Fist of Naruto Chapter 10a, a naruto fanfic

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

Author's notes: My apologies to everyone, I am sorry for not being able to get this chapter out to you so quickly, but I have been looking for a new job, and that caused me to stall on all my other projects. Thank you for your patience.

' ' – Thoughts

"Heheheh" – Kyuubi speaking

Chapter 10

Part A

The Chuunin Exam:

Prelude to the Third Exam,

AKA

There are TOO'MANY people 'round 'ere

In The Hokage's tower.

Anko was in pain; the Hokage was looking at her seal. "How are you feeling? Does the cursed seal still hurt?" he said as he created some seals, which helped ease, her pain.

"No, it's gotten better thanks to you," Anko said.

"Isn't Orochimaru one of the Sannin from the Konoha Legends?" Kotetsu said. "He's an S-Class exiled ninja from the bingo book that even ANBU couldn't deal with, right? I heard that he died, but…"

"Why would he come to this village now…?"

Anko remembered her "fight" with Orochimaru, how she tried to attack only to see him use the seal to his advantage. The "fight" was quick, too quick; Anko knew that Orochimaru liked to show off, so the "fight" was strange for her. "It's most likely beca-" Anko said.

"Sasuke, right?" the Hokage responded.

Anko nodded, "He said that it was Sasuke that he wants… however."

"Hmm," the Hokage said.

"I don't know he seemed distracted… and hurt," Anko said.

"WHAT!" the others said.

"What do you mean, Anko?" the Hokage asked.

"After he activated the seal, he taunted me with the reason why he was here, but while he was doing that it seemed as if he was thinking about something else." Anko said thoughtfully. "And after he left, I noticed blood on the ground where he once stood."

"Orochimaru was bleeding…" Kotetsu said. This was considered incredible, the reason being that Orochimaru was an S-class nuke-nin and one of the three Sannin, to injure someone of his caliber was considered almost unthinkable. Especially considered where he was.

"Do you think he faced someone more powerful in the forest?" Izumo asked looking at the Hokage.

It was then that a voice interrupted them. "Anko-sama. We have confirmed that 24 people passed the Second Exam. According to Chuunin regulations, we will have to do preliminary matches for the first time in five years. Second Exam has ended."

"Anyway, it is possible, we know little about some of the Genin. If one of them did injure Orochimaru, then we need to find out who," the Hokage said. "However, we need to continue as if there is nothing going on."

"But why, Hokage-sama?" Kotetsu said.

"Orochimaru is planning something, we know that it has to deal with the Chuunin Exam, but until we know more we can't act unless we know what to expect. Any move we make will be noticed and used as an excuse to everyone that we are weak," the Hokage said. "For now we wait. But alert everyone to keep their eyes and ears open. Go." Once they had left, the Hokage sat down on his seat. "Who do you think hurt Orochimaru?" he asked.

"Naruto, most likely," a voice said from behind the curtain. A hand reached out to move the curtain to reveal the voice to be Kenshiro. "He is strong enough to at least injure if not kill him."

"Are you sure?" the Hokage asked.

"His strength is a just under Tsunade, but above most Jounins. His skill is under that of a Jounin but above that of a Genin, he has a high intellect, which allows him to create new plans on the fly if the other plans fail. If he goes all even with the Nanto Shin Ken, it would be a good battle. But unless he uses the Hokuto Shin Ken or more specifically, its ultimate form, I don't think he will win." Ken stated. "However…"

"Huh?" the Sandaime asked.

"If Naruto taps into his heritage, it is possible that he could beat Orochimaru," Ken stated.

Sandaime gasped and nodded, he knew that Naruto was powerful but he never knew that he was that powerful. 'And at thirteen,' he thought. 'If he is able to tap into his heritage… Naruto there will be no peace for you. Too many people remember your father, if they find out about you…' the Sandaime bowed his head and covered his eyes with his hat. "Is he ready for that?"

Ken looked at Sandaime. He knew what the Sandaime was thinking, and he knew the problems that would come. "Not yet, but he will be," Ken said.

Team Seven stood with other teams that have passed the Second Exam; they were in a big room. In front of them were two arms, set in a seal, a billboard above it. In front of the arms were the Jounin that were leaders of the Genin teams. On the sides were Jounins and Genins, and in the center was the Hokage. It was then that Anko spoke.

"First off congratulations on passing the Second Exam," Anko said. 'There were 84 people who took the Second Exam, and 24 were able to pass.' She thought. 'I said that I was going to make half drop out, but I was really thinking less than 10 would be left.' She then grinned.

It was during that time that the teams were looking at the other teams, some in happiness, while others were figuring out how to defeat them. Meanwhile, Gai spoke to Kakashi, "Your team is pretty good. Perhaps they were lucky." Gai then bowed his head. "But as long as my team is there, they can't go any further. Since, in the next stage, personal abilities will be critical. Youth is sweet and sour, and sometimes strict, Kakashi." He then turned to Kakashi.

Kakashi had heard what Gai had said, but his main focus was on Naruto. For the past few weeks he had been trying to gauge Naruto's abilities, but with little success. He turned to Gai and asked, "Hmm, you say something?"

Gai's jaw dropped and his eyes were wide open. "Oh, my god!" he said as he quickly turned, his arm flexed and his fist raised. 'That was pretty good, rival Kakashi,' he thought, as he became enflamed. 'That attitude is somewhat "modern", and pisses me off.'

Meanwhile Gai's genin team was looking on. 'Ehhh. So that's Gai-sensei's, eternal rival,' Tenten thought. 'Gai-sensei completely loses to him in looks, but…'

'Gai-sensei is the coolest one among the other teachers! He's shining!' Lee thought. 'All right.' "Just watch Gai-sensei… I will shine too!" Lee said as he remembered the fight he had in the forest. 'I never want to see the tears of an important person again… So, I will never lose again, Gai-sensei!'

'The ones that stand out are left just like I thought.' Neji thought. 'Uchiha Sasuke…'

Naruto felt something, and slowly gave a feral grin as he recognized what it was. 'I thought you would never show, Ken-sama. I hope I have made you proud,' he thought as he turned his head and used his eyes to look behind him. In the shadows, a fist appeared. Naruto nodded and turned around, not bothering to see it disappear again.

'So this many remained… and most of them are new. No wonder why they recommended them,' the Hokage thought. He then noticed Naruto's movement and looked behind the teams. 'There is something there but I can't tell what it is… Of course, only Naruto would know if Kenshiro-sama was here. I guess time hasn't made him sloppy.'

"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama!" Anko exclaimed. "Everyone listen well!" She then turned to the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, please do the honors."

The Hokage nodded, "Yes." He stepped forward and cleared his throat. "The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you." He waited until it sunk into the remaining teams. "It's about the true purpose of this exam."

'True purpose?' Sakura thought.

"Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations. "To maintain good relations with the allied nations" and "heighten the level of the ninja"… Do not let those reasons deceive you. This "exam", so to speak, is…"

'So to speak?' Tenten thought.

The Hokage removed his pipe to exhale the smoke, and closed his eyes. He opened them and said, "The epitome of a war between the allied nations."

Everyone gasped save Naruto, Gaara, and Kabuto. "What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

The Hokage looked up. "If we go back through history, the allied nations right was… Neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight… That is the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

"Why do we have to do that?" Ino asked. "We're not doing this to select Chuunins?"

"Yes, this Exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chuunin title. But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity." The Hokage explained.

"Country's dignity?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them." The Hokage explained.

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" Kiba demanded.

"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the ninja's power. And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning… And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it." The Hokage answered.

"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" Tenten asked.

"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that. The custom of saving one's life and fighting to maintain balance… That is the good relation in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity." The Hokage explained.

Gaara was pissed, "I do not care for the reason. Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."

The Hokage nodded, "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but…"

Before the Hokage could continue a ninja appeared before the Hokage. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama," the ninja said as he was kneeling. "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."

"Please do," the Hokage said.

Hayate arose from his kneeling position and said, "Everyone, it is nice to meet you." He then turned around. "Everyone, before the Third Exam… (cough, cough) There's something I want you to do." Hayate said only to be interrupted by a series of coughs. "Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance the Third Exam's main battle."

This caused everyone to look at Hayate amazed.

"Preliminary matches?" Sakura asked silently.

"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru yelled.

Sakura tilted her body to get a better look at Hayate. "Sensei, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches. Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"

Naruto silently groaned. 'I can't believe these people can't put it together,' he thought.

"In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exam were too easy, I don't know… But there are too many examinees left. According to Chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam." Hayate said.

