A/N: So... My laptop decided to completely despise Word... . Luckily! My beta is awesome and uploaded these for me. I'm so sorry about this taking so long. Chapter 11 and 12, are written and PR'd, expect no problems with updates for the next month (even though I'm moving and starting classes again), however 13 is a complete and utter pain that doesn't want to be written.

...Yeah.

Anyway, I have a brief complaint about some idiots and this is a response I don't expect to get anything from.

"Naruto's girly/you should have made Naruto a girl if you wanted him to act like a chick..."

...If Naruto isn't a chick... Then he's never going to be one. Yes, he has feminine mannerism. That is because he is specially trained to be able to assume the roles of any male or female character, specifically geisha, maiko, and different level prostitutes. If he acts like a guy when doing certain actions he'll be outed as an assassin. My brain just completely explodes when I read stuff like that. It's even more annoying that they make this complaint at the end of the first chapter. Did you even bother going all the way through or just like to bitch because you're a whiny little...

Ahem.

Apologies. Anyway, I'm glad so many of you still like this and enjoy the story. Here's Chapter 10!

(P.S.- KibaxNaruto is so adorable, but I do write other pairings... I need to start posting those as well... well, when I get them to a place beyond merely chapter two...)

Beta of the Gods: NeonTorch5408

Words:8200~

Disclaimer: Check Chapter One.

Chapter 10:

Enter! Uzumaki Naruto, Dangerous Exams, and an S-Rank Mission?!

I won't let you hurt my precious people!

All three jounin-sensei turned grave when they saw their genin teams appear. The fact they'd switch to full combat outfits was not unnoticed. The soft sounds of heavier under armor could be heard under their regular outfits, and both Ino and Sakura had their hair hidden.

This was not good.

"What's wrong?" Kurenai asked as she stepped forward, always ready to mother her genin.

Sasuke glanced up at her, clear fury in his eyes, "We may have uncovered a traitor in our midst."

Their stomachs bottomed out.

Sarutobi Hiruzen studied the cards on his rookie genin with a grim disposition; the duplicates of those on the other teams still participating made him grind his teeth.

"Tora!" He snapped, and the ANBU appeared. None of the three jounin-sensei were startled by his sudden appearance, "Get me three squads of ANBU into that forest, now. I want them on full alert. Have another team find Jiraiya, he should be nearby, bring him here immediately. Dismissed!" The ANBU vanished silently.

The Sandaime leaned forward, and crossed his fingers over his mouth, elbows sternly planted atop his desk. It was a powerful pose, and the three jounin went on higher alert.

"Your genin are under orders to get to the third part or at least the preliminary round." He ordered sharply. "They are to be at peak condition. Tell Naruto to keep the flares, permanently," Kakashi shifted a bit, embarrassed over his genin's actions though he silently approved. The Hokage continued, "I'm authorizing their usage. Shikaku cleared it with the ANBU commander when he learned about the Suna genin, Sabaku no Gaara. We have intelligence that he's a jinchuuriki. Kakashi, stay behind for further orders." The trio stiffened. A jinchuuriki at a foreign Chuunin exam? Even one at an allied nation's exam was pretty much a declaration of not entirely peaceful or innocent purposes.

"After the final exam, if Naruto makes chuunin, I am abolishing the laws that keep Naruto's background a secret," Hiruzen said, "Prepare you genin ahead of time. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto-sama is going to get his birthright."

Kakashi, even the face of the upcoming events, bowed deeply while both Kurenai and Asuma exchange a long look.

Naruto and the other genin formed up at the three closest gates they could find and exchanged looks. Shikamaru offered a shrug and Hinata smiled. The loud bang and they shot in and regrouped immediately. Already the groups fell into a previously agreed formation. Naruto and his team took sentry positions with the inclusion of Hinata while Chōji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru took defensive ones with Sakura and Ino serving as back up and medics.

"Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto said and three hundred clones appeared before transforming into a variety of birds, flying off in a wide variety of directions.

"Swarm," Shino stated and his own insects followed. Kiba grinned, though it wasn't nice one in the widest of terms, and more an angry grimace. Akamaru barked and they surged forward to take point. Hinata joined Shino and activated her Byakugan in bursts. Naruto took rear guard, Sasuke and Chōji a few meters in front of him.

They ran across a two teams, ambushing and beating them quickly. They obtained two scrolls, and now only needed one more to complete all three sets. It was a bit of luck they were all thankful for.

"How's it going?" Ino asked during one of their brief breaks to allow Naruto to assess some of his clone's memories, "Anything new?"

"We've got almost all the scrolls we need," Kiba said flipping the stolen scroll over before tucking it away. "Just one final scroll and we're good to go."

"Any sign of Yakushi?" Sasuke asked as the group assembled.

"None," Hinata said. Naruto however froze as one of his clones popped, sending him their memories.

"SNAKE!" He yelled and instantly flashed through some hand signs before slamming his hand down onto the ground, the group's eyes widened and he shouted, "Kuchiyose: Daitarō-san!" A spider the size of a large house with long, muscular legs appeared and was met by an equally massive snake. "I need some help, Daitarō-san! Hold him back please!"

"You shall not harm, Naruto-sama!" Daitarō roared and lunged forward. Pedipalps latched onto the snake's side and he bit down fiercely. Naruto flashed through some more signs and another swarm of clones appeared.

"Golden Web: Piercing Storm!" the hundred or so Narutos whispered. Suddenly hundreds of needles struck the snake and it shrieked in agony. It disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The massive spider sidled back, standing protectively over the genin.

