Chapter 10

The following day, Kakashi was giving Sasuke a few pointers at their usual training grounds near the outskirts of Konoha when an intruder interrupted their training session. They both looked up to see a man limping towards them with a tattered robe adorned with red clouds upon it. The collar was still high, blocking most of his facial features, but the two of them could instantly sense the presence of the other Uchiha.

"Itachi" Sasuke growled and cursed under his breath before holding out his right hand, ready to execute the chidori. Kakashi held out his hand to stop him and raised his hitai-ate to reveal his sharingan eye. It was as the jonin thought, Itachi was not going to be a threat with that injury.

"Itachi, what are you doing here?" Kakashi demanded. The man didn't answer and just drew closer until all three were staring at each other.

"They're here… Complete destruction." He muttered, grabbing at the wound in his chest.

"Who is? The Akatsuki?" He asked, only getting a head shake informing him that it wasn't.

"No, worse… they destroyed the Akatsuki in under an hour… Sasuke train with me, it is your only course of action." Itachi fell to his knees and looked at his younger brother in the eyes with his sharingan active. Instantly Sasuke felt himself fall into the red backwards world known as Tsukuyomi. He looked around the world and then back down to his brother who just crumbled into a flock of ravens and flew behind him, only to appear again in his Uchiha outfit which he once wore.

"Welcome little brother… this is Tsukuyomi, a realm where I have full control. A world which can only be created with the mangekou sharingan."

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded, wanting to kill the man in front of him.

"Like I said before, I am here to train you." Sasuke stood angrily and shoved a newly created chidori through his brother's heart. His sharingan glittered in the red moon light and he felt a power wash over him as Itachi fell to the ground in a heap. Sasuke looked into the river stream and could make out the change in his eyes. He had finally beat his brother, a once close friend which led to more power.

"Good, nice reaction!" Sasuke suddenly jumped around and was once again looking at Itachi, now with tboth of them having the mangekou sharingan activated.

"I killed you." Sasuke declared.

"Kind of yes… but also no. You see I can even control what you perceive as real here. While you truly think that you killed me, I am still alive."

"So I just have to kill you again?"

"Not exactly… What do you know about the real massacre of our clan?"

"Doesn't matter." Sasuke responded and held up his lightning covered hand once more.

"Oh, so you don't care about truth… How about if I promise you greater power?" Sasuke frowned and charged at him, thrusting his hand outward. He was amazed at the detail he was able to see through his Sharingan and moved forward even faster as he was able to predict movements in an even great amount of speed.

"I see… so you don't want me to teach you about Susanoo?" Sasuke's eyes almost jumped out of his sockets as he skidded to a halt.

"You can teach me Susanoo?"

"You're in my realm aren't you… I can provide you with weeks of training within only a few seconds, the only problem is that I wonder if your body can handle it since this technique doesn't strengthen that as well."

"Like I care… Teach me!"

"Well, if you kill yourself… don't blame me."

Kakashi was yelling and slapping Sasuke when the dark eyes of the young Uchiha opened. Immediately his eyes turned red and the kaleidoscope like star formed in his eyes. The silver haired Jonin jumped back in shock followed by Itachi coughing up blood. Sasuke ran to his brother's side and cradled his head.

"Remember all I taught you little brother… this took the last bit of chakra I had." He coughed once more before falling limp in Sasuke's arms. Kakashi looked on in wonder as a few drops of liquid fell from the young genin's face and landed on the lifeless cheeks of his brother.

"Don't worry, I won't forget…" Sasuke stood up and turned to Kakashi with watery eyes.

"What happened to you?" He asked, seeing emotions other than hatred fill his soul.

"I was shown the truth… and Susanoo." Kakashi's face filled with surprise at what Sasuke had revealed, but was equally surprised at the slight smile the boy held on his face as well.

"So… care to try it out outside of Tsukuyomi?" Kakashi questioned, knowing just how it came to pass that so much information could have been implanted within him in such a short time frame.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt…" Sasuke looked at his brother with a sad face until the lifeless body was engulfed in black flames, devouring the body.

