Destination of final exams- 3 days until final phase

…

…

…

Naruto stared at the audience as a bead of sweat trailed down his neck. It would seem that word of his fight with Hisoka had reached not only the other contenders but the examiners as well. They were all currently gathered off to the side in two separate groups waiting in anticipation for what they believed would be the most epic battle. Seeing the results of their previous fight and actually being able to see the actual fight were two completely different things. Many people were eager to see just how Naruto had managed to defeat the twisted jester without receiving a single scratch and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. Naruto glanced towards Hisoka to see his reaction but it would seem that he was too absorbed into his bloodlust to notice or he just didn't care. His attention was focused on him and nothing else.

His mind drifted through the various abilities he possessed and the ones he would use during his match. He was in a decent sized room but nothing too big which meant that he couldn't use anything too explosive because it would lead to property damage, injuries to the audience, or even death unless he reinforced the entire room with barrier seals to contain the blast thus keeping both the building and the audience safe. He glanced at Hisoka as a thought occurred. 'But if I use something too destructive, I might end up crippling or killing Hisoka and that's not my intention here.'

Despite Hisoka's blood thirsty nature, Naruto didn't hold any ill will towards the man. Past experience had taught him not to judge people right away as there is more to than what meets the eye. Kurama was the first person that popped into his mind. For a great deal of time, Kurama was viewed as a mindless beast capable of nothing but destruction and hatred. He himself had believed so after his initial meeting with him. But it was only after he formed a bond with him that he discovered that the tailed beast was not what he was made out to be. He was very intelligent and cunning if his past attempt at escaping the confines of his cage was anything to go by. He was also very prideful in the power he amassed and the number of tails he possessed. He would often boast about his greatness over his siblings. And more importantly, he had an interesting character. Who's to say Hisoka didn't possess another side or had a reason as to why he became the way he did?

"Are you ready to begin Naruto-san?" Naruto's thought came to a halt as he turned towards the speaker. He could see several twitches in Hisoka's hand indicating how eager he was to start the match. This brought him back to his issue at hand, trying to decide which abilities he would use during his fight.

'I guess I'll simply wing it as usual. It's not like I haven't done it before.' He thought to himself. He would start off simple then adjust as the match went on. "I'm all set to go Hisoka-chan. In fact, you're free to start whenever you're ready." As soon as those words left his mouth, Hisoka was upon him in a blur. Blue eyes followed the jesters' movement as he slashed downwards with a simple playing card. Naruto idly wondered if he was using this nen energy as Hisoka called it to enhance the card. That would explain how those simple cards were capable of cutting trees or through people. He really needed to learn more about nen really soon to understand it full capabilities.

Naruto sidestepped the initial attack and brought his knee upwards striking the jester in the stomach. Hisoka spat saliva as his feet left the ground. The world blurred around him as he flew backwards. Without missing a beat, Naruto leaned forwards and pushed off the ground propelling himself towards the airborne jester. As he approached Hisoka, he noticed something about him. Hisoka had somehow managed to stop himself midair by something invisible.

Before Naruto had a chance to fully assess the situation, Hisoka's body shot back to where he came as if some invisible elastic had bound him to a specific spot. The moment Hisoka's feet struck the ground, he quickly spun around as he slid across the ground and tossed several playing cards in the direction of his opponent.

Naruto gawked from his positon as several cards flew towards him. He quickly reached into his pocket and retrieved a small marble sized orb. With the orb firmly in his hand, he tossed it at Hisoka at an impressive speed. Hisoka tilted his head to the side dodging the projectile thus proven to be a mistake.

Hisoka's eyes widened as Naruto vanished before his very eyes. His playing cards struck the walls and ceiling of the room. Having experienced the origami from hell as the others referred to it as, he had an idea as to where the elder went. Unfortunately he didn't have time to react. He felt pain erupt from his back and he found himself catapulted forward once more. He extended his right arm to his side and allowed his bungee gum to stick to the floor. As soon as he reached a certain distance, he willed his aura to retract. The effects of such an action not only stopped his advancement thus avoiding the wall but he had changed his trajectory.

Naruto watched in mild fascination as Hisoka changed his trajectory using some sort of invisible stretchy material. Instead of flying towards the walls, he was now flying towards him. As Hisoka closed the gap between him and his foe, he withdrew several playing cards and tossed it. Naruto idly wondered where he was pulling all these cards from as he dodged them with a simple flip.

As soon as Hisoka was close enough, he quickly engaged Naruto in hand to hand combat despite the disadvantage he had against him. Having fought Naruto once, he was fully aware of the difference in their speed, strength, and reflexes. But despite the differences, he still engaged him for one simple reason.

Bungee Gum

All he needed to do was land at least one blow on the elder blonde and apply his ability. Once applied, he would be able to affect his movement and thus turn the match in his favor.