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed.

"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so… We cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time, as well. So those who aren't feeling well…" Hayate began coughing.

'Are you okay…?' Ino thought.

'You seem to be the one who's not feeling well, Sensei.' Hinata thought.

"Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation… Please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately." Hayate said.

This alarmed many of the genins, as they spoke their minds.

"I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out, unless there are special circumstances. So please withdraw if you wish." Hayate said.

Finally a hand was raised. "Ano, I'll quit," Kabuto said, as everyone turned to look at Kabuto.

"Let's see…" Hayate said as he flipped through his notepad. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun? You may leave."

"Hai." Kabuto said as he turned to leave.

Naruto watched as Kabuto turned to leave. 'He must be planning something, but what? I have to let the Old Man know about him.'

Meanwhile as Kabuto turned to leave, one of his teammates turned to him. "Don't act on your own," the teammate said silently. "Did you forget Orochimaru-sama's orders?"

"I'll leave it to you two," Kabuto said. "Especially you, Yoroi-san… You will have no problem with your special ability. It's your chance to show what you're capable of."

"So you're Orochimaru-sama's favorit… Don't get cocky, kid." Yoroi said.

"Okay, Senpai." Kabuto replied. He then turned and walked away. As he did he turned to Naruto to see Naruto shaking and looking at him. Kabuto smiled, and waved goodbye. 'Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun… I wanted to play with you a little longer, but if I keep going on… The old blood in me might awaken. I'm a spy, even if I don't look like one. I can't let you see my true face here. Also, if you're going to watch it yourself, my information-gathering job is done, right… Orochimaru-sama? Let's save the fun for the future… Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, you two, too,' he thought as he walked away.

What no one save the Hokage and one other person saw was the blood that was coming from Naruto's shaking fists.

"May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" Hayate said. After getting no responses, Hayate continued, "Then, let's begin, the preliminary matches. They will be one-on-one matches save one… Which will be a one-on-one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat. Now that we have 23 people, we will have 11 matches… And the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out… Or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over… (cough) I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny…" Hayate then looked back.

Anko nodded at the signal. She turned around and tapped her mike. "Open it," she said. Behind the hand seal, a panel opened up.

"Will be this," Hayate said once the panel was fully exposed. "This electronic bulletin board, will randomly display the names of the fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akadou Yoroi

"Those whose names were displayed, step up." Hayate said.

Both ninjas approached.

Naruto waited until Sasuke pasted him by Naruto spoke. "Don't use your Sharingan."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Your Sharingan, you waste more chakra if you use it. Don't use it right away. Let your opponent wastes some of his chakra, that way you can stay in the fight longer." Naruto said as he walked away.

Sasuke grumbled, after hearing Naruto's explanation, he knew that Naruto was right. The Sharingan did take a lot of chakra from him, and since he did not know what his opponent could do, it would be best to be cautious.

Just as he approached the appointed area, Hayate spoke, "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are they're any objections?" Hayate paused as he waited for any objections.

"No," Sasuke said.

"We will now begin the first match. (cough) Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there." Hayate said as he gestured toward the upper levels.

As the other genins began walking up to the upper level they were joined by their Jounin teachers. The Hokage walked next to Naruto and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "So I heard you did something special in the forest. How did it feel?" he asked.

Naruto smiled and said, "It was scary at first, but I can understand why my father did what he did. It is a powerful technique, and best used only on special occasions."

The Hokage nodded, "You do know that that wasn't his only technique, right?"

Naruto nodded again, "I can't wait to see what others that he had created. But I also know that he would want me to create new jutsus as well."

The Hokage smiled, he and Naruto were speaking in Chinese, which was an almost dead language. This meant that their conversation would be difficult to translate or understand. It helped protect Naruto, because there was still ears out there that would do harm to him if they knew who he was related to. 'And who has trained him,' the Hokage thought as they finally approached a comfortable place on the second level.

Once everyone was on the second level, Hayate spoke, "Begin."

"Let's go," Yoroi said as he made a seal.

Sasuke got into a fighter's stance. 'Let's see how powerful you are,' he thought. He then saw Yoroi get into position, his right hand glowing with chakra. Sasuke noticed that Yoroi when for his pouch. Getting into position, Sasuke pulled out his kunai. Just as he pulled the kunai free, Yoroi attack by throwing three shurikens at him.

Sasuke batted all three shuriken straight towards Yoroi, when Yoroi dodged them, Sasuke launched his attack. Running toward Yoroi, he quickly slid and used his momentum to sweep Yoroi off his feet. Once Yoroi landed, Sasuke grabbed onto Yoroi's arm and placed it into an arm bar, while his feet landed onto of Yoroi's chest.

Sasuke smiled as he places pressure on the arm bar. He knew that it was painful, and if Yoroi did not yield, then he would hear his arm break.

Yoroi, however, had different plans. He quickly enabled his technique and grabbed Sasuke. Once he grabbed on, he smiled as he saw Sasuke's stunned expression. He then raised his arm and slammed it down on Sasuke's chest. After that he jumped away.

Naruto was stunned, 'That man must be able to drain a person's strength,' he thought as he used the Suieishin to see how it was accomplished. 'It's not a technique, it's somehow a part of him, and yet not…' Thinking quickly Naruto drew a conclusion. 'He's been tampered with, someone must have experimented on him to allow him to do that… Only those that truly don't care about another person can do such a thing.' Naruto felt anger coming from the depths of his soul. To be experimented on meant that the person would be tested, probed, and used in painful experiments. To do that on another human being meant that the "doctor" cared not for the patient but only the result. That thought made Naruto sick to his stomach. 'No one should have to deal with that kind of pain.' Naruto then saw that Sasuke was not able to react in time as he was being drained of even more of his chakra. He then noticed that Lee was next to him. Naruto smiled, 'Let's give Sasuke an 'idea',' he thought.

Sasuke wouldn't admit it but he was having a hard time. Yoroi had already drained most of his chakra, and if he used the Sharingan there was a strong possibility that he would not be able to survive. He had to think quickly or else he would lose the fight. He began dodging hoping to come up with something that would help him. A quick brush against his hair by Yoroi hurt Sasuke more as his chakra was drained again. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'the bastard only needs to connect with any part of me in order to drain my chakra. I have to think of something or else I won't make it.'

"Sasuke! You call yourself Uchiha Sasuke with that!" Naruto shouted. This caught Sasuke's attention as he turned to stare at Naruto. However, once he saw Lee standing next to Naruto, and Naruto's smile, he quickly understood.

'I only have one shot at this. I better make it count,' Sasuke thought as he saw Yoroi approach. After dodging a couple of swipes Sasuke smiled.

Yoroi smiled as he thought he had Sasuke, only to see him disappear. As everyone else gasped, he turned his head to see if Sasuke had leapt out of the way. Or at least he tried, as a foot shot up under his chin and launched him into the air.

Sasuke quickly got on all fours and launched himself into the air. As he approached Yoroi from behind, he spoke, "From here on out, it's all original, though." He placed his hand on Yoroi's back, and began his attack. When Sasuke pushed Yoroi he allowed his first kick was blocked by Yoroi, but as Yoroi pushed the kick back, Sasuke used the momentum to propel himself to the other side of Yoroi and allowed him to perform a backhanded punch toward Yoroi's face. The punch allowed Sasuke to turn and send a second punch into the stomach of Yoroi. However, as they approached the ground, Sasuke yelled, "I'm not done!" With that he performed a stomp kick onto Yoroi's stomach, and yelled, "Shishi Rendan!" The force sent Sasuke flying back as Yoroi collapsed. Sasuke then slowly stood up as Hayate walked toward Yoroi.

'There's no need to confirm it,' Hayate thought as he approached Yoroi. "I will stop this match now," Hayate said as he stood up. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. This means he passes the preliminary round."

Sakura cheered as she heard the news, Naruto smiled. Sasuke stood and walked up to the second level. As he walked toward his group, he thought, 'Lee, I was able to win thanks to you. If I didn't see your move up close, I would've been done for.' He then remembered the fight.

Once Sasuke got to his group, Hayate spoke, " Now we will begin the next match."

The board displayed as series of names before settling on two.

Gozu vs. Aburame Shino

Hayate then called out, "Fighters step forward."

Once they approached, Hayate continued, "We will now begin the second match."

Both fighters got into their fighting stance. Hayate stepped back and said, "Begin."