"A fellow summon!" Daitarō snarled. "Only two people have the snake contract…"

"And one is the Snake Sannin!" Naruto fired the flare, denoting a high-level nukenin was inside Konoha and massive back-up was needed, the ANBU squads inside the forest would react accordingly. "Clones I want you to transform into decoys. We're moving out. Daitarō-san you're free to leave, thank you for your assistance. I'll be calling on some of your smaller brethren in a few moments probably." The clones instantly nodded, most transforming into copies of the groups, changing into the other eight genin and splitting into teams.

"And we shall answer your call, Naruto-sama!" Daitarō replied. "Summon me again if you have need."

"Thank you, Daitarō-san, good hunting," Naruto replied, "Shikamaru-san, Hinata-chan, what now? We need one more scroll and then we can get out. Make a plan while I get some help." He was flashing through his signs again and summoned ten spiders of a smaller size, each around the size of fully grown humans with long limbs and dangerous looking mandibles. Naruto went to the side and the spiders listened to his orders and requests while the others regrouped. If they were getting attacked this soon, they would have to scrap their original plans. The ten spiders formed around them as Naruto returned, they were obviously going to serve as body guards.

"I think we should head for the tower and prepare for an ambush, take out any team we come across and get their scroll." Shikamaru said. They nodded.

"Let's move," Naruto said and the clones surged out in random directions, some in the original groups, others in the nine member groups, some even mixed teams. The spiders hid themselves in the surroundings.

"Hinata-chan do you see anyone?" Sasuke asked with Naruto who was tense beside him.

"There's a single female genin closing in on us. Naruto's clones that are a copy of our team are being attacked by her!" Naruto's eyes widened as the Sasuke clone was destroyed via a strange bite. Naruto flinched as he felt the shadow of pain in his shoulder.

"We need to go!" He snapped, "That was Orochimaru himself," the conversation from the other clones witnessed appearing after they popped, "Find us a final team and the needed scroll! The tower is definitely our best bet." Another flare went up, this one denoting even more urgency.

"One of my kikaichu has found the correct group with the necessary scroll," Shino called out, "Three kilometer northwest. It's one of the two remaining Kirigakure teams."

"Got it," Naruto said, "That's toward the tower luckily, lets pick up the pace," he fueled even more chakra into his body. "Sasuke-kun you stick with us in the front, my clones won't distract him for long." The Uchiha nodded and they raced through the forest. The found the three Kiri nins easily, the spiders Naruto summoned holding back hostile Hi no Kuni tigers. Kiba took the lead, Shikamaru and Chōji following him closely. They attacked the group swiftly.

"I got 'em," Kiba snarled as he initiated his jutsu, he ordered, "Akamaru!" The dog barked and landed on his back as he quickly transformed into another Kiba, both growing even more feral looking. "Gatsūga!" Kiba roared and they rotated into the clearing, in full ambush mode, forcing them to separate and all out panic. Shikamaru nodded to Chōji and they went in next.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" "Bubun Baika no Jutsu!" Both of Team Ten's male genin whipped into action, capturing two of the weakened Kiri nin. The remaining one was suddenly covered entirely in kikaichu. A sharp chop to Shikamaru's captured opponent's neck put him out while Chōji's was thrown hard enough into a tree to be knocked unconscious. In less than two minutes all three were taken care of. The trio along with Sakura took up sentinel positions, Sasuke straining his eyes as he looked around in the center of the clearing.

"Found it?" Sakura asked. Naruto, Ino, and Hinata quickly searched for the scroll, unashamedly pocketing other items off of the downed shinobi like money purses and jutsu scrolls. Ino found it half a minute later.

"Got it!" Ino cried.

"Good," Naruto said with a nod, "Let's go!" They sped off again. Another flood of memories and Naruto grimaced.

"Two more Sasuke clones were taken out." Naruto stated, "Orochimaru is officially after you," he told the boy as they sped through the trees. Naruto created another group of clones.

"I want you to find and inform the first ANBU you come across, do not let anyone stop you or catch you. Henge first before you leave." The clones nodded and quickly followed orders. A sudden flock of Naruto henged birds flew away.

"We're getting to that tower." Shikamaru stated grimly.

Kakashi felt his stomach drop when he saw the flares go up and he smiled grimly as he shunshined toward the area they shot out from, a group of familiar ANBU trailing him. They sped into the forest, the examiners on their heels with an irate Mitarashi Anko looking fit to kill.

"They'll be moving fast, and their opponent will be after them even with delays and distractions," Kakashi said and a few heart stopping minutes later a bird dropped in front of them transforming back into Naruto. The blond narrowly dodged a thrown kunai and held his hands up in silent supplication.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The Naruto clone called out hurriedly, "The Boss sent me to inform you we have someone, Orochimaru, chasing after Uchiha Sasuke. The three teams have gotten all the scrolls, however, and are now proceeding directly to the tower."

"You're sure?" One of the ANBU asked tensely.

"Boss had some of my brothers formed into copies of all the rookie genin. Of those attacked directly by the intruder, all of them have been largely, with the exception of the clones' henged into his teammates or those with him during his attacks, have been Sasuke. Those clones have all suffered attacks to the neck." The clone informed them, his voice harsh. "The last clone that popped encountered the trespasser on his way to tower from the southeast quadrant."

"Understood," Kakashi said before summoning his own ninken. "We'll track him down. If you encounter Yakushi Kabuto prior to entering the tower, don't hold back, incapacitate to the point of death if needed."

"Got it," the clone said, "I'll disburse and let my boss know."