"Well, let's see what you've got Kakashi-sensei."

Taking into account their coming fights, the two hanyou trained harder than ever over the past week leading up to the finals of the chuunin exams. The strength of the three from Ame were much greater than they initially thought which resulted in their efforts keeping up. Sweat was dripping from their brows as they traded blows with their full kitsune abilities, not backing off one inch. Initially they had been afraid of hurting each other, but with the continued strengthening of their bonds as mates, it became even harder for each of them to land a blow. The only time one would actually connect with an attack was when it happened instinctively and not thought through since all strategy and ideas were relayed through their link.

During their wilderness training, before the chuunin exams, they had gotten the feel for their heightened senses, only accomplishing it through the use of kitsune magic, otherwise it was still unpredictable. While trading a series of quick punches, the two paused when they sensed something strange approach them. They turned towards the intrusion, only to not see anything there.

"You're getting better." Naruto commented before settling back into his stance.

"That's my line kiddo!" Shouted back their ever reclusive sensei, Jiraiya. "I see you two are still progressing at an unnatural rate."

"What brings you out here Ero-sennin?" Hinata asked before taking her stance as well to continue their spar.

"Tsunade would like a word with the two of you before tomorrow's matches start; and by the looks of things here, you should probably call it a day." The couple stopped and surveyed the area, blank stares washing over their faces. Their small training ground was punished into submission by their sparing that day. There wasn't a blade of grass left on the ground and no tree was left without missing limbs and leaves.

"Uh… yeah, we could take a break." Naruto finally relented. They let their forms return to normal and stepped closer to Jiraiya.

"So senjutsu… I would have never thought that it was demon chakra… I was always told it was from nature." The old man pondered out loud.

"Kind of is since demons are part of nature." Naruto reminded

"True… I never really could get a straight answer out of the toads anyways, so it doesn't really surprise me... Besides, only a demon could look like 'bunta'."

The three stepped into Tsunade's office and was greeted with a smile until she saw Jiraiya and the smile faded. Shizune was standing at her side like usual, holding a stack of papers waiting for the blonde to finish. She was silently protesting the intrusion but was quickly waved off in favor of the break.

"I am right to assume that you already know that the Ame nin are not actually from Ame?" Tsunade asked to verify. They nodded in agreement with her assumption.

"Great, well Jiraiya has come up with some information regarding them… it would seem as though they have managed to defeat the whole of Akatsuki and disguised themselves as genin to gain entry into Konoha. As of yet we are unsure why they would destroy Akatsuki and the village of Ame and only sneak into Konoha. We don't even know who they are or why they possess senjutsu."

"They are demons." Naruto answered without a second thought.

"Wait… what?" Tsunade shouted in confusion.

"We figured you had already figured it out, so I didn't say anything, but they have demon blood… Kitsune to be more exact."

"What are they after?"

"Not sure Baa-chan, but I can assure you that we will find out in the finals. It would seem that they have a problem with Hinata and I, but that's all I can figure."

"Then you two should be careful."

"That's the idea… Also I don't think what was shown with Gaara was the extent of their power… That Tama guy seems like he was holding back the most."

"Him?!" I can't tell you the amount of damage he caused to Gai's hand when he stopped that punch; and he was holding back?" Tsunade fell back in her chair with his confirmation.

"You realize that if what you say is true, then we won't be witnessing a chuunin fight but more of a Kage level battle?"

"You're right… let us worry about the fight and you guys worry about protecting everyone in attendance." Naruto suggested. He knew that if it came down to a full on battle that he would be holding back to avoid hurting the villagers.

"I guess… I guess that is a viable take… I know you two are powerful… I just don't know…"

"Hey, leave it to the young ones… we don't need you geezers throwing out your back or something." He teased while turning for the door, signaling the end of their planning. Tsunade's brow furrowed in anger, resulting in throwing a large book at him, embedding the spine into the wall, just over his head.