Once, Hayate had said that, both fighters reacted quickly. Shino attempted a punch toward Gozu. But before Shino could reach Gozu, Gozu pulled out a scroll and ripped it in half. This unleashed an enormous wave of water, which Shino dodged. However, before Shino could attack again, Gozu performed a series of seals. "Kiri Gakure no Jutsu!" Gozu cried out was a dense mist covered the arena.

Shino seeing the mist unleashed his Kikai Bugs to scatter and search for Gozu. As they scattered, Gozu retired into a puddle and watched Shino. After a few minutes Gozu got tired of waiting and attacked Shino with his claw, this cause the mist to dissipate as his claw slashed Shino. Everyone saw Shino get slashed by the claw. Team Seven knew that Gozu covered his claw with poison, and the slash appeared to have a major affect to Shino, as Shino staggered back and collapsed.

Everyone gasped as they saw Shino go down, everyone save Naruto. He was looking at Gozu… or rather behind him.

Gozu smiled as he saw Shino go down, he knew that the poison in his claw would not kill Shino but would incapacitate him long enough for a win. He was about to turn to Hayate when he saw Shino disappear in a cloud of bugs. "WHAT!" Gozu cried as he looked around to find out where Shino was. It was then that he realized that the Kikai Bugs had surrounded him. Wasting little time, Gozu quickly performed several hand seals, but before he could call out the jutsu, Shino appeared by his side and attacked with a back fist punch that sent Gozu into the cloud of bugs. Shino quickly performed hand seals, and cried out, "Kikaichu no Jutsu!" This caused the cloud of bugs to fall upon Gozu and drain him of chakra. As soon as it was done the Kikai bugs returned to Shino, leaving Gozu unconscious.

Hayate went to Gozu's side. "Gozu is unable to fight. The winner of this round is Aburame Shino." With that said, a stretcher came out and took Gozu away while Shino returned to the second floor.

Hayate coughed and said, "The next fighters are…" The board spun with names until finally settling on two.

Abumi Zaku vs. Temari

"Fighters step forward." Hayate waited until they were in position. Everyone noticed that Zaku was had both his arms wrapped and resting on straps from his necks.

As Hayate was about to speak, Zaku interrupted. "Quit now, save yourself from embarrassment."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "Ooooohhh? And what can you do to make me embarrassed?"

Zaku smiled, "Your fan, you obviously use wind, well so do I, and I use supersonic waves as well. There is no way that you can beat me."

Temari gave a dark smile. "I will enjoy putting you in your place," she said as she pulled out her fan and placed it on the ground parallel to her.

Naruto decided to watch this fight intensely. He had heard from Sakura about Zaku's ability, and with Zaku's declaration about Temari's ability. He wanted to see how powerful she was.

"IT ALSO HELPS THAT SHE HAS A NICE LOOKING CHEST," the Kyuubi said suddenly.

'Shut up, Ero-Kyu!' Naruto thought loudly, and he shook his head, attempting to rid the thoughts that Kyuubi was sending into his head.

"NO WAY KID, YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HOW TO GET IT ON WITH THE LADIES IF YOU WANT TO RESTORE YOUR CLAN. MY SUGGESTION IS TO GET AS MANY AS YOU CAN. HEHEHEHEHEHEHE…"

Naruto shook his head, 'Stupid, Ero-Kyu-chan.'

"DON'T CALL ME KYU-CHAN!" the Kyuubi yelled.

To which Naruto grabbed his head and began banging it against the bar. This caused everyone to look at him. Naruto finally staggered back, his eyes whirling. After a headshake, he noticed everyone staring at him. Placing a hand behind his head, he laughed nervously and said, "Gomen, I just wanted the song in my head to end. heheheheh!

Anything else was stopped as Hayate spoke.

"Begin."

Zaku responded instantly by launching his left hand toward Temari. "Zankuha!" The airwave ran quickly toward Temari, it then hit. The explosion causes many to turn their heads. Naruto was not one of those people.

'She's good, I wonder if Zaku knows where she is,' he thought.

As the dust cleared, there was only a blast site, but no sign of Temari. As everyone looked around the ring, Naruto lean back and looked up.

"What are you doing, dobe?" Sasuke said.

"Just waiting until everyone realizes where she is," Naruto said calmly, while gazing skyward.

Sasuke wondering where Naruto was looking at followed his gaze right up to… Temari? He gasped in amazement as the others soon realized where Temari was. However that realization came too late for Zaku.

Before Zaku could look up, Temari was already in action. Flipping off her fan, she grabbed the end of it and straight down where Zaku was. Zaku, quickly moved away but was suddenly caught in a gust of wind that sent him skyward. Before he could move his arms forward to launch another attack, he heard Temari call out.

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"

Suddenly a great barrel of wind slammed down on Zaku cutting him up while forcing him down to the ground. Once it was over, Zaku slowly got back up. Once up, he quickly raised his arms and was about to yell out an attack, when he saw the bar of Temari's fan. It was the last thing he saw, as it hit him in the head and forced it down to the ground. When Temari raised her fan up, everyone could see that Zaku was unconscious.

Hayate coughed and said, "The winner of the match, Temari."

"The next opponents are…" Hayate said as the board ran through the names. It finally stopped with two names displayed.

Kankurou vs. Tsurugi Misumi

"Will both Nins please step forward," Hayate said.

Naruto watched as both Nins walked forward. 'I know what Kankurou's ability is but how will that help him?' Naruto thought, as the battle got under way.

When the two Nins approached, Misumi spoke, "Unlike Yoroi, I won't go easy on you just because you're a kid. Let me warn you. Once my move gets a hold of you, it's over. Then give up. I will finish this quickly, too."

Kankurou removed his package from his back and responded, "Then… I'll finish the match quickly, too."

Finally Hayate spoke, "Then… Now, begin the fourth match."

Misumi responded, "I won't let you do anything." He then charged and said, "Victory goes to the swiftest!" He made a quick strike, which Kankurou blocked. However, what came next surprised everyone, as the arm seemed to twist around Kankurou's arm. But that was only the beginning of the attack as Misumi wrapped his other arm and legs around Kankurou, quickly immobilizing him.

Sasuke watched with interest as he used his Sharingan to look at the attack. 'Interesting he removed his joints to give his some liquidity. However, he is using a lot of chakra to keep his body from losing it's integrity.'

Naruto, however, had a much different thought in mind. 'Idiot, he must be using his chakra for different purpose. That will end up biting him in the rear end.'

Misumi repeated what Sasuke thought out loud to let Kankurou know how bad his position was. He then added, "That's why I can strangle you until your bones break. Unless you give up, I will continue strangling you." Misumi then turned to the package. "I don't know what kind of tool you use… But there's no point to it if I immobilize your body like this. I can break your neck as well. Hurry up and give up."

Kankurou smiled. "No," he said.

"Do you want to die?" Misumi asked.

"Idiot, you're the one who's going to die." Kankurou said as he turned his head. A sudden sickening crack was heard, and with that Kankurou's head bowed down.

Everyone save six people looked in amazement. They had just seen a Nin die in front of them. Each had their own thoughts, most of them were morbid. However, Temari, Biau, Gaara, the Hokage and Neiji watched with indifference. The final one, Naruto, kept hitting his head on the rail. Sakura finally had enough and pounded on him with her fist.

"Naruto! What are you doing! Don't be such an idiot!" she said.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, and got up. "Gomen, Sakura," he said as he went to the railing again.

"Damn it, you idiot. I got carried away and broke it." Misumi said as he began releasing his hold. As he did some thing fell to the ground. Misumi turned to look and saw paint flecks. Before he could react, Kankurou raised his head and turned it to Misumi. Misumi was stunned as he saw were the paint flecks came from. "What?" he said in shock, as he saw the wooden face under the Kakuro mask.

"Now, it's my turn," the wooden puppet said. Arms started shooting out of its body and wrapped itself around Misumi. Once secure, it began to tighten its grip and raise it's head. Revealing a wooden puppet.

"A Marionette!" Misumi exclaimed.

It was then that the bundle began to move. Ever slowly a hand came out of the bundle, once out, however, it quickly pulled on a strap. This unleashed the bindings of the package to reveal… Kankurou?

'That was the real one?' Misumi thought as he looked at one of Kankurou's hands. 'He's a puppeteer…'

While others thought out loud about this new predicament, Naruto sat down and continued to watch. He noticed the smile on Kankurou's face. 'Well, it will all be over soon,' he thought.

"I give…" Misumi was about to say as the puppet squeezed hard and began breaking bones.

"You can become softer if I break your bones." Kankurou said.

With that Misumi dropped to the ground.

'That was close, I was about to stop the match,' Hayate thought. "Since his opponent is unable to fight, the winner is Kankurou."