Warning bells went off inside Naruto's head as Hisoka engaged him in close combat. He knew Hisoka wasn't stupid enough to engage him in hand to hand combat without some sort of plan. Their previous match had revealed exactly who was superior in that area. An image of Akatsuki member Hidan quickly appeared in his mind. Did Hisoka possess ability similar to Hidan? He didn't look like the type but looks can be deceiving. Either way, whether or not he had the ability didn't matter. He simply needed to avoid getting cut. After all, Hidan's ability needed a drop of his enemy's blood to work. He didn't get much time to contemplate when Hisoka unleashed a barrage of attacks on him. Naruto quickly dodged and deflected each attack with utmost precision. He was not about to test that theory at all. That's something a masochist would do he was not that type of person.

As soon as he saw an opening, Naruto took it. He applied a small bit of energy and thrust his palm towards Hisoka's unguarded stomach launching him backwards again and just like before, Hisoka managed to recover and reengage using something invisible and stretchy. But instead of his hands, Hisoka pulled out two cards.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Netero-san, were you aware that Hisoka was a nen user?" Buhara stared at the exchange between the two combatants intently. After watching the few exchanges, he was able to learn a few things outside of the obvious such as Hisoka's ability to use nen. Naruto had yet to use gyo which led him to believe that either he didn't know about it or he forgot about it. He was willing to bet that it was the former which meant that Naruto's knowledge about Nen wasn't so great. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even know the name of the energy he possessed. Still, despite not knowing about aura and its applications, he was using it very effectively. He had Hisoka on the ropes. He was truly a genius of nen to pull off something like that.

"I had a feeling but no concrete proof until now that is" responded Netero as he watched the battle. He idly wondered who else knew how to use Nen. His attention temporarily averted to the pinned faced combatant. He was another person he believed to possess knowledge on nen. "I believe a reevaluation is in order. If there are nen users here as skilled as Hisoka, then I will simply grant them hunter status then test those who lack the knowledge. After all, the whole point of the hunter exam is to separate the ordinary from the extraordinary. Testing those who already have a strong grasp on nen would be a complete waste of time." His statement was met with shocked looks from the other examiners but no one argued against his logic as if did made sense in a way. Plus it wouldn't hurt the hunter association to add a few more hunters into their ranks especially powerful ones like Hisoka.

"Wouldn't that mean you'll have to adjust the bracket?" Menchi's eyes had yet to leave the match out of fear that she would miss something interesting. This match was much more intense than she would have imagined. To think, this exam contained people like these two was surprising to say the least. It was no wonder why the others were so weary of those two. They fought just like seasoned warriors. Menchi made a side note to educate Naruto on Nen after this match. If he was this powerful now without the proper knowledge of the energy he was using, imagine what he would be like once he did acquire said knowledge. He could very well become one of the greatest hunters ever. 'I wonder what type of nen he has.' She made a mental note to find out later when she educated him that way she would kill two birds with one stone.

"That would be correct Menchi-san. But before I make the changes, we need to find out exactly who's qualified. After this match, I want each of you to speak with each contestant but don't mention nen or anything associated with it. Instead I want you to be as discreet as possible when questioning them. Once you find those individuals, I want you to bring them to me so that I can gauge them personally." Menchi and the others nodded their heads in acceptance to the task at hand. "Oh my, it looks like things heating up."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto dodged a furry of strikes from the jester in rapid succession. His theory about Hisoka possessing abilities similar to Hidan was reinforced by Hisoka's increased efforts to draw blood. He quickly stepped back and teleported to the small orb lying several feet away. Upon arrival, he quickly ducked low to allow a card to sail by avoiding a potential fatal blow. Hisoka had apparently factored in the possibility that he would use the orb again. He was a very observant man which was a good thing for a warrior.

'I wonder just how observant he can be' thought Naruto as a planned hatched within his mind. He quickly turned towards Hisoka as he summoned several more orbs. A mischievous grin settled across his face as he began his preparation. Hisoka was definitely going to love his next set of moves once he regained consciousness that is.

"Alright Hisoka, it's time to turn up the heat." Hisoka tensed as Naruto tossed the orbs in the air. His eyes quickly darted from one orb to another as he calculated where each of them would fall. By doing so, he would know every location Naruto could teleport to thus minimizing the amount of surprise attacks. His skin color paled unnaturally as those orbs multiplied tenfold and scattered across the room floor covering almost every square feet. Amber eyes scanned the entire room for the ones closest to him. That was where Naruto would attack after all. There were pauses in between teleports, so that would be his only window of opportunity to attack.