"Good job, Naruto, we'll handle it from here." Kakashi said. The clone left and a forbidding look appeared on Kakashi's face.

"We're going to take the intruder out, full offensive, expect to kill." He ordered the twenty or so shinobi, they all nodded. "Move out!"

Naruto and the other Rookie Genin made it to the tower fairly easily. The nine crashed into the door using a flood of clones to clear it of any dangerous entities. Team Seven went in next, ripping open the first two scrolls and tossing them forward. A summoning happen and a slightly familiar chuunin appeared. The next two teams joined them and tossed their scrolls as well, summoning two more chuunin, one of them being Iruka-sensei.

The rookies didn't stand down, drawing weapons and moving into defensible positions.

"Confirm your identities!" Shikamaru snapped, "We will kill you if there is the slightest doubt."

"Chuunin Umino Iruka, I personally taught Sasuke how to cook fried green tomatoes." Iruka said in obvious concern. "The other two I can vouch for." Shikamaru and Team Seven glanced at Sasuke sharply who nodded. The genin let their stances relax, but didn't disarm themselves.

"We need to talk to the Hokage-sama," Sasuke said sharply, "Right now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the three teams, feeling some pride in them, although he had to push it aside due to the current situation.

"Snake Summons?" He asked with a deep frown. Naruto nodded.

"Anko isn't able to summon anything outside side of the very young, so you must have run into Orochimaru or one of his personal aides who was granted the privilege of signing as well." Hiruzen said seriously.

"We know. He attacked six different Sasuke clones with vicious bites to the neck." Naruto said harshly. "I still feel phantom pains. I think he was trying to inject something into him." Hiruzen shut his eyes and cursed internally.

The Sandaime's gaze turned to the jounin-sensei and ANBU in the room, with the exceptions being Kakashi and the team he was leading, and Gai who was anxiously waiting for his team by running laps around Konoha, his gaze then settled on the slightly pale, obviously angry and stiff, Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun, this will undoubtedly chafe, but until Orochimaru is apprehended or killed you will need to be with ANBU full time. All missions that could take you and your team outside the village are prohibited and you will be moved out of your apartment and into a safer place." Sasuke visibly struggled with it before nodding reluctantly. Naruto raised his hand.

"I have a free room," Naruto stated when the Hokage nodded at him. "Since I live on the Aburame compound he would be safe there. With a regular patrol of ANBU going by in shifts, he'd be comfortable and secured." Sasuke shot Naruto a look of gratitude as the Hokage thought it over before nodding.

"That is acceptable," the Hokage said. "I will organize the patrol, as well as the guard who will keep an eye on Team Eight while this matter is handled." He leaned back and sighed. "I commend you for beating the record for reaching the tower, doing it in little over an hour is remarkable, even if you did it with three teams. Your work is reliable. I expect you to fight your hardest in the preliminaries." The teams blinked in surprise but nodded before bowing. Clearly they were being dismissed.

"You may all go," the Hokage said, "With the exception of Team Seven." The other two teams stiffened but bowed again before shooting their friends a glance, earning a nod, and leaving with their sensei. The door shut behind them and a pair of ANBU took up a position in front of it.

The Hokage rose from his seat and stepped forward until he was close enough to his ersatz-grandson and promptly engulfed Naruto in a tight hug. Naruto stiffened but relaxed, returning the embrace, knowing the older man was comforting himself over his safe and healthy presence.

"I am glad you're alright, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said softly before stepping back. He returned to business immediately. "I have been looking into this Yakushi Kabuto and his team. They have been suspicious in their mission choice over the past year, and several of their files have blanks. Two members of Yakushi Kabuto's team are owners of some peculiar abilities, while Kabuto is clearly holding back for unknown reasons. His work at the hospital would make him a tokubetsu-jounin, and his blood work is… strange. I have never had a genin fail six times, usually after the third he goes under special review and is either washed out of the program or given a field promotion." The trio nodded.

"Your sensei is currently on a mission with ANBU and the examiners from the first and second part to capture the trespasser. However, I am assigning you three a special mission as well. As Hokage I am able to," he paused with a grimace, "Influence who it is that fights against who, as well as the rules. Yakushi has escaped notice either by failing at the second exam or resigning before preliminaries. I will not allow him to escape." Team Seven nodded again.

"My mission for you three is to take on all three members of Yakushi's genin team, and beat them. I want you to incapacitate them to a point they will easily be picked up by ANBU and held in our cells for interrogation." The Hokage said, "This is to be a secret. Do not inform your colleagues. This is an S-rank mission." The trio blinked in surprise.

"I expect success, do only your best." The Hokage ordered.

The trio of genin teams got roughly five days of relaxation and study. On their first day the creepy Suna team showed up, and blinked at them in surprise. Gaara studied Naruto closely, putting Kiba's hackles up. Naruto merely met the gaze calmly before turning, dismissively, away.

The Konoha genin stayed away from the Suna shinobi with Naruto and his team in the center, discussing things with a serious air. Sasuke was shadowed by his sensei and an ANBU guard hidden as a chuunin examiner. It was stifling, but his safety, and more importantly his team's, was on the line so he shut up and bore it.

The final day came and only three other teams made it, one was the mysterious Oto team, which eyed Sasuke closely, putting Hinata's and Sakura's hackles up this time. The next was the genin team who had the member that approached Sakura. This one also glanced at Team Eight, but this time the focus was different, though Neji looked at Hinata in a way that made Sasuke want to draw his newly bought tanto.

The final team, however, pissed off all of the Rookie Genin.