Hayate called for a short break to let everyone go to the restroom. This was a relief to many as they were about ready to burst, Akamaru especially.

Sakura went to the restroom. While walking, she thought, 'Everyone is remarkable at using their Chakra. I thought I was pretty good at using mine, but…' She stopped herself as she realized that she was at the sink. Turning on the water, she ran some water across her face, removing some of the grime that she had picked up when she was in the forest. She then realized that she wasn't alone. She turned her head slightly and said, "Ino!"

The blonde haired rival of Sakura's looked at Sakura. "You're scared, aren't you, Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura was about to say something, when she realized that Ino was telling the truth. Granted she knew a little from what Naruto had given her, but she was unsure of herself.

"All those people carried away. If you fight in these preliminary matches I can't imagine what will happen to you." Ino said. "You should retire."

Sakura stared hard into the mirror; she brushed her hair when she realized that she no longer had her long hair. Remembering how she had cut her hair and the resulting attack, she stalled, as she remembered how she had gotten into that predicament. Or more precisely how she had helped in her earlier fight. She steeled herself. Raising her head, she thought, 'It's okay. I can do my best in this, too.' She looked at Ino in the mirror. "Retire? Who's going to do that?" she asked. She turned and walked toward the exit. She stopped next to Ino and turned her head. "Actually, I can't wait for my turn," she said looking at Ino. She walked away. As she walked away, she could feel her Inner Sakura rise up and exclaim. "All right! Bring it on, damn it!"

Hayate coughed, which brought everyone's attention to him. "Moving along. We will begin the fifth match."

The board once again flashing names.

On the second floor

Naruto was bored… And when he got bored, he starts to complain. "Geez, everyone is such a weirdo," he said.

Sakura had come back from the restroom and heard Naruto's comment.

"And you're not?" Kakashi replied.

Sakura smiled, "That's right."

Naruto looked shocked at Kakashi and Sakura, 'Good,' he thought, 'Having Ino talk to her cheered her up.' He then frowned and exclaimed, "Not you too, Sakura?"

Sakura began to chuckle but before it could continue, Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder.

"This isn't the time to be laughing," he said as he pointed to the board. Sakura turned and saw what was displayed, in shock.

Haruno Sakura vs. Meizu

"Will both fighters please enter the arena," Hayate said.

Sakura was nervous; she had seen what Meizu could do. She knew that he was a powerful Nin. So what could she do?

Naruto waited until she passed him by. "Sakura," he said, getting Sakura's attention. "You are better now, than you were when you first faced him. Remembered what you have learned from Kakashi-sensei, and the scroll I gave you. They will help you out."

Sakura dumbly nodded, as she continued on her way.

Sasuke had heard what Naruto had said to her. 'What scroll?' he thought as he watched Sakura walk toward the battleground.

Sakura began running through scenarios like the scroll had said. She knew that Meizu had a fighting style similar to his brother. She also knew that he would likely have poisoned his claw that he wore. She finally review what Gozu had used in his fight, and if both brothers had trained with Zabuza. 'Then both would have some of the same techniques that Zabuza used in his fight with Kakashi,' she finished her thought.

She took her hands and placed them to her side. She used one reached into her satchel and the other to reach into her kunai pouch. She then grabbed the necessary items and waited for the match to begin.

Meizu was happy to be facing Sakura, from his fight before he knew that she was the one that was most unprepared in fighting an opponent. 'However,' he thought as he glanced at Naruto. 'I don't know if she was trained by him or if she ignored his help.' Shaking his head, he realized that he was making a mistake, from what he had seen previously, the girl in front of him tended to focus more on the Uchiha heir then on Naruto. 'Which means that she will not accept his help, since she feels it would not help her in her crush for that boy.' Meizu grinned, 'This will be easier than I thought.' He then got into position with one of his clawed hands stretched out in front of him.

"Begin," Hayate said.

As soon as those words were uttered Meizu charged toward Sakura, he threw his clawed hands back and threw them forward in an X-shaped attack. However, Sakura would not be there to take the attack.

As soon as he came within one and a half arms length, Sakura jumped high into the air, pulling out a smoke bomb with her left hand she threw it toward the ground, causing the smoke bomb to explode. Her right hand pulled out a tag that she threw toward the back of Meizu.

Meizu saw that his attack had failed realized that he needed to be wary of his opponent. He quickly turned around to see the tag coming toward him. Thinking that it was an explosive tag, he pulled out a kunai and threw it at the tag, hoping that it would be sent back toward Sakura. However as soon as the kunai hit the tag, it did explode, but it was not an explosive tag. The kunai cut into it causing the tag to reveal itself to be a scroll, which then burst and sent a shower of black substance toward Meizu.

This shocked Meizu and left him open to the substance being splashed on him. But as the goo settled, Meizu burst to reveal it to be a Mizu Bushin. Sakura smiled and quickly went created a Bushin, since she knew that Meizu would use this time to attack her. Changing herself into a kunai she faked herself being thrown toward the Mizu Bushin, causing the kunai to land away in the middle of black substance. Meizu did as she expected him too. He attacked the Bushin only to see it disappear. He landed on the other side of the black substance and saw the kunai change into Sakura.

'Amazing,' Kakashi thought, 'She used the same technique that Naruto used to distract her opponent.' Kakashi thought back to the fight with Zabuza. 'But what is that black substance?'

Meanwhile Naruto had walked over to Sasuke's side. "Interesting little act isn't it. Kinda reminds you of another fight, huh?" Naruto said with a smirk on his face as he heard Sasuke grumble. 'Good, this will allow Sasuke to think that Sakura has changed to be a part of this team, and not a person that is holding him back.'

Meanwhile, some of other Leaf Nins were shocked and amazed that Sakura was fighting at the level that she was.

'Sugoi, Sakura-san,' Lee thought, 'Your Springtime of Youth has really flourished.'

'This can't be Sakura!' Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru thought.

'Since when did she become this strong?' Kiba, Shino, and Sasuke thought.

Sasuke then turned toward Naruto to see him smile. 'What did you teach her?' he thought.

Sakura was taking some deep breaths, she knew that this would be the first part of the battle but if she was not careful it could be the last. 'Especially if this next part fails,' she thought as she began making hand seals.

Meizu saw this and lunged at her hoping to throw her off but as soon as his foot touched the black substance he lost his footing and fell down.

"What!" he exclaimed as he attempted to get up but failed. "OIL!"

It was then that Sakura finished her seal, "Ninpon!" she exclaimed, "Inner Mind Outer Body no Jutsu!" After saying that she collapsed on the ground…

"WHAT!" Everyone but Naruto exclaimed.

'The oil was a good idea, it allowed her the chance to finish her seals but what kind of jutsu caused you to collapse on the ground,' Kakashi thought.

It was then that Sakura's body exploded with chakra.

'What is going on!' many Nins thought.

'Good, I was right about her, it will be interesting to see what happens now,' a blonde-haired heir thought as he saw the chakra explosion.

The explosion of chakra caused everyone to look at Sakura, Hayate could only gasp as the chakra began taking shape. 'It's a good thing I didn't call for the end of the match,' he thought.

Then suddenly, Sakura's chakra formed into an outline of… herself? With the words "Inner Sakura" proclaimed on her forehead she arose from Sakura's position.

Meizu, who had finally gotten out of black substance, could only look on stunned. 'Fuck, I knew I should have accounted for the fact that she is on his team. This is going to hurt,' he thought as he launched a chain at the chakra form only to see it go through the form.

Inner Sakura awoke, her eyes focused on Meizu. "ALRIGHT! I AM FINALLY FREE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" she said. She then pulled out one of Sakura's kunais and lunged at Meizu.

Meizu could only stop the kunai but when he tried to attack the form his fist passed through it. However, when the formed attacked with her fist, Meizu felt as if he was hit by a fist-sized rock… very hard. He attempted to dodge but as he did, the form increased her speed to the point where he could not keep up. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the form uppercut him into the air. However, by that time, Meizu was thankfully unconscious, as he landed hard on the ground and did not get up.

Inner Sakura saw that she had won, and she immediately began jumping up and down with joy. She raised one of her hands into the air and waved a victory sign in the air. As soon as she calmed down she turned to Sasuke and gave him a wink and an overemphasized air kiss.

Sasuke could only sweatdrop as Naruto roared with laughter and began rolling on the floor.

Inner Sakura's form dissipated and Sakura awoke.

Hayate coughed, and said, "Winner, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura smiled and pulled out a scroll, placing it on the oil; she made some hand seals and sealed away the oil. She then walked up to the second floor, where her team smiled and congratulated her on a job well done.