"Try reading that book!" She shouted back… "You may learn something useful!" Hinata pulled the book from the wall and apologized to the Hokage before chasing after her mate, who was still chuckling while walking down the hall. She quickly caught up to him with the book in her hand.

"Naruto-kun… the book?" He paused and couldn't help but to stare at her attractive face. She giggled while shoving the book into his hands.

"Come on, at least look at it after we get back home, there was at least some reasoning for her to give it to you."

"Ok fine, I'll look at it…"

"Promise?" She asked craftily.

"Yeah, Promise." He carelessly shoved the book into his back pocket, not expecting to get anything from it and continued through the village. Hinata was humming happily while holding to his arm until they arrived at the Hyuuga estate. They quietly slipped through the main gate and through the alleys around the other buildings until they arrived at their little home and sneaking inside. There was no reason that they had to sneak in, since it was their home, it just seemed that there was just too much fuss being made over them every time they arrived and it bothered them.

Naruto flopped into the chair he designated as his with a sigh. The training of the day was finally catching up with him and he was sure Hinata was feeling the same. The book he had stuffed into his pocket was uncomfortable, so he pulled it out. He was going to toss it aside, but decided to give it the look over he promised he'd give. Opening the pages, he immediately was engrossed in the content.

"Naruto-kun, you coming to bed?" A small voice called out. Naruto looked up, unaware of the time that had passed but felt the strong urge to continue reading.

"Not right now… I'm reading this…" Hinata looked disappointed while she was lying on the bed, hoping to partake in a particular evening activity. She sighed and rolled over in bed, silently asking herself why she had him promise to read the book.

A while later, the sleeping Hyuuga was disturbed from her slumber by movement in the bed. Her eyes opened just enough to verify that her mate was joining her and snuggled into his warm body.

"Was the book good?" She asked, groggily.

"Yeah… it will help, I think."

"Mmm… that's good." She mumbled before drifting off to sleep once more.

The day of the Final chuunin exam has arrived. Naruto and Hinata woke late in the morning to the chaotic sounds of the mass of people in Konoha, all heading towards the stadium. Realizing they were running late, they both hurriedly prepared for the day and ran out the gate of the Hyuuga manor. People were still lining the streets, indicating that they weren't as late as initially thought, but the manor was definitely empty meaning that the clan was already in attendance.

They passed by the crowd of people filing through the main entrance to the arena in favor of the special entrance for the competitors around the back. They both let out a breath of air after realizing they made it on time and sank down in a chair next to Shikamaru.

"Took your time." He commented.

"And when did you get here?" Naruto asked, knowing he was usually the last to arrive.

"About an hour ago… I couldn't sleep very well."

"Hmm, that is surprising." The lazy genin turned to face the blonde. After a few seconds he shrugged his shoulders.

"I think so too." He replied.

"Well, just be glad you have a normal opponent." Naruto reminded

"And how normal is a Hyuuga prodigy… I think I may be in over my head…"

"Maybe, but I'm sure that brain of yours has thought up at least one idea or two." Shikamaru snorted and turned back to overlook the arena floor. It was at that point when Naruto figured out why he had been there for an hour. There were a few areas on the arena floor where the terrain was different. There was a rocky area to the south a sandy area to the north and a grassy area in the middle with a few large trees for cover… He arrived there to devise a plan using the field terrain to his advantage. Like Shikamaru's father always told him… a great plan will always win over a greater ability.

The roar of the crowd suddenly started quieting down as attentions were brought to the Kage seats. Tsunade stood, with the ceremonial hat in her hand, next to the Sandaime. She looked out across the crown of people waiting to see the final of the chuunin exam.

"Ladies and gentlemen… I'd like to thank you all for coming to bear witness to the achievements our genin have attained and possibly even witness the birth of a future leader. Gathered here today are eight of the finest genin in all five countries, each vying for the promotion to chuunin. We hope you all enjoy the matches we have prepared… Now then; the proctor for this event needs no introduction…" Suddenly a form burst from the ground of the arena, leaving a massive hole in his wake.

