? Sakura!? No way…" Ino/Sakura thought as she clutched at her head. Hayate asked, "Hey, what's the matter? Do you want to forfeit or not?" Sakura took control as she shouted, "Like hell I'll forfeit!" The proctor thought, "Which one is in control now?"

Ino thought, "No way?! My jutsu failed!" Then the inner Sakura grabbed Ino and began to squeeze her, "Ino, if you don't get the hell out of my body, I swear to Kami you will be sorry." Shikamaru then said, "Huh? What is wrong with Ino?"

Ino released the jutsu and the two opponents reanimated, breathing hard. "You have two minds, what are you?" Ino asked. Her rival replied, "Don't you know, women have to be tough to survive or they will not making out in the real world."

Soon the two got up once again for one last hit as they charged at each other, thinking, "This is…the end!" At the last minute, Sakura ducked under Ino's punch and gave her a flying uppercut to the chin, causing the Yamanaka to fall to the floor, unconscious. Hayate waited for a moment for the blonde to get up and declared, "Winner: Sakura Haruno."

"Looks like even Sakura has gotten a little stronger as well…many things have happened, but I am glad that I entered them in the Chunin Exams…" Kakashi thought to himself.

The board flashed to reveal the new fighters, who were Tenten and Temari, the Konoha girl smirked with confidence to be in the finals and she walked down the stairs to face Temari, who was wearing a confident smirk of her own on her face. "Are the contestants ready?"

Lee shouted, "Good luck, Tenten…"

Neji murmured, "Now…the second member of the Sand Team, this could be interesting."

Both of the kunoichis nodded in confirmation and Hayate chopped down his hand, "Now Match 5: Tenten versus Sabaku no Temari…begin."

Tenten and Temari both jumped back to get some distance between each other, the weapons mistress threw kunai at the wind mistress, but Temari gathered wind-natured chakra to block the kunai away from her.

Tenten said, "What? But that attack was right on target."

Naruto thought, "She is using wind manipulation…bad matchup for Tenten. She has absolutely no chance in winning unless she has a fire jutsu. Since Gai never utilizes ninjutsu in respect of Lee, Tenten will lose this one."

Temari unclasped her fan and opened it up to reveal a purple moon on the fan. "This is the first moon, girl. When you see all three, the match will be over."

Tenten gritted her teeth as she racked her brain, "How is she doing that? She is not using any hand signs or nothing, but yet my attacks can get through."

Tenten ran at Temari and threw kunai at all directions as she thought, "This should work." But again the attack failed and Temari swung her fan to blow back Tenten and her weapons. "You are on the second moon, sister. Look, it's over, your weapons aren't effective against my style, which has been proven twice." Temari said.

Tenten unclasped the two scrolls on her hips and Lee said quietly, "Tenten….you are not thinking of using that technique, aren't you?"

Tenten thought, "I have no choice, this move should be able to pierce that wind defense of hers….I can't lose here, there is someone that I want to fight here." Tenten placed the two scrolls apart from each other and bit her thumb, drawing blood. "Well, like they always say the third time is the charm! Soshoryu!" she shouted.

The two scrolls burst and twirled around Tenten, she flew up and levitated in the middle. She grabbed one of the scrolls in air and began to flip in around her until the scroll unfurled around her. Then she swiped her blood on the markings, making various weapons popped out in existence.

Then Tenten threw the weapons one by one at Temari, who swung her fan to make the weapons blow off course and stab or fall on the ground around her. Tenten smirked and brought her hands back to her body and to everyone's surprise, the weapons came back to her.

Kakashi thought, "Very clever, she used wires to attack to the weapons….clever girl that Gai got."

Temari said, "Sorry, today is not your day….you lose, princess." Temari swung her fan while shouting, "Ninpou: Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" The weapons were blown back once again and Tenten was trapped in a wind cyclone, where she was slashed up by invisible blades of wind.

Tenten fell to the ground and Temari let her fall onto her fan's blunt end. "No way…" Lee whispered and then Neji commented, "Tenten's weapon attacks…were rendered useless."

"How boring." Temari commented.

"What is up with her?" Naruto asked and Hiruzen thought, "The genin from the Sand…are dangerous this year." Next, Temari smirked as Hayate declared her the winner and she moved to throw Tenten away, but Lee moved to catch her.

"Nice catch…" Temari said, but Lee didn't reply as he set Tenten down gingerly and then he glared at Temari, "If you ever do that to another opponent again, I swear…you will not be swinging that fan of yours once I am done ripping your arms apart."