Kakashi smiled. 'I knew that Naruto and Sasuke had gotten stronger, but I didn't expect unreliable Sakura to become stronger as well,' he thought. 'A lot has happened, but I am glad, from the bottom of my heart, that I entered them in the Chuunin Exam…'

Naruto saw Kakashi's face and heard the small sigh. 'So he didn't expect this from Sakura. Well so much for my father's student. I would have thought that he would have learned more from my father. Especially about being there for people. Well, I suppose I could teach him that… Later maybe,' he thought as he smiled and waved at Sakura.

Hayate coughed again to get everyone's attention. "The next match will begin."

The board scrolled through the remaining names. It slowed down to show two names.

Yamanaka Ino vs. Tenten

Ino gasped as she looked at the board.

"Will both fighters please come to the floor," Hayate said.

As soon as both fighters approached, Tenten could only smile. 'I'm getting psyched since that last match,' she thought.

Hayate nodded. "Begin," he said.

Meanwhile on the second floor

"Fight! Tenten!" Lee shouted.

"Believe in your power, Tenten!" Gai shouted.

"Tenten! We're with you! Fight with everything you have!"

"That's it! Show your spirit!"

"YES SIR!"

"DAMN IT KIT! SHUT THEM UP! THEY ARE GETTING ON MY NERVE!" the Kyuubi exclaimed.

Naruto was putting his hands over his ears trying to keep the yelling down. He quickly grabbed a pair of earplugs and placed them into his ears. He quickly moved away from Lee and Gai.

"THANK KAMI! I THOUGH I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN PAWS," the Kyuubi said.

'Give them a break, they are cheering for their teammate,' Naruto defended them.

"OOOOH! IS THAT WHY YOU DECIDED TO MOVE TO AWAY?" the Kyuubi asked.

Naruto grumbled.

Back on the ground

Ino was frantic, she knew that she was facing an older and therefore more experienced Nin. She could not think of a way to fight against her. 'I could use my technique, but how can I get her to stay still.'

Meanwhile, Tenten was feeling pretty good, 'The previous fight really invigorated me. It's too bad that I have such a weak opponent, though.'

Ino went into a taijutsu stance. Tenten looked and grinned, 'A basic stance, that means that she only has standard taijutsu training.' Tenten pulled out a kunai. 'Let's see how she does at blocking.'

When both were set, Hayate coughed and said, "Begin."

Tenten saw how nervous Ino was and smiled. She launched herself back and began throwing kunais at Ino.

Ino squawked and lunged out of the way of the kunais. She intentionally lunged forward, and used that momentum to charge at Tenten. As she charged she threw smoke bombs, to help confuse Tenten.

Tenten smiled as she saw Ino charged, when the smoke bombs exploded, she quickly threw shurikens to where Ino last was as well as to Ino's right and left side. 'Just in case, she decided to move in another direction,' Tenten thought. She was awarded with a sharp painful yelp. Tenten smiled as she pulled out more shurikens and launched them at the yelp. "Nice try, but next time, do not make a sound. It gives away your position," Tenten said as the smoke began to dissipate. She was amazed when she did not see Ino. "Where?" she asked as she looked around thinking that Ino had moved in another direction. After a quick look, she found that Ino was nowhere to be found. "Kuso!" she cried as she looked down.

Kneeling down at an angle was Ino who was smiling. "Gotcha!" Ino said as she finished her last seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" she cried. Ino went slack and collapsed to the ground, while Tenten dropped her head.

Slowly, Tenten raised her head and then her arm. "I quit," she said.

"The winner is Yamanaka Ino" Hayate said.

On the second floor

Gai and Lee could not believe what had just happened. Lee yelled furiously at Tenten why Gai began crying about the injustice.

Naruto shook his head, 'Neither of them could believe that Ino just forced Tenten to quit. It is amazing that Ino knew that she was out matched, however, she quickly formulated a successful plan. By distracting Tenten with that noise, she made Tenten believe that she was injured. This caused Tenten to continue her volley of shuriken in the hopes to get Ino to quit. However, what Tenten did not know was that Ino used her momentum to slide and thereby get close enough so that her technique would work more effectively.' He turned back to Hayate who coughed to get everyone's attention.

"The next two will be…"

Once again the board rolled through the names finally settling on two names.

Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi

"Will both Nins please come forward," Hayate said.

As Shikamaru walked up, he said, "Me, eh?"

"Shikamaru! Don't lose! Show us that you're the man!" Ino yelled.

Naruto decided to join, "Yeah, Yeah!"

"Beat the other guy up with a 16-hit combo!" Ino continued.

'Ino's gotten more energetic,' Chouji thought.

"Go! Shikamaru! Win!" Ino yelled.

Meanwhile

The Sound Team

"He controls the shadow," Dosu said to Kin. "Be careful of the shadows."

Kin looked down for a second, but when she looked back up her face took on an evil glare. "I won't fall for that stupid technique," she said as she walked toward the stairs.

On the battleground

The two Nins were staring at each other. Meanwhile Ino continued her shouts of encouragement. "Shikamaru! Beat her up!"

"How troublesome… On top of that, it's going to be tough dealing with a girl," Shikamaru said.

"Then I'll end the match quickly," Kin replied.

'Actually, I do know the abilities of these guys from the Second Exam incident… But I have no idea what kind of techniques she uses. On top of that, she saw my technique," Shikamaru thought as Hayate said, "Seventh Match."

'And I only have…' Shikamaru thought.

"Shikamaru vs. Kin," Hayate continued. "Begin."

"… this," Shikamaru said as he got into position.

"You can only use one thing like an idiot?" Kin said.

Shikamaru's forehead throbbed as a vein appeared. "Ninpo, Kage Mane no Jutsu!" he said.

Kin quickly moved, "As long as I look at your shadow movement, I have nothing to fear from that technique!" she said as she dodged the shadow. She threw two Senbons while she dodged.

Shikamaru saw the needles and quickly dropped down letting the needles to pierce the wall behind him. As they passed, he heard two bells ring. He turned to see that the needles had bells at the end of them. "Bells?" he asked as he turned back toward Kin. "That's a pretty classic trick. Next you're going to throw a needle with a bell and one without a bell, right? If I react to the sound of the bell and dodge it… I'm not going to notice the needle without the bell, and it'll hit me. Right?"

Kin charged at Shikamaru, "You talk too much!" she said as she threw some more needles.

"I just have to be careful and not fall for your Shadow Needle technique…" Shikamura said as he dodged some of the needles.

Suddenly one of the needles began to ring.

"What?" Shikamaru said as he heard the bells behind him ring. He turned to see the previous needles still on the wall, but moving. It was then that he saw what was making the bells ring. "A string," he said.

Kin grinned as she saw that Shikamaru was distracted.

"Shoot," Shikamaru said, but it was already too late.

Kin threw her needles directly at him. "Too late," she yelled.

Seeing that there was no way to dodge, he quickly used his arms to block the Senbon needles. Unfortunately, the power behind the needles forced him to fall back.

"Shikamaru!" Ino and Chouji yelled as they saw their teammate get hit by the needles. They had thought that Shikamura was injured.

Naruto looked at them for a moment, and said, "Just watch."

Ino and Chouji soon found out what he was talking about. They were soon relieved to see Shikamaru slowly stand up.

Shikamaru pulled out the Senbon needles from his arm, "Shit," he said as he pulled out the needles, "I barely dodged the critical hit." He then turned toward Kin. "Now," he said, "It's my turn."

Kin smiled and said, "I won't let you." With that she raised her hand and pulled the string. With the pull the bells rang.

At first Shikamaru wasn't paying attention to the ringing until he found he could not move his arms. He began feeling distorted and unbalanced. "What's going on…?" he asked as he fell to his knees. He raised his head and looked at Kin.

Kin chuckled as she saw Shikamaru fall. "Those who listen to the sound of the bells become like that," she said. "The vibration from the sound of this special bell works directly on the eardrum up to the brain. Then, it will show you an illusion," she continued. Seeing that Shikamaru covered his ears, she continued, "That's useless. You can't shut out my bell's sound with that."

It was then that Shikamaru saw Kin begin to split into many Kins. "You can't," they said. "Damn it, which one is the real one?" he asked as he looked at the group.

"You can't move at all, huh?" the Kins said to Shikamaru. "You don't even know where to stretch your only hope, your shadow." They raised their hand to reveal three needles. "Now I will tenderize you slowly," they said.