"For there is no man, or lady, who doesn't know the sage of Mt. Myoboku… It is I, the great Jiraiya!" He announced loudly, gaining a massive wave of cheers at the arrival of one of Konoha's great sannin. Naruto groaned after hearing the man, but was interested in why Shikamaru suddenly smiled. He followed the calculating gaze and saw a pile of dirt on the far side of the arena, not more than 20 yards from where the sannin emerged. He couldn't figure out what it meant and just had to give it up since it wasn't likely to come to him later.

"Now then!" Jiraiya shouted. "Let's get this thing rolling… Get that Hyuuga and the deer guy out here." He looked out to blank faces until a chuunin ran out and handed the man a card with names on it.

"Ah, that's better… The first match… Hyuuga Neji vs. Nara Shikamaru." While the two made their way into the center of the arena, the Hanyou couple were sitting in the contestants box going over who they thought would win.

"I don't know Hinata, this could be a close one."

"It all depends on if Shikamaru can stay away from Neji long enough to hatch a plan."

"That's what I'm saying; he already has the plan, you should have seen to look on his face when Ero-sennin broke out of the ground… I think that'll have something to do with it." Their gentle argument was surprisingly interrupted by Sasuke, who seemed to have a much more peaceful look on his face.

"You are both right… it can go both ways, but I'd put my money on Shikamaru."

"Really? Now why would you say that?" Naruto wondered, of course he was in agreement and just wanted to see how Sasuke viewed it.

"He's too calculating." Naruto grinned mischievously.

"Are you saying that he outclasses your intelligence?" The blonde's smile started to fade when there was no change in the Uchiha's attitude. Usually a remark like that would irritate him, but this time he seemed unaffected.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." He replied, causing shock to wash over the blonde.

"Now I've heard everything… Are you sure it's you in there?" He asked while poking at Sasuke's face. The raven haired boy quickly grabbed at the finger poking at him and opted to swat it away.

"You want to test me?" The blonde started laughing at the very 'Sasuke' like reaction.

"Nah… it's you alright."

"Nara Shikamaru, are you ready? Hyuuga Neji are you ready?" Jiraiya paused for their confirmations.

"Then… Begin!" The sannin disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving the competitors to battle.

Once the match started, Shikamaru ran at full speed towards the eastern side of the rocky area to the south, away from the trees and the hole in the ground. The reasons for this move only existed in the young Nara's mind leaving everyone to guess at what his next move was, especially Neji. The Hyuuga quickly took off after him. Knowing a little bit about how the Nara work, he knew that he had to stop Shikamaru before he got into the position he wanted. After the first few strides, Neji knew he could catch up easily with the Nara's slower movements. He overtook him and skidded around him, easily blocking his path. He stood firmly in his gentle fist stance and eyes activated.

Shikamaru looked surprised and flung four kunai at him out of desperation. Of course Neji saw them easily and deflected the first one only to realize that there was another kunai directly behind it. Having focused so much on where he was going, he missed out on a technique he should have seen coming with all the sessions with TenTen.

"Kaiten!" The whole of the kunai were scattered in different directions, all stuck into the ground around him. While Neji was still spinning, Shikamaru took the slight opening and took off running in the direction of the sandy northern side, seemingly as a means of escape. Neji cursed to himself and stopped the rotation and started giving chase to the Nara. Just like before, he caught up to him, but unlike the previous time, he didn't block his path, but instead threw a series of shuriken to stop his movement.

Shikamaru turned with a grunt and flung another large set of kunai, now mixed with a group of shuriken just for fun. Seeing the repeated action from before, Neji knew he was up to something but couldn't quite figure it out on the spot. Right after the last weapon was deflected, he immediately stopped the rotation to catch Shikamaru before he made a run for it. Just as he expected, Shikamaru was running right at him.