"Yakushi," Kiba hissed dangerously. Shino's kikaichu buzzed angrily as well. Naruto's narrowed gaze flashed and he glanced away, releasing the senbon he'd automatically gripped between his fingers, returning them to his weapon pouches.

"Wait for the preliminaries," Naruto murmured.

Kiba flexed his fingers.

"I look forward to it."

Kabuto was sweating. He hadn't met up with any of the rookie genin teams from Konoha, or with Orochimaru-sama. Instead, he, his team, and the Oto team had spent the majority of the time searching for Team Eight and fighting other genin in their search of a scroll. The only other Konoha team they'd met up with had been Team Nine, who Kabuto quickly endeared himself to, or at least he made 'friends' with the kunoichi and the weirdo in green spandex and pandered to the haughty Branch Hyuuga's ego. On the final day he and his team had acquired the scroll they needed (even though they had been done by the second day) and journeyed with Team Nine to the tower. Now, after all that time, he found the three youngest genin teams, and they all looked dangerously on the edge of their patience. Team Seven looked particularly vicious.

Kabuto sadly, didn't know that Orochimaru had made a fast retreat when he'd faced down four ANBU operatives and a mix of twenty chuunin and tokubetsu jounin, narrowly avoiding the three ANBU squads trying to find him. The man had already substituted in as the Otogakure genin team's sensei, and was under close observation. The nuke-nin was fuming, but trying to strategize how to get to Sasuke, already recognizing the ANBU operatives and other jounin in the Tower.

'Somehow, someone slipped up,' Orochimaru thought and made a silent vow to extract punishment slowly and painfully for the infraction when he found out exactly who. The unsuspecting silver haired genin felt a shiver of unease but brushed it off, familiar with his hyperawareness and paranoia. Instead, Kabuto glanced at the three teams and wondered if he'd be able to slip in. Sasuke caught the assessing look and flipped a kunai out before speeding it in Kabuto's direction. The fake genin's eyes widened and he dodged. The kunai stopped a hair's breath away before being yanked back with an invisible wire.

"Don't stare," he semi-snarled. Hinata's soft touch to his forearm stopped him from doing more, as well as Sakura and Naruto silent looks.

"Save it for the preliminaries," Naruto murmured.

"Hmph," Sasuke said, "But I'm starting to regret getting here in less than two hours."

"Che," Shikamaru said, lounging in his spot against the wall next to him, "You're all too troublesome. I hate fighting."

"Just don't forfeit, your kaa-chan and I'll kill you if do," Ino said, "Same for you Chōji." The two groaned but nodded.

They all acknowledged it though. The preliminaries were going to be bloody.

On the day of the preliminaries the three rookie genin teams were grouped together, healthy and restless. Kakashi-sensei hadn't rejoined them, and Team Seven was currently under Asuma-sensei's command. Both he and Kurenai stood to the side as the Hokage greeted them and informed them of the preliminaries, why they were doing them, and the true meaning of the Chuunin Exams. He then called forward Gekkō Hayate.

"I am the proctor for the Preliminaries, and the final portion of the Chuunin Exams," Hayate said, "From now on, you all will be fighting one on one against one another. There will be no withdrawals from battles; all of them are to the point where the other fighter is incapacitated, unconscious, or dead. There will be one single three person bout."

"Let's start with the first match then," Hayate said, the board flashed, and letters sped along until two names appeared.

Kabuto stared in shock before glancing nervously to the side.

Uzumaki Naruto, Jorōgumo apprentice-in-training and Spider Summoner, looked darkly satisfied.

"Let me have lots of fun, ne, Yakushi-senpai?" Naruto said with a soft bat of his lashes.

Kabuto felt fear for the first time in many years.

"Yosh! This fight will be epic! Two genin of the Konoha, pitting their Youth against one another! I am envious and shall watch closely until my own match commences!" Rock Lee shouted excitedly. Maito Gai, his sensei, nodded in agreement but glanced uneasily to the side where Team Seven and Team Ten stood watching closely. Asuma was holding both Team Seven members' shoulders. The killing intent that had spiked around all the rookie genin had been telling, as was the almost intense look of concentration on each newbie genin's face.

Remembering the warnings, as well as the rumors, Gai wondered what exactly was going on in the genin corps currently. The Suna Team and now this Konoha Team, Team Fourteen if he remembered correctly, were under a lot of suspicion.

"Let's have a good fight, Uzumaki-kōhai," Yakushi Kabuto's voice cut in, distracting Gai from his internal contemplations.

"Yakushi-senpai, you'll want to go all out, I've had five days of boredom. The teams we beat were weak." Uzumaki Naruto replied, "Please, entertain me~" The words were purred.

Chills went down Gai's spine. The tone, and the look in his rival's genin's eyes, reminded Gai of Kakashi when he was truly angry.

Yakushi Kabuto would have a fight to remember.

"Che," Neji said, "Two weaklings battling it out. A medic versus that weak blonde nothing? This isn't even worth watching. "

"Naruto-chan isn't a weak," a voice said sharply, Team Nine glanced to their right and an angry Yamanaka Ino was glaring at them. Her teammates also looked angry. Team Seven ignored them, eyes trained on the battlefield.

"Naruto-kun," Shikamaru said, "Is the strongest person on Team Seven, except for Kakashi-sensei, and even then he and his teammates can take down their sensei when they have proper time and planning. That's how they won their admittance as a team. They left him tied to a tree for an hour."

"Naruto's going to rip that guy a new one. He hates Yakushi's type more than any." Chōji commented.

"Yakushi-senpai is very kind," TenTen argued, having met up with the other genin team while in the forest. Team Seven snorted.