Temari visibly flinched as she thought, "Those eyes…there are just like Gaara's…" The Sand girl scoffed and tried to play cool, but she slightly shivered as she felt those cold eyes on his back as she walked up the stairs.

Naruto thought, "Whoa, Lee is pissed…that is a first."

Then Hayate had several ninjas take Tenten's scrolls to seal back her weapons into them, then the board flashed to reveal the next fighters, which were Shikamaru Nara and Kin Tsuchi. The lazy genius sighed, "Me, huh?"

Soon the two opponents faced each other and Shikamaru commented, "Man, this sucks...plus it is tough fighting against a girl." Kin sneered as she said, "Then I will end it quickly…" Shikamaru's blond teammate cheered, "Don't lose, Shikamaru!"

"She is sure cheerful…" Choji thought as he looked at her. Shikamaru thought as he stared at Kin, "Well, this is quite a predicament, I have no idea what her abilities are, but on the bright side, she doesn't know mine and I only have one jutsu."

"Match 6: Shikamaru Nara versus Kin Tsuchi." Hayate shouted, "You may begin!"

Shikamaru thought as he made the Rat seal, "This is all I have… Kagemane no Jutsu!" His shadow grew and shot toward Kin, who dodged it as she thought, "Whatever that jutsu does, I really don't want to know what he will do."

"Damn it, Kagemane no Jutsu…"

Kin thought, "He did it again, which possibly means that it is the only jutsu in his arsenal." She declared, "You are a one trick pony, aren't you? All I have to do is watch your shadow and I will have nothing to fear at all!"

She launched senbon at Shikamaru, who ducked under them and heard a sound from behind. He turned briefly to see that bells were attached to the end and he smirked, "That is an old trick. Next, you will throw one with a bell and the other without one, making me dodge the first one when I react to the sound and don't notice the second one...stab, right?"

Kin replied, "You sure like to talk!"

"This should be easy enough, just avoid the needles…" Suddenly the male ninja heard something behind him and he turned to see that there was string attached to the previous bells. "Crap, she was using the string to ring the bells."

"Too late!" Kin shouted as she threw her designated throwing weapons and Shikamaru fell to the ground as he was struck by it. "If I dodge your shadow, there is nothing that you can do! And now for the coup de grace…" The kunoichi said with a cruel smirk.

Suddenly her body struggled to move as she tried to figure out what was going on and Shikamaru got up with a grin on his face, "Kagemane no Jutsu success!"

"What are you talking about? I don't see your shadow anywhere?!"

"You haven't noticed yet?" Shikamaru said as he yanked out the senbon from his shoulder and arm.

"No way…"

"Exactly, idiot! A string at that height can't produce a shadow! I can lengthen, shrink and freely control my shadow though there is a limit."

"Damn it!" She thought, "The shadow is getting fatter and fatter, so this wasn't the shadow of the string."

"Yup! I made my shadow really skinny to make it look like it was being cast by the string and attached it to you." Shikamaru said as he took out a shuriken from his holster, making Kin do the same and she shouted in protest, "Are you crazy?! Both of us are locked in the same movements, if you attack, you will get hurt too!"

"Tell me something I don't know…"

"You aren't…"

"We will keep throwing shurikens to see how long we can last!" Shikamaru said as he launched his throwing star. "You fool!" Kin said as she released her own. As the shuriken came closer and closer to their head, Kin thought, "Bah! He is just bluffing…"

She suddenly put her body in a back bend to have her head slammed into the wall and Shikamaru said, "Heh, one down…If you are a shinobi, then you should fight with the knowledge of your surroundings even if we move the same. The shuriken was just a ploy to keep you from noticing how close you were to the wall."

"Winner: Shikamaru Nara!" declared Hayate.

Kiba thought, "Okay, the guys left are that other Sound Nin, me, Hinata, Naruto, Neji, Lee, Choji …oh, and that Sand guy. Please, but anyone but him…"

Neji glanced over at Hinata, "This year's rookies will be fun to fight against…" Hayate said as the scoreboard flashed, "Now the next match…" It revealed the next two names, which were Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Hmph, my turn, eh? It is about time…" Naruto stated as he walked down to the arena.

"Haha, lucky! We can definitely beat him, Akamaru!" Kiba declared and his dog barked in agreement. "Match 7: Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka…"