"You are now within range of my…

"Shuriken Kage Bushin no jutsu." The Nara ducked to reveal a mass of shuriken now overtaking him. Neji had no choice but to stop his attack so he could switch to defense. Taking the opportunity Shikamaru took off running towards the western wall of the arena while Neji defended. He could sense that Neji was now hot on his heels, so he poured even more effort into his running. Unfortunately there was a rock in his path, causing him to trip on it and fall to the ground. He rolled across the ground and stopped, prone on his knee, holding his hands together.

A shadow launched out from the Nara, in a last ditch attempt to ensnare the Hyuuga, but it was easily seen through and Neji jumped away from him, stopping just a few inches outside of the range of his shadow. From where Shikamaru was crouched, he could see Neji was positioned 3 feet to the east of the hole Jiraiya burst from. He stood while panting from his running and looked across the field at his opponent.

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1." Suddenly the two places where the kunai were scattered erupted in a bright light, blinding the audience for just a few seconds, but when their sight returned, Shikamaru was standing directly in front of Neji and blew some strange powder from his hand into the face of the Hyuuga.

"What was that?" Neji asked as he could feel a strong groggy force envelop him.

"Sleeping powder derived from the antlers of the deer on my clan's farm… I'm sorry, but you've lost." Shikamaru sighed when Neji fell to his knees and closed his eyes, followed by a light snoring sound.

"EH… Winner, Nara Shikamaru!" Jiraiya announced with the crowd cheering, despite not witnessing the turning point in the match.

"I guess you were right Naruto-kun… He made it seem like he desperately needed to get to one area, when in fact he really wanted to get to a different area, but in doing so he planted flash tags. The sudden increase in light at that time actually made Neji's shadow stretch and fall into the hole Ero-sennin came out of and Shikamaru's shadow did the same into the hole of the entrance. He then connected the shadows beneath the ground and used his control to move Neji close enough to get him with the sleeping powder before the light faded and broke the jutsu. It happened so fast I could barely follow it." Hinata recounted after seeing it all.

"Yeah, that's Shikamaru… When we were younger; Choji, Kiba and I never once won a game against him when it was his turn. No matter the game, he'd win in only a few seconds. If it wasn't for his laziness costing him other rounds, he wouldn't have been fun to play with."

"I didn't know you played with him that much in earlier years." Hinata confessed, not like she was able to keep tabs on him all the time before they attended academy.

"We did, almost every Sunday… Right Sasuke?" Hinata quickly turned and saw the Uchiha turn away.

"Only guy I lost hide and seek to." He mumbled. Naruto started laughing at the remark, it had been a very long time since Sasuke had even remotely acknowledge the fact that he used to play with the whole group of younger boys.

"You've changed Sasuke." He commented jovially. "You're more back to normal now." Naruto was happy to see the guy who used to be a friend return to his way of thinking before the massacre took his family.

"You're up…" Shikamaru greeted while letting out a sigh as he sunk into the chair next to Sasuke. Naruto stood up energetically and pumped his fist in the air.

"Now the real excitement begins!"

"Go get 'em Naruto-kun." Hinata gave him a quick good luck kiss and sent him on his way.

"Next on the fight schedule is Uzumaki Naruto vs Nogi Kogeki from Ame." There were a series of hushed voices in the crowd about the whereabouts of the kyuubi kid and how he just disappeared, only to arrive in the chuunin exams. Jiraiya snorted at the imbeciles and changed his planned announcement. More quiet conversations broke out when the competitor stepped into the arena, but was soon overwhelmed when the Hyuuga section roared to life, all cheering for the blonde.

"That's right folks!" Jiraiya shouted to feed the crowd. "The man entrusted with holding the Kyuubi prisoner by none other than his father, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage. Loved until her dying breath by his mother, Uzumaki Kushina. The legacy of the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Habanero! Here's Konoha's #1 unpredictable Ninja Uzumaki Naruto!" Throughout the speech series of gasps and cheers rang out as people drew their conclusions of the young man. The Hyuuga section remained the loudest but soon even they quieted so the match could begin.