"Naruto just has to remember not to kill him," Asuma said mildly to the blond's team members.

"Really?" Kiba said with a growl, "I was hoping he'd forget!"

Team Nine had no idea what created this animosity, but as the sounds of battle exploded below them, they couldn't help but feel sorry for the silver haired male.

"Hajime!" Hayate called out and immediately backed up out of the line of fire. Naruto was immediately on the offensive, striking forward and hitting with a series of sharp punches, kicks, and throws that put Kabuto in a world of hurt.

The kakute Naruto wore were the same as the ones he used against Zabuza on their first C-Rank mission, and were dipped in his most debilitating, but not fatal, venoms and poisons. The medic groaned, and a flash of green demonstrated he was healing his injuries and forcing the proteins in the venom to break down into something less harmful.

They met again and this time Kabuto brought out his tanto. Naruto met it with his own kunai, and the battle turned to a mixture of mid-range to long-range attacks once they separated. Kabuto dodged poisoned senbon, exploding kunai, and a flurry of seemingly never ending shuriken. From time to time, Naruto would try to trap him in a web of his wire. Finally it got down to close range fighting again.

"Golden Web: Pincer Web!" Naruto snarled and surged forward, the drills plowing into his stomach, "Drill Spider!" Kabuto barely healed himself.

He was wearing down, but Naruto didn't stop the onslaught. Chakra strings whipped out and the older genin flattened his body against the floor and then groaned, when they slashed down against his back, wrapped around his ankle and then yanked him into the air before dropping him face first. Kabuto managed to flip and land awkwardly in a crouch.

Naruto's temper was fraying. Several of those attacks should have put Yakushi down and out. He could tell the other male was slipping though. He had to fight harder and heal faster. Obviously there was some hidden regeneration ability, perhaps a secret bloodline, enabling his continued health.

Kabuto was just glad Naruto didn't seem to want to kill him, even with the enraged and tempestuous attacks.

"V-Very good, Uzumaki-kōhai," Kabuto hissed, as he straightened. The seventeen years old had the strength of a tokubetsu jounin, or even a junior ANBU operative, but his restraints against the blond meant he was in for a beating, the blond was still holding back some however, Kabuto could feel it in every hit. "You're very good. I can barely handle you."

Naruto felt his temper snap.

"I'm sick of you acting weak," he hissed, "I can already tell how high your reserves are, Yakushi Kabuto, I could tell during the first exam. Stop playing around or you will seriously die." Kabuto flinched and then hardened.

"Alright then, I want you to do the same, Assassin-san," the medic moved into one of his higher level taijutsu stances, "Come." Naruto smirked, and undid his bandana before freeing his hair. The long ropes of blond hair fell into to eight long curls, immediately they glowed and lengthened turning into long spikes.

"Ah~" Naruto said with a grin, letting the pins in his hands go, scattering them around and into the walls their sharp ends puncturing it ominously. "It feels good to let my hair down. Let's see if you survive it."

Shino watched as Naruto's long blond hair attacked, whipping out and plunging at the traitorous genin as Naruto's hands slashed to the side and long strands of chakra strings connected to kunai followed the hair's initial assault.

Naruto moved with the accuracy and deadliness of a praying mantis, and with all the ferocity of an enraged mother bear. His blond strands slithered on the ground and through the air, striking and grabbing at the other genin. The strengthened hair also deflected kunai and shuriken as Kabuto tried to parry the other genin.

Two thick golden locks grabbed hold of Kabuto's left arm and leg, and Naruto spun, pulling the other genin into the air and then sent him flying into a wall. Naruto didn't let up, his hair withering in a mass around him as his fingers filled with senbon and bo-shuriken that he then sent flying into the downed genin, striking all of the painful points on the body and into major veins.

They would be tipped with a variety of chemical and natural aids to keep Kabuto down, a complex combination that pulled him under and sent his natural regeneration abilities frantic as they tried to cope with the onslaught of natural and man-made medicines and toxins.

Naruto than surged forward and Shino watched him throw a series of chakra filled blows into the silver haired male, knocking him unconscious and undoubtedly breaking a few things internally. He then tied him up using his newest spider silk and carbon based thread and repeating that with chakra dampening rope.

"Proctor-san?" Naruto asked aloud and Hayate flashed over. He felt some sympathy, before remembering this boy was probably a spy. His needle struck, and rope bound body was bloody, bruised and broken but alive.

"He's unconscious and fully unable to fight." Hayate agreed with the earlier silent question, "Shousha Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto bowed to him and then the Hokage before going to rejoin his team.

Lee stopped him as he passed by.

"That was unnecessary," Lee said with a frown, "It was most unyouthful. He is a fellow genin of our village." Naruto glared at the older boy, his adrenaline high.

"Let me tell you something," he hissed, gripping the spandex, not caring the blood on his hands smear the green jumpsuit, "You don't have all the facts. Until you know what's going on, don't judge. Don't assume appearances mean anything about character, or they're even real. A lot of nice seeming people are actually monsters feeding on others. Yakushi Kabuto earned my animosity. If you're siding with him, I'll beat you down as well." He then pushed him off and rejoined his team. Lee moved to protest, TenTen joining him. Neji merely narrowed his eyes on Naruto.

That was slightly out of character for the blond; Neji knowing the blond to have wells of patience for all that the Branch Hyuuga may put him down or dismiss his skills as inferior. Something was going on, Neji didn't know what, and didn't particularly care, but something serious was happening.

Gai clamped both of his hands down on Lee's and TenTen's shoulders, stopping them.