Shikamaru raised his head, "Damn it, she's underestimating me," he said. He saw the Kins raise their hand and throw the Senbon needles. He raised his arms to block her needles, which flung him back again.

"Now I'll throw five. Next, seven. I will continue until you look like a hedgehog," they said.

Shikamaru looked at the group of Kins. "You deceitful wench. You said you would end this match quickly," he said.

"I see. You're in so much pain that you want to be relieved of it quickly," she paused, "Then I'll finish you off with this," she said as she raised three more Senbon needles. 'It's the end,' she thought, as she was about to get ready. It was then that she realized that something g was wrong. Her hand started to pull away. "What!" she said as the illusion ended. "My body…" she said as she heard Dosu gasp.

Shikamaru slowly stood up. "Maaaannnn," he said. "My Shadow limitation technique finally succeeded.

Kin could not believe what was going on. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "Your shadow is nowhere near me," she continued as she looked around for the shadow.

Shikamaru grinned, "You still haven't noticed?" he asked.

"Did he…" she started to say as she realized what was going on.

"Just as you assumed, baka," Shikamaru continued as the shadow of her wires began to fluctuate. "There's no way a string about that height will make a shadow. I can stretch and shrink my shadow," Shikamaru said clinically.

Kin cursed, "Damn it, his shadow's getting fatter and fatter. This wasn't the shadow of the string?"

"Yes, I thinned and stretched out my shadow to make it look like the shadow of the string. Then I attached it to you," Shikamura said. He pointed at Kin and saw her do the same.

"But how are you going to win now?" she asked. "All I'm going to do is move the same way you move."

Shikamaru frowned, "Shut up, and just watch." He went for his shuriken pouch, and Kin did the same.

Kin was stunned, "Are you stupid? If you attack like that, you're going to get hurt, too," she said as both she and Shikamaru pulled out a shuriken.

"I know," Shikamaru replied as he went into a shuriken-throwing stance.

'So that's his plan, interesting… Of course given his laziness, I would have expected as much.' Naruto thought as he watched.

Kin was stunned, "Are you planning to…?"

"We're going to stab each other with our shuriken now," Shikamaru said. "How long will we last?"

"Stop this nonsense!" Kin yelled as they threw their shuriken.

Everyone watched in baited breath as the shuriken flew toward the fighters. Then Shikamaru made the first move by falling backwards to dodge the shuriken.

'He was bluffing…" Kin thought as she too follow suit. However, it would be the last thing she thought as she hit her head against the wall behind her.

Everyone stared at what had just happened, it was interrupted by two peoples laughter. They turned to Shikamaru, who said, "One down." He quickly got back onto his feet. The others then turned to the other one that was laughing, which was Naruto. He smiled and waved at everyone, causing them to sweatdrop.

Shikamaru smiled as he continued, "Ninjas need to grasp the landscape and the situation, then fight. Even if we move the same, our distances to the walls are different. I used the shuriken to get your attention away from the wall."

"The winner is Nara Shikamaru," Hayate said. "The next two will be…"

The board ran through the names finally settling on two names.

Akimichi Chouji vs. Inuzuka Kiba

"YOSH!" Kiba exclaimed. "I get the easy one."

"Oi, Chouji, you're in trouble." Shikamaru said. "You have Kiba to deal with."

"I don't want to do it, can't I quit?" Chouji said as he looked at Kiba's excitement.

"That means…" Asuma started as he saw his team look toward him. "You won't be enjoying the all-you-can-eat BBQ!"

"What! But I want that…!" Chouji exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Asuma said. "If things look bad, I'll stop the match. Okay? You can eat expensive cow tongues and gal bi…"

'Don't motivate him with food,' Ino thought.

'You can't stop a match by interfering that will cause him to lose,' Shikamaru thought.

With that Chouji's eyes became enflamed, he quickly stood up and yelled out at the top of his voice. "Bar-b-q! Barbeque, here I come! All-you-can-eat!"

'Geez, bribing him with food, how low can you go?' both Shikamaru and Naruto thought.

Both fighters approached the battlefield. Chouji's eyes were still enflamed, while Kiba was excited for getting an easy win.

Kiba, however, soon made the dumbest remark any one could towards Chouji. "Hey, lard-ass quit now and walk away without losing."

Chouji's ears twitched, while Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura all looked in disbelief. 'I can't belief he just said that,' they all thought.

"What did you say?" Chouji asked, "I couldn't hear you."

It was then that Kiba realized just what he had said and to whom he had said it to. 'Idiot, you know better that to provoke him. Especially after the last time,' he thought as he saw the flames in Chouji's eyes increase in intensity.

Chouji quickly went into a boxer stance, and waited. Kiba knew that he had to work fast; he set Akamaru down and reached into his pouch getting a soldier pill ready for Akamaru.

"Begin," Hayate said.

Instantly, both fighters went into action. Kiba was able to toss the soldier pill to Akamaru before he was sent flying by Chouji's charging fist. Once Chouji saw that Kiba had staggered back he began making hand seals. Once he was done, he cried out, "Baika no jutsu!" With that his body expanded to form a large ball shape, Chouji quickly inserted his arms, legs, and head into his body.

Kiba saw what was happening and quickly began making his seals, just as Chouji began his attack Kiba finished his seals, and cried, "Juju Bushin!" This caused Akamaru to form into a clone of Kiba. It was just in time to as Chouji charged at Kiba, causing him to jump out of the way. Realizing that he wouldn't get another shot, Kiba and Akamaru quickly charged toward Chouji. "Garoga!" Kiba cried as he and Akamaru began to spin at an incredible rate.

Chouji met the charge straight on. The result was a three-way attack, which went connected sent each of the fighters to separate areas.

Up on the second floor

Naruto raised his eyebrow, 'Interesting...' he thought. 'Because each attack focuses on spinning at a tremendous amount of speed, if the attacks met it would cause the fighters to fly away from each other. Chouji's moment would force Kiba and Akamaru down. While their attack, because the rotation is similar would cause Chouji to the right of them. The only way either of them could win now would be who has the greater stamina.'

Back to the battle field

Both fighters had shaken off the other's attack. Seeing that the other person was still up, both Chouji and Kiba attacked again, only to have the same results happen again. They attacked each other again and again with the same attack hoping to overpower the other. Finally, they both stopped, each breathing very heavily.

'There's got to be a way to knock him out,' each fighter thought.

Realizing that their attacks were cancelling each other's, they both began working on strategies to help win the fight.

'His attacks are powerful but if I attack him on the side, it might be enough since that kind of technique uses a lot of forward momentum,' both Chouji and Kiba thought.

With that thought, both Nins attacked. As soon as they got close Kiba move to the right, and around the frontal assault. As soon as Akamaru and Chouji collided, Chouji reversed his spin to force Akamaru upwards. However he was unprepared for Kiba's attack that launched him upwards into the air. Kiba soon stopped his attack because of the tremendous amount a chakra he used.

'Its better with Akamaru, at least he removes some of the air pressure away from me.' Kiba said as he looked upward only to see Chouji coming down toward him. 'Shit, I thought he would be up in the air longer,' Kiba thought as he saw Akamaru following Chouji. 'Damn it, Chouji must have sent Akamaru up first that way, Akamaru would have attacked downward to hit Chouji. Forcing him toward the ground faster.' The rest was interrupted as Chouji slammed into Kiba. However before Chouji could celebrate, Akamaru struck him, knocking him unconscious as well.

Hayate looked at both Nins, and said, "It is a double knockout. There is no winner in this match," Hayate said as medic Nins came to take both of the genins away.

Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata

This display caught everyone's attention. Gai and the Hokage both thought, 'What an interesting match up.' While Kurenai and Shino thought, 'Damn it, Hinata…' Naruto saw the fear in Hinata's eyes, however, even with that fear, he was amazed that Hinata walked up to the battlefield.

Neji was the first to speak, "I didn't think that I would be fighting you… Hinata-sama."

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata responded softly.

"Older brother?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto looked in amazement, "They're siblings?" he said in amazement.

Kakashi decided to enlighten his students, "They come from Konoha's oldest noble family, the Hyuuga Clan. But they aren't siblings."

"Then how could they be related?" Sakura asked.

"I guess they're related in that they come from Hyuuga's head family and branch family," Kakashi responded.

"Head family and branch family?" Naruto asked not liking the sound of it.

"Yes," Lee said butting into the conversation. "Hinata-san is from the head family. In other words the founders. And Neji is from the branch family, which carries the same bloodline."

"So it's a fight between relatives," Sakura said as she turned toward the Hyuuga. "It must be difficult for those two to fight."

"Yes, but…" Lee said.