"Now then, let's get it going… Ready? Begin!"

Kogeki took off his cloak, revealing what the last of the hidden ninja looked like. His hair was of mid length and dark red in color with portions of black streaks scattered throughout. Just like the other three, his face was of pale complexion, but more interesting was that their facial features weren't all that different from each other. His clothing basically matched his hair color, just like the other two. You could also tell he was ready to do battle since his eyelids shown with the signs of senjutsu.

"You make me sick…" Kogeki mutterd and thrust forward to connect with a lightning fast kick. Naruto barely even had time to get his arms up to block when he felt the crushing blow strike him. He skidded half the length of the arena before he struck the ground with his palm and righted his body, landing on his feet and skidded to a halt. Naruto looked down until he felt the demonic chakra fill his body. Kogeki closed in on him in an instant and fired an extremely fast punch at the blonde's face. The emotionless face of the Ame ninja soon developed a look of surprise when the fist was caught in the palm of Naruto's hand.

"How many?" The blonde asked, making the enemy look at him in wonder of what he was asking.

"How many tails?" He repeated for clarification.

"I… I don't have to tell you anything!" Kogeki jumped back and landed on all fours. His teeth elongated with his claws, giving him a truly feral appearance. Naruto could now see the faint outline of his ears and three swishing tails behind him.

"Just three!? Who do you think I am?" Naruto launched forward, grabbing the kitsune's face and flipping him onto his back, crashing his head to the ground.

"Kuda, you insolent nogitsune whelp, who are the others! Its Tamamo again isn't it?" Kurama shouted.

The fallen kitsune whimpered at the sound of a voice he knew well from the past. In that instant he recalled the first battle he participated in after receiving the title as the three tails, one where he joined with other kitsune to drive back a very young kitsune aberration with nine tails. They declared that since there had never been a nine tailed kitsune, this youngling couldn't have been anything but a mutation.

Kogeki growled, he never wanted to relive the complete defeat dealt at the hands of the young Kurama. He pulled out all the stops and regressed to a quasi-human form and forcefully pushed Naruto away from his body. He rolled to his four paws and growled louder. One of his more defined tails dug deep into the ground and jumped outward from the earth under Naruto's feet. The large tail just grazed his leg, but it was enough for the feeling to leave his limb.

"What the hell?"

"Kuda uses raiton attacks with his tails, they have a paralyzing effect."

"I see… Maybe we should eliminate that ability." Naruto drew out a large red sword from its sheath, the blade looked of the color of blood and had no shine to it, and a tuft of equally red fur covered the guard. The Kitsune growled again, and charged. Naruto dodged to the left and kicked its front paw, causing it to stumble and fall.

"I've got you now!" Naruto shouted while swinging the blade forward, crashing into the ground behind the kitsune, just barely missing its body. The ground cracked and crumbled under the blade, but what the audience saw wasn't exactly what those of kitsune blood saw. What was perceived as a miss, actually was right on target. The kitsune howled in pain when it felt a tail get severed from its body

"How many more came with you?" Naruto demanded, holding the blade to his throat in interrogation.

"Tamamo-sama will kill me." He yelped painfully.

"Tell me!" Suddenly the fox started convulsing.

"Baa-chan!" Naruto shouted up towards the stands. The Hokage's eyebrow twitched but she took off anyways. She landed next to the kitsune and immediately started examining it. It didn't take long before the fox stopped moving and she stood and shook her head.

"The opponent, Nogi Kogeki has died from heart failure unrelated to this match… The winner is Uzumaki Naruto." A small group of medics ran out and threw a sheet over the body and started to move it off the field.

"Naruto, tell the rest to be careful." Tsunade urged

"Don't worry Baa-chan… the one we really need to worry about it the once up against Hinata. This one was small time in comparison… When she fights, get prepared for a mess." Naruto sheathed the sword and walked back to the competitors' waiting room. Normally he would be happy to return victorious, but there was something about the way the kitsune died that irritated him. He ascended the stairs to the waiting area when he passed by Tama. The Ninja's arm extended and blocked his passing.