"Don't." The blond's eyes had made the jounin uneasy. He knew that the group was working under orders to weed out problems in the exam. If Uzumaki Naruto was acting with that much animosity against a fellow genin of his own village that meant only one thing, there were traitors in Konoha.

And Yakushi Kabuto was mostly likely one.

"Naruto was harsh," Sakura said watching as he argued with the weirdo who'd hit on her earlier, before switching to Kabuto who was being carried off via stretcher, still fully bound.

"He's angry," Sasuke explained with the slightest of a fond smile on his lip. Naruto's white knuckle grip was visible as he shoved Lee back before finally returning to his teammates. "He can't even fathom betrayal or turning traitor. Also, with how careless Yakushi was with his cards, a lot of information could have fallen into the wrong hands, or it's a sign it's already happened."

"He's also angry about what might happen to Sasuke-kun." Hinata said softly. Her teammates glanced at her.

"The forest… Sasuke-kun was the obvious target, and the bites were specific." Hinata explained. "T-there had to be a purpose behind it."

"He's scared about what it might be and what it would do to Sasuke-kun." Hinata finished.

Sasuke glanced over at the blond who was plaiting his hair while standing between his two teammates, and tried to offer a reassuring smile. Naruto smiled weakly back, though it looked more like a grimace.

Sasuke would have to figure out how to help.

"Uchiha Sasuke versus Sabaku no Kankuro!" The proctor called out when the board settled on two names. Sasuke twitched as he took in the irritating puppeteer.

But first he'd have to deal with the bastard who'd threatened his friend.

Temari watched the cute Uchiha boy jump down to the battle area, Kankuro joining him a few moments later. The shorter and younger boy was handsome, and clearly a good fighter. However, his two teammates were who Temari was interested in really. The two didn't look like weak kunoichi, and both stood patiently at the rail waiting for the fight to begin. They looked like they'd be a good fight. The other kunoichi in the room did as well.

The proctor's shouted, "Hajime!" had her eyes returning to her brother. Seeing the sudden appearance of an enormous fireball she winced.

The second fight of the preliminaries wasn't going to be a pretty one either.

Kankuro better not screw this up or he might really die.

Kankuro and his puppet instantly kawarimi'd out of the way.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" he gasped, feeling the searing heat.

"You're the freak that threatened Naruto-san and Konohamaru Corps, right?" Sasuke asked. Kankuro blanked before the confrontation that happened right before the First Exam came back in full clarity.

"You mean blondie?" He jerked a finger in Naruto's general direction. "What about it? Is she your girlfriend or something?" A low, bass growl erupted from Kiba. Naruto's soft shushing kept the Inuzuka from leaping down on the two below, though his arms wrapped possessively around his boyfriend.

Sasuke snorted.

"No, I'm not into guys," Sasuke snarked back, Kankuro choked.

"That's a male? No way!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "The little brats call the blond nee-chan. You're yanking my chain!"

"You're an unobservant moron," Sasuke replied dismissively.

"Watch it!" Kankuro said getting angry.

"No really, Naruto is male, looks cuter than a lot of the girls in the village, sure, but male. He's probably the top figher in our graduating class, though Shino, Kiba, and I come close. You're lucky he didn't slide that kunai into your kidney from what I hear. Then again, don't you want to be beaten by a guy instead of a girl? Naruto's pretty short, but if he uses his solid henge he can pretend to be a girl." Sasuke told the Suna-nin, goading him.

The puppeteer, based on the information Naruto had gone over with all of them, was a hot head and easily antagonized. The angry flush could be seen on his neck, though the face paint obscured most face based cues. "But then, since you're clearly a weakling, a girl or an Academy student, which you obviously like beating up, can probably defeat you easily." He silently apologized to his teammates. Kurenai-sensei was probably going to run him into the ground in genjutsu training after that comment.

"That's it!" Kankuro snarled. The false Kankuro instantly burst into action, revealing itself to be a puppet as the person on the back unraveled himself. The puppet pulled out its poison dipped kunai and attacked in long swipes. Sasuke smirked as he dodged back, it would appear the plan was working. He flashed through a series of signs before expelling another fireball, throwing down a trio of smokescreen and then starting the next step of his plan knowing the other boy would dodge it.

Step two: Genjutsu.

He used a trio of them and settled back to watch with a smirk. The ones he used affected perception, made his opponent think he was suffering from the worst physical experiences he'd ever gone through, and had him suffer from his worst nightmare.

He was finished, in Sasuke's opinion.

Kankuro had pulled his puppet out of the threat of the giant fireball only to have his eyesight stolen temporarily by the smokescreen. He breathed in, and felt the fire of something entering his lungs and subsequently his bloodstream making him curse.

Poison! Already he felt the onslaught of it wracking through his body and he coughed and shivered, fevers setting in. He thought he'd built up enough immunity, but appeared that Konoha had a few types that worked on him. Shuddering, he tried to concentrate but the blackness of the smokescreen was now replaced by the blurry and messed up images of the area around him. Suddenly he felt a spike of killing intent and he turned to see his brother, Gaara, glaring down at him.

"Kankuro," he hissed, "If you do not finish this. I will finish you." Kankuro felt the poison affect his inhibitors and he screamed while stumbling back and away, a mass of sand appeared and surged forward, intent on wrapping around him. He was further distracted by a shape appearing and he was faced with Sasuke ripping apart his puppet. He watched it crumble to the ground and stumbled back, trying to get into a defensive stance, but the poison messed with his mind and had him flopping around ineffectively, his distractive fear not helping.

A sharp punch to the gut followed by a kick to the head had him falling into unconsciousness.