Naruto and Sakura looked at Lee with curious looks.

"But I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and branch family in the past… And they are not really on good terms with one another." Lee continued.

"Why?" Naruto asked with a strange seriousness.

"I don't know the details, but…" Lee then turned to Naruto with a finger pointed upwards. "In old families like Uchiha and Hyuuga… They have special moves and abilities that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that those rules are favorable to the head family."

Sakura gasped, while Naruto went into a thinking pose. They all turned back to the battlefield.

"Because of these rules, a lot happened between the head family and branch family." Lee said.

"Must be a fight to settle the quarrels then." Sakura said.

"No," Naruto replied, "You know Hinata, do you honestly think that she would start a quarrel against anyone." He looked at the battlefield. "It's about to start."

"Please begin the match," Hayate said.

"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama," Neji said.

Hinata looked up.

"Give up," Neji continued. "You're not suited to becoming a ninja."

Naruto saw the shock written on Hinata's face.

"You are too kind," Neji said. "You seek harmony and avoid trouble. And you just go along and follow someone else's idea." It was then that Hinata looked away. "And… You have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin exams unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammates… And the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly. Am I wrong?" Neji said.

Hinata hesitated before she spoke, "You're wrong! You're wrong… I… I just… wanted to change myself, so I willingly…"

Kurenai remembered when she was telling Hiashi about Hinata's new status. She remembered the cruelty that Hiashi displayed. It was that moment that replayed in her head. 'Hinata is trying to change herself in her own way,' Kurenai thought.

Neji focused on Hinata and said, "Hinata-sama. You are a spoiled child from the head family."

"What?" Hinata said in amazement.

"People can not change." Neji said firmly.

This announcement shocked Hinata.

"A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change," Neji said.

Naruto was beginning to get pissed.

"People can not change, so that is why… terms like "elites" and "failures" exist. Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilities, body shape, and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are from the head family. My Byakugan has seen many things. That is why I know! You are trying to be tough. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right now." Neji said.

"That's not true! I really want to…" Hinata interrupted.

Meanwhile, Sakura turned toward Kakashi and asked, "Byakugan?"

"It is said that if you look at the origin of the Uchiha Clan, they came from the Hyuuga Clan. Byakugan is one of the Bloodline Limits that the Hyuuga family has… And is a special eye similar to the Sharingan. But if you look at it's ability of insight alone, it exceeds the Sharingan." Kakashi said.

'Yeah right, you and I both know what is the real true is. Right Kyu-chan,' Naruto thought.

"OH? AND WHAT IS THAT KIT?" the Kyuubi asked.

Naruto looked at both Hyuuga Nins. 'The eyes give them away,' he said sadly.

Meanwhile, Sasuke huffed in anger, 'The Sharingan is better then the Byakugan.'

Naruto watched as Neji went into a prayer position.

"Byakugan!" Neji cried as the veins on the side of his head became more pronounce.

Naruto could see that Hinata was shaking. He became worried when nothing happened.

After a while, Neji spoke, "You can't fool my eyes. You moved your eyes to the top-left corner after you felt my pressure. This indicates you are recalling a past event. A harsh past of yours... After that, your eyes moved to the bottom right. This indicates you are imagining physical and mental pain. In other words… You imagined your old self and predicted the outcome of this match from past experiences. A prediction that says you will lose!"

Naruto was grabbing the railing tightly, to the point where the metal was beginning to bend to his strength.

"Your action of putting your arms in front of you… Shows that you want to put a wall between me and yourself to create some distance. It's an action that shows that you don't want me to look through your true feelings. That is because what I said is all correct. Also…! Your touching your own lips is an action to show your mind is disturbed. It's a defensive instinct that tries to lower nervousness and uneasiness. In other words, you know already… That you can not change…" Neji said.

"YOU CAN!" Naruto yelled. Both Hyuuga looked up at Naruto. "Don't label people just like that, you idiot! Beat him up, Hinata!"

Hinata's fears began to flow away from her. 'Naruto-kun…' she thought.

Everyone looked at Naruto with shock and amazement. 'It seems that Ibiki was right about him, he can change the focus of the room,' Sandaime thought as he looked at Hinata. 'And it appears that some one has a crush on him. Interesting…'

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, "Why don't you say something back? It makes the people watching get angry!" 'There that should help her with her esteem problem, lets see if she is truly worth,' Naruto thought as he watched his words take affect.

Hinata looked down after what Naruto said. 'Naruto-kun,' she thought.

Neji looking up at Naruto, thought, 'What a noisy guy.' He turned toward Hinata and was amazed at what he saw. No longer did she seem afraid, instead, there was a determined look about her.

'Naruto-kun. Thank you.' Hinata thought as she faced Neji with new confidence.

'Her eyes have changed,' Neji thought. "So you're not going to give up? Don't blame me later on," he said.

'I…' Hinata thought as she began performing hand seals. 'I don't want to… run away anymore,' she thought as she remembered all the times that Naruto stood up for himself. "Byakugan!" she exclaimed. She proceeded to get into a Jyuuken stance. "Neji-nii-san, let us fight," she said with confidence.

"Very well." Neji said.

"Their using the same Hyuuga Style," Lee said. This caused Team Seven to look at Lee. "Her stance is just like Neji's," Lee explained.

"Hyuuga style?" Sakura asked.

"Konoha's strongest hand-to-hand combat style," Lee said as he gripped his fists tighter. "Remember what I said before? The strongest Genin in Konoha is most likely in my team. That is Hyuuga Neji."

Both Neji and Hinata attacked at the same time, each blocking the others' attack by blocking or dodging it completely. Everyone saw the chakra emitting from the Hyuuga's hands with each attack. Hinata was the first to hit a glancing blow.

"Did it hit?" Sakura asked.

"No," Naruto said thoughtfully, "it was a glancing blow. Not very deep."

"No, it hurts even if it just nicks you," Lee said. "That is why the Hyuuga Clan is called Konoha's noble family."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said.

"Hyuuga has a special hand-to-hand combat style that is passed on from generation to generation," Gai explained. "The hand-to-hand combat style Lee and I are experts in… Tries to break the enemy's bones and create external wounds. Damage on the surface, so to speak. This offensive-type style of fighting is known as Gouken. On the other hand… Hyuuga attempts to damage the chakra circulatory system inside the enemy… And destroys the internal organs… In other words, internal damage… This is known Jyuuken, and their family uses this style. It doesn't look flashy, but it will start to hurt later on," Gai said.

"There is no way to train your internal organs," Kakashi continued. "If you get hit, no matter how tough you are it'll be fatal."

Naruto meanwhile was looking at the fight below.

'I can…' Hinata thought.

'Hinata has the advantage,' Shino thought.

'Hinata…' Kurenai thought.

Naruto nodded his head. 'It is official. I wasn't sure until now, but it is his style. I wonder how they got a hold of it? As far as I know there was only the master and the secret to his style died with him.'

"DAMN IT KIT! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU WERE FAKING IT ALL THIS TIME!" the Kyuubi yelled.

Naruto smiled, 'Well what do you know. The Kyuubi can be fooled. Hehehehe.'

Kyuubi grumbled.

Naruto looked at Lee, or more precisely at Lee's fist. 'It seems that Lee wants to fight. I can't blame him. He thinks that Neji is his greatest rival. He wants to be in this fight more than anything. I wonder…'

"WHAT KIT!"

'I wonder what will happen when Lee face him instead,' Naruto thought. Naruto ignored the rest of the explanation except when he heard Kakashi say. "The eyes of those two nins, the Byakugan, can see them." Naruto realized something then, 'That means that they have lost many of his teachings. Hmmmm….'

It was then that Hinata and Neji struck. 'Damn it,' Naruto thought as he felt the attack.

It was Hinata's coughing up blood that let everyone know what happened. As Neji used his right hand to block the direct attack.

'So this was the best the head family could do,' Neji thought.

'I'm not done…' Hinata thought as she attacked with her other arm. Only to have Neji catch and strike the arm.

'No wonder he is the genius of the Hyuuga family,' both Naruto and Sandaime thought.

'To understand that not only major hits, but minors ones can lead to your victory is an understanding that few can realize. Hinata must protect herself well if she is to win.' Naruto thought.

Neji pulled back Hinata's sleeve. To reveal red spots on her arm.

"Did you… So you were…" Hinata said.

"Correct," Neji said. "My eyes can see the tenketsu."

Neji proceeded to strike Hinata in the chest, sending her flying.