"Fun fact, back in my old village, my father was known as Konoha's yellow flash for decimating an army within minutes using a technique very similar to this." Naruto motioned around to the various orbs scattered about. "For that he received an S-ranked bounty with a flee on sight. He was considered the fastest shinobi surpassing all. That was until I was born." Naruto stretched as he prepared for his performance. "Word of advice Hisoka, don't blink"

A flash of yellow

That was the last thing he saw before pain erupted from his stomach. But it didn't end there. Before his body could move in any direction, he felt another impact immediately. There were no pauses in between teleport as he initially believed. It was instantaneous making it hard to counterattack. Hisoka didn't have time to ponder on his newfound knowledge as yellow flashes filled his vision. Each flash was new pain added to his body. Pushing pass the pain inflicted upon him, Hisoka slowly released several streams of bungee gum from different parts of his body. He knew he wouldn't be able to catch the speed demon with speed but that didn't mean he was out of options. If he could only stick him with his bungee gum, then maybe he could stop his assault.

Naruto continued his brutal assault on the jester without pause and ended with an upwards kick bringing the jester airborne.

'And now the ultimate finisher' He drew his arm back as he charged his palm with energy. As Hisoka's body dropped, he thrust his palm forward striking him again but this time his body was thrown at a higher distance. Hisoka's body struck the ceiling creating spider webs on impact. Hisoka was rendered unconscious instantly.

As Naruto stepped forward in preparation to catch jester's unconscious form, he stepped on one of the streams Hisoka set before his flight to the ceiling. The sticky trap went off and Naruto was flung towards the ceiling at high speeds right towards the jester's unconscious form. Quickly, he teleported to one of the orbs positioned right beneath jester before he reached the halfway point.

'I really need to learn more about this nen.' Had that been a match between equals, that trap could have been his downfall. During the entire match, he didn't know what Hisoka was using or how to counter it. The only reason why this didn't affect him was because of the difference in natural abilities and his experience from his shinobi life. If he were to fight someone whose natural abilities and experience match if not surpass him, he would be in trouble.

Naruto's gaze turned upwards as he prepared to catch his foe again though he was a bit wary about possible traps this time. If he stepped on another trap, he would be ready to react much quickly than before. The sight he was greeted to was surprising to say the least. Hisoka's body was dangling a few feet from the ceiling. 'He probably stuck himself to the ceiling to remain outside of my range of teleportation right before he lost consciousness. That was a smart move'

'Well, I guess I'll have to go up there myself' the orbs surrounding the room dispersed revealing the original handful of orbs he tossed. With a simple mental command, he recalled every orb he had unsealed back to its storage at once. As he prepared to leap towards Hisoka, a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Don't worry about him Naruto-san" Netero stepped forward with glowing eyes. "You won't be able to pull him down through normal means. I will personally retrieve him. But in the meanwhile, Menchi will escort you to our meeting location. There are a few things she wishes to discuss with you." Naruto nodded his head then turned to the gourmet hunter.

"Please lead the way Menchi-chan" Menchi blinked in surprise at the suffix added to her name but said nothing. Right now she had a task at hand to perform.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What the hell just happened?" Pokkle stared at Netero leapt to the ceiling and remove Hisoka's body in one swift motion. His mind replayed the match he witnessed or at least to a certain extent. Some of their motions were too fast for him to keep up with thus he had to use his imagination as to what was going on. But Naruto's last move left him in a state of confusion. The only thing he saw were flashes of yellow and the final attack that ended it. There was no way these guys were human. How could a person move that fast?

"Instant teleportation" responded Hanzo. Having experienced Naruto's plank from hell, he was aware of Naruto's teleportation based paper constructs but he had no idea how it worked. Each time Naruto flashed away, he would scan the area as quickly as he could to locate the blonde elite ninja, a task that was proven to be a lot harder than he imagined. The only thing he managed to do was track some of the flashes that occurred whenever Naruto teleported and his last attack. He felt a blow to his pride as a shinobi as he should have been able to at least track some of Naruto's movements to an extent yet he didn't. He needed more training as soon as possible. But for now he just had to hope he wasn't paired up against him or that would have to retake the exam next year. That wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"I'd really pity the person that has to compete against him for the finals. That's a guaranteed loss." Siper knew that there was a difference between her and the young blonde but she didn't think the difference was this big. The fact that he was younger than her was like adding salt to wound.

"Hey Kurapika, do you think we'll ever reach that level?" Leorio whispered to Kurapika. Having seen the small orbs up close, he was able to see the intricate design that was fuinjutsu located directly in the middle. "I wonder how he got such a complex formula into those small orbs. Is this something only a fuinjutsu master could accomplish?" if he could accomplish something like this, he would be able to move around the world with ease. By doing so, he would reach his patients much faster.

"I'm not sure" started Kurapika. "But under Naruto's teaching, I'm sure we'll be able to accomplish some amazing feats." Kurapika was now looking towards his lessons more than ever. With the power of fuinjutsu, his goals will become a lot easier. The phantom troupe wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen" All heads turned towards the speaker which was none other than Satotz, the examiner of the first phase. Standing directly behind him were the other examiners minus the green haired woman. "There are a few questions I would like to ask each of you if you don't mind that is."