Sasuke smirked.

Sakura punched him the arm. "Don't be so cocky," she scolded.

"No injuries," he gloated a bit. Hinata giggled while Kurenai-sensei sighed, although she too was secretly pleased.

"You did well," Kurenai said, "And I'm guessing your comments on the female sex were to rile up your opponent?" There was a threatening tone to her words. Sasuke stiffened but immediately nodded.

"Naruto reminded me the guy was egotistical, anything that challenged him or insulted his abilities would make him sloppy. I know kunoichi are strong. Hinata's much better than me in taijutsu, Sakura has better control and is better than me already in genjutsu and you're a jounin, sensei. I know women and kunoichi are strong."

The three female members of Team Eight smiled proudly at him.

Sasuke had definitely grown from a solo avenger, to a teammate who was stronger with his team than alone.

Hinata thought it was because of Naruto.

Sasuke was pretty sure it was Hinata.

One day he'd face down his brother with them at his side or with any of the Rookie Nine.

Team Ten watched the board spin and Ino yelled in excitement when her name came up before blanching.

"Yosh!" Lee shouted. "I shall fight to my fullest extent with the power of Youth, Gai-sensei! However, I shall do my best not to injure my fellow Leaf nin, especially one that is female."

"Go forth and burn brightly my pupil!" His teacher roared back.

"Try not to look at him directly," Asuma advised in amusement. Ino glared at him briefly before face palming in aggravation.

"Troublesome," she muttered before grabbing the edge of the rail and vaulting over it. She landed cat like, one hand coming down, with a chakra infused push. She straightened and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, stretching slightly.

"I look forward to battling you and facing your youth, Yamanaka Ino-san! I shall prove my vigor before the beautiful Sakura-san and earn her affections! I shall pass this preliminary and defeat Uchiha Sasuke before her and she will love me and then I shall protect her forever and ever!" Ino was pretty sure both she and Sakura gagged at the same time when he said this. "Do not worry, I shall not injure you in this contest," Lee said eyes ablaze. "It would be best if you forfeited now, however, I am undoubtedly stronger than you."

Staring at him flatly she lifted her sleeve to her face and scrunched up her nose. She looked like she just scented something foul.

"What do you say to that, Yamanaka Ino-san?" Lee said boastfully. She eyed him angrily.

"You're a chauvinistic pig," she snapped. "Don't you know you're facing a fellow shinobi? Where's the proper respect?! I bet you don't even take Sakura seriously! Want to take care of the 'little woman,' hmm? Hoping to score by bullying her into a date after helping her out?" Lee looked appalled.

"I am not!" Lee protested. "I am a gentleman!"

"Gentleman my foot!" She barked, "You're a ninja, act like it!"

"I shall endeavor to protect my love, and all the flowers of Konoha! I am Rock Lee, Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast! I shall prove my devotion to Sakura-chan by burning brightly with my Flames of Youth! My love is unfaltering!"

"Oh? And why do you even like Sakura? You don't even know her! Except for the First Exam she's never even seen you before, nothing that stuck with her at least. How can you even proclaim to love her? You haven't spent any time with her. Or are you some weirdo stalker? I bet your declaration is nothing but another attempt at getting recognition due to the hidden inadequacies. What do you have? A dick the size of my pinky?" Ino retorted. Several of the other rookie genin laughed, and Sakura cheered in agreement giving her rival and best friend a thumbs-up.

Lee turned a bright red.

"Your words are quite unyouthful and unlady-like, Yamanaka Ino-san!"

"Worry about yourself, you walking and talking disaster!"

Meanwhile, Naruto chuckled softly, smiling fondly at his fellow blond.

"This is going to be interesting," Naruto murmured before cupping his hands over his mouth, and yelling encouragement, "Go Ino-san! Gambatte kunoichi!" A thumbs-up from Ino had all of the Rookie Genin calling out support.

Kiba tugged on Naruto's waist. His boyfriend glanced at him.

"Think the green leotard wearing idiot has a chance?" He asked. Shino adjusted his glasses and Naruto smirked with the rest of Team Ten.

"Not likely."

Rock Lee was most impressed with Yamanaka Ino-san, even if she spoke most unyouthfully about his... Lee shook it off. The kunoichi was blazing with the Flames of Youth!

While not as beautiful as Sakura-san, the flower that blossomed in his heart, the slippery blond was extremely remarkable! She dodged his punches with well planned sways and more than once he'd had to dodge a sharp kick or a flurry of senbon. Some had even struck! He punched out, not at her face, Gai-sensei would never forgive him for hurting a beautiful flower of Konoha's face, and she flew back. She somersaulted in the air and landed on her feet, skidding to a halt a few meters away. She scowled and blew the long bang dangling into her face back. Lee couldn't help but offer a bright grin and thumbs-up.

"Most impressive, Ino-chan!" Her frown deepened and she flashed through a series of signs before slamming her hand down.

"Don't act so familiarly with me, you irritating fashion disaster! Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Mizari no Kusari!(1)" She shouted. Instantly thick chains appeared out of nowhere and Lee was forced dodge them. They seemed to be like pillars, changing the battle field.

"This is a fascinating jutsu!" Lee exclaimed as he used the ever shifting chains to move, catching glimpses of Ino as she moved in out of them. Lee fell through one chain and discovered that some chains were real, while other illusion. "What is its purpose, Yamanaka-san?" Her soft laughter had him turning every which way and he realized she was using clones as well, furthering his confusion and distracting him.