"We will eliminate all kitsune hanyou."

"You can try Tamamo, but we will stop you." The kitsune growled and pushed Naruto against the wall.

"Who do you think you are, Hanyou?" Naruto grabbed Tamamo's wrist with a hand glowing in orange flames, tightening his grip and pulled it off of his chest. Satisfied with the showing he let him go.

"You can call me Kitsune no Aruji, or Lord of foxes… your choice." Naruto straightened his jacket and proceeded back to his chair.

"Your turn Sasuke… don't get beat up too bad."

"Hmph… I'll show you how to truly show off for the crowd." Shrill screams from all the women in attendance echoed through the Arena as he stepped into view.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke." They all chanted.

"Well, I guess they all know who is next… Uchiha Sasuke vs, Nogi Naguru." Jiraiya announced loudly. He waited for the two to stop in the center of the Arena, and the female cheering squad didn't even let up one tiny bit.

"Fighters ready…. Begin!" The copper haired kitsune was already using his demonic powers and concentrated a flame around his fists. Sasuke took a step back to buy a little space and activate his sharingan. Sasuke immediately held his hand out to the side and ran towards the kitsune ninja.

"Chidori!" Naguru dropped his left shoulder and twisted in the same direction, causing the lightning infused hand to miss him totally. The kitsune grabbed Sasuke's wrist with his right hand, continuing the spin, resulting in his back facing the Uchiha with his left elbow heading straight for his face.

"Chidori Nagashi." Sasuke whispered in the fox's ear before lightning erupted from his body, treating Naguru to an electrifying experience. The kitsune coughed and fell forward to the ground, taken aback by the surprise. He quickly regained his wits and flipped back to his feet. Turning around, he saw the Uchiha jump backwards, holding his hand up to his face.

"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" A massive dragon head emerged from a great ball of flame, bearing down on the fox. The Kitsune growled while leaning forward and was engulfed in the brilliantly bright flames. A satisfied grin spread across Sasuke's face as he landed on the ground and started heading back to the waiting area.

A loud echoing growl erupted, shaking the ground and cracking the walls of the stadium. Sasuke turned around and saw steam rising from the epicenter of his attack. A large paw emerged from the smoldering flames, followed by an equally large head, all dripping with water. Two large tails struck the ground, putting out the rest of the fire.

"Heh… looks like the battle continues." Sasuke drew the katana on his waist and forced lightning chakra into the blade. The distinct crackling and chirping of the chidori, further sharpening the blade, and with the water all over the kitsune, this was sure to be a powerful hit.

"I guess it starts now." Tamamo commented to himself and threw of his cloak. Naruto suddenly stood and looked to his mate when he saw the movement to Tamamo.

"Hinata…"

"Right." She responded and stood next to him right as Tamamo disappeared.

The crackling blade from Sasuke's kusunagi was headed straight for the body of Naguru when a similar bolt of lightning struck the sword. Sparks flew in every direction until the scene cleared to see Tamamo holding the sword's blade in his hand.

"The Hanyou abominations will be cleansed! All hail the kitsune no Youkai!"

"Hail Tamamo-sama the Kitsune no Aruji." Chorused a large group of people sitting in the stands. A powerful kick sent Sasuke flying across the ground and left kusanagi in the hands of the kitsune. He looked at the sword and swung it through the air a few times with a smile. Tsunade quickly stood at the sudden uproar.

"Defense teams… Move now!" She ordered.

"Nogitsune! Attack!" Tamamo hollered with a swing of the sword, pointing mainly at the group of Hyuuga in the stands. In the midst of his battle cry, the kitsune felt a powerful fist land on his cheek, sending him across the field.

"I see… you want to be the Lord of Foxes." Naruto mentioned while reeling back his fist.

End chapter 10

Next chapter is the finale!