"It is a summoning that allows me to…" Another group of chains appeared and grabbed at him. Lee barely dodged. He felt the punch of senbon and groaned. "Confuse and hold my opponent." She then appeared in a bust of speed before him, senbon launcher leveled at him and his eyes widened, he shifted and dropped. Getting his bearings once more he realized Ino had hidden herself once more. Senbon appeared out of nowhere, and he dodged.

"Comin' down!" A voice shouted and a drop kick crashed down on his hastily crossed arms. The power was surprising but he didn't buckle, pushing his opponent back. Ino flipped through a chain and disappeared stealthily behind another while she fired off a covering of needles forcing Lee to protect himself and cut off following.

"Listen for her Lee!" Gai shouted encouragingly, ignoring the tempering glares he received from the others. None of the other genin or jounin had made any noise during the fights, respectful of the combatants. The unauthorized aid was an insult to both competitors. Asuma and Kurenai would definitely be pulling Gai aside later to…talk.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Lee replied. He strained his ears and senses before abruptly realizing he couldn't hear anything but his voice or Ino's when they spoke. A genjutsu! He whipped out a kunai and cut himself, breaking it.

"Aww," a voice said beside his ear, "You figured it out. Not really that impressive though, you needed help. Pathetic~Little~Green-Chan~" He spun, kicking out, but it was merely a clone. The kunoichi was perched everywhere once more, the illusions of her forming the false chains while actual ones appeared to be much narrower with larger openings for her to maneuver through and around easily. She'd forced him into making larger movements, while positioning herself in an advantageous way! Impressive!

"You are most youthful in your smart way of fighting!" Lee proclaimed. "However, I see you now and shall come charging forward!"

Ino smirked as he did just that. His foot crunched down on a caltrop, the sharp spike piercing the bottom of his sandal and into his body. He froze as he felt the toxic effects of Ino's strongest poison enter his body, inflaming his already laboring lungs. The earlier poison in the smokescreen made sense now. It had caused him to slowly loose stamina as well as focus. The new one started with heat and slowly he felt the numbing affects move up from his foot to his leg then hips and torso.

Ino leveled both senbon launchers this time and smiled, "Gomen, hero-san," the sarcasm came through for once, "This kunoichi doesn't need saving, find glory elsewhere, ne?"

Lee only remembered the feeling of the senbon pushing through before blacking out and the proctor announcing his opponent's victory,

"Shousha! Yamanaka Ino-san!"

"Nooooooooo! Lee!" Gai cried out. He watched his favorite pupil slump towards the caltrop littered ground, but his opponent caught him.

"Naruto-chan," the girl called out, "Send me a few clones to help him get back to his team? The poison isn't deadly, it's actually a sedative." Her fellow blond nodded, forming the seals for Kage Bushin and sending them down with him following. Four lifted the green shinobi, while another twenty started picking up her caltrops. The original stood next to her, giving her a congratulatory hug.

Ino smiled.

"You're a dear," Ino said jokingly. She handed over her storage scroll for the caltrops and allowed him to seal them inside. "Thanks," she said when he gave it back to her, he shrugged.

"Want a lift up to the platform?" Ino smirked but nodded before eeping in surprise when he picked her up bridal style. He then shifted back before dashing forward, his chakra condensed at his feet and he gave a sudden push, exploding upwards and landing on the rail.

"Nice," Chōji said with a smile before taking Ino from him and putting her back on her feet. "You did great Ino. You've trained a bunch!" Ino huffed out a laugh.

"Naruto-chan and Haku-san have run me into the ground." Ino admitted. "Tou-chan's finally teaching me different forms of torture methods too. The summoning I used is the first of a group of them that all heads of the T&I division have traditionally use." She seemed very proud. TenTen seemed interested.

"Who's your role model? Who do you want to be like," TenTen asked in curiosity. Ino glanced at her, Naruto having returned to his team and was talking quietly with Kiba and Shino, and they both seemed to be a little restless, fidgeting as they stood waiting.

Ino stared at her before bursting out laughing.

TenTen blinked in surprise.

"I follow the philosophy that I don't want to be like anyone the most but myself." Ino said almost apologetically, sympathetically. "I will be a strong kunoichi. I don't need to put a bar up. I'd rather just keep working and trying. Labels and titles mean nothing. At the end of the day, the person I'm most proud and happy with has to be me. Liking someone can make me strong but I don't need somebody as a goal. I'm already doing the best I can. No amount of outside affection or comparisons can create that in me."

She then smiled proudly before flushing a bit.

"I feel sorry that your teammate lost, we need strong shinobi in the finals to impress the spectators. But his attitude made him weak, I could tell he wasn't fighting full strength." She frowned then, "You should really teach him to respect kunoichi better. He's belittling them with his current mindset, and you especially since you're his teammate and he should know better. There'll come a time he'll fight someone, a kunoichi, and he'll hesitate because he thinks he needs to protect her. Don't lose him because of misplaced ideals that are insulting and useless. He's your teammate after all."

TenTen couldn't find anything in herself to argue with that.

The board spun and the Hokage watched it silently. While he knew the outcome for another four genin, he wondered who next would be up. Konoha would have a strong showing. The rookie genin appearing in mass along with another team meant they had the likelihood of six Konoha genin at least being in the finals, five were currently already assured.

The names flashed and finally stopped.

The Hokage felt his eyes widen and he glanced up at the two teams about to go.

This…Maybe he should have fixed a fourth fight, because this one was about to become very bloody.

Terms and Definitions:

1. Mizari no Kusari: Chains of Misery. Ino, or another summoner, brings for chains to hold and confuse their opponent or capture ninja during interrogation or a battle.

A/N:

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cliffhanger!