"Hinata-sama, this is the difference in our unchangeable powers. It's the difference that separates the elites from the dropouts. This is the unchangeable reality. You were destined to regret this when you said that you didn't want to run away. You should be in despair right now. This is your last warning. Give up." Neji said.

"I'm… not going to… take back… my… word… That's my way of the ninja." Hinata said as she struggled to stand up. Once up she looked up to see Naruto smiling softly at her. She focused on her Byakugan.

"Come," Neji said as he too focused on his Byakugan.

Hinata's heart had other plans as it hemorrhaged, forcing Hinata to cough up more blood.

'She can't fight anymore,' Kurenai thought as she saw Hinata cough up the blood. 'If she takes any more attacks…'

'Neji's attacks strike the tenketsu and have completely stopped Hinata's flow of Chakra,' Kakashi thought. 'In other words, she is unable to use Jyuuken moves which force Chakra into the enemy. It's clear who will win. But I didn't know that such a guy existed. Our Sasuke won't be a match for him.' Kakashi thought.

'Neji will most likely get through this exam.' Gai thought. 'I guess a person at her level cannot win against him.'

Naruto heard what the Ino and the others had said about Hinata. He knew that he shouldn't call out to her, but all he could think about were the times when he was mocked and abused. Slowly he raised his head and in a loud voice called out. "Hinata! Do your best!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING KIT? YOU WILL SEND HER TO HER DEATH!" the Kyuubi said.

'I need to know…' Naruto thought. 'I need to know just how far she is willing to go if…'

The Kyuubi stopped Naruto's thought by saying, "OKAY, KIT. JUST REMEMBER IT IS NOT ME THAT YOU HAVE TO CONVINCE."

Naruto nodded as he continued to watch.

Hinata heard Naruto's words, 'Naruto-kun…' she thought.

Neji looked at Hinata with curiosity, 'Power has once again returned to her eyes.' He watched as Hinata charged toward him.

'I have watched you, Naruto,' Hinata thought as she began to fight. 'I have watched you when you first was here, to when you returned. I wondered why… I don't know why, but… When I watch Naruto-kun… I feel more courage inside me. It makes me feel like I can accomplish something if I try. It makes me feel like I am worth something,' she thought as she replayed all the times that she saw Naruto stand up for himself. Only to be cut short as Neji used an upward strike to send her back.

She regained her breath and attacked Neji again. 'Naruto-kun, I have only been watching you. But I… I finally… Naruto-kun!' she thought as Neji struck her chest. This caused Hinata to lose her Byakugan. Coughing blood she fell to the ground.

"You are a stubborn person," Neji said. "Your attacks had no effect on me to begin with. It's over." Neji dismissed his Byakugan and walked away.

"That was a finishing move by Neji… He aimed for her heart. I feel sorry for her, but she cannot stand up anymore." Gai said.

Naruto felt the anger well up inside him. He knew that he had just sent her to her downfall, and it hurt him so much to see it. He closed his eyes, 'But as all caterpillars must become cocoons so must she to fulfill what I have in store for her.' Naruto thought sadly. 'It still doesn't matter because I DID THIS TO HER! Wait… what is this?'

"I am going to assume that she can not fight anymore…" Hayate said. Only to be interrupted by Naruto.

"Don't stop this match!" He cried out.

Sakura attempted to tell Naruto differently only to have her and the others watch in amazement as Hinata struggled to get up.

"Why did you stand up?" Neji asked. "If you push yourself, you're really going to die."

'I can't show an unsightly scene… in front of the person that I admire…' Hinata thought.

"Why?" Neji repeated himself.

'Who has finally looked at me…' Hinata thought as she saw Naruto smile and nod at her.

Neji activated his Byakugan.

Hinata said, "I can still…"

Only to be interrupted by Neji, "There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga family. You curse your powerlessness, and blame yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There is no need to suffer. Let yourself go."

Hinata shook her head. "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see… That you are suffering more than me."

"What?" Neji said in disbelief.

"You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families." Hinata said.

Neji felt the anger well up inside himself. Finally reaching the breaking point, he charged at Hinata.

"Neji-kun the match has ended!" Hayate said as he saw Neji charge. 'This isn't good.'

But before he could reach Hinata, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Hayate stopped him.

"Neji, cut it out," Gai said. "You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the head family."

"Why did the other Jounins come out?" Neji said in frustration. "Does the head family receive special treatment?"

It was then that Hinata's heart began going into cardiac arrest. But before she could collapse, Naruto suddenly appeared before her. Catching her, he set her down and began pressing tsubos to counter act the affects of the Jyuugen attacks. After he was done, he pressed his fingers to the side of her neck, checking her heart rate. He realized that Kurenai was behind him attempting to pull him away from Hinata, and failing miserably. He pulled back slightly to allow Kurenai to look at her student. When Naruto saw that Hinata began to open her eyes, he smiled.

"You did well, Hinata, I am so proud of you," Naruto said with a smile. He saw that she was about to ask him something. "You showed him that you can change," Naruto said softly. He noticed that this caused Hinata to relax, after she had closed her eyes, Naruto wiped the blood away from her mouth.

"Hey, the dropout there." Naruto heard Neji say. Naruto ignored him as he began moving the sleeves from Hinata's arms; he used this movement to hide the fact that he was pressing tsubos that would help heal her arms. "Oi, blonde-haired kid," Neji said, this time getting Naruto's attention. "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja stop that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing, a dropout is a dropout. They can not change."

Naruto stood up, his head lowered so that no one could see his eyes. "But what if the dropout faked their abilities, making everyone believe that. Only…" Naruto then raised his head, and unleashed a third of his killer instinct toward Neji, forcing him to take a few steps back. "Only, to surprise everyone about how far they have truly progressed and what their talents really are. Didn't the Yondaime do just that?" Naruto asked as he stopped his killer instinct.

Neji shook his head to remove the rest of Naruto's killer instinct. Once he was done, he stepped up and gave a crooked grin to tempt Naruto into action. Naruto tossed something into the air, which landed before Neji. Neji looked down to see a strange kunai sticking out of the ground. When Neji looked up he saw Naruto flashing throught hand seals. Naruto, suddenly, disappeared before everyone's eyes and in a bright yellow flash appeared before Neji, using his right hand to flick him. The attack sent Neji flying to the wall, and embedding him into it.

Naruto smiled. "You don't know me, you think that you can perceive destiny. Then tell me, fortune teller, how did I do that?" He turned away and walked back to Hinata.

Everyone gasped. The Konoha Jounins, Orochimaru, and the Hokage all thought the same thing. 'That was the Hiraishin no Jutsu.' All the Konoha Jounins and Orochimaru could not understand how Naruto knew such a powerful S-rank jutsu. The Hokage raised one of his eyebrows. 'So he knows his father's specialty. Well I wonder what else he knows?'

Meanwhile, Neji became upset with what Naruto had said. Getting out of the wall, he then heard Naruto said to Lee. "I don't understand why you would have such a pathetic child as your rival, Lee. There are many different people that you could have as your rival. Hey, how about Haku, she is quite powerful and is better looking than Neji."

With that Neji charged toward Naruto, only to be blocked by Gai. He turned to Gai, who was looking at Naruto. Neji turned as saw the Hokage standing in front of Naruto, with his arms crossed. Neji swallowed, he knew that from the look that the Hokage was giving, if Neji wanted to attack Naruto he would have to attack the Hokage first. He quickly settled down.

Naruto watched as Hinata was taken away on a stretcher. He waited until Kurenai passed him and softly said; "When she wakes tell her that once she is fully healed, she is to meet me at Training Ground # 5. IF she asks why, tell her that I want to ask her a question, which will shake the very foundations of her belief." Seeing Kurenai nod, Naruto turned toward Neji. Seeing a blood splatter, he dipped his hand into it. He stood up and turned toward Neji. With his hand dripped in blood, Naruto pointed his fist at Neji. Speaking softly in Chinese, he then spoke aloud, "I WILL WIN!"

Author's notes: Sorry about splitting this chapter but after writing some of the battles I knew that this would be a long chapter, so it is better to split it into two chapters. I know that there are many people that want to see Naruto fight, but for right now I want to get some of the preliminaries out of the way. Also, note that I have added Haku's team into the mix, which meant more matches. I hope you enjoyed this part and get ready for the next.

Also I know that the technique that Sakura used was not original because it was used by another author, however, you have to admit if you saw something like that happen it could be pretty scary especially if it contain as much strength as Sakura and the ability to use her chakra more effectively. It's too bad that I couldn't remember who wrote it, but the author is reading it; please forgive me for using your jutsu. And let me know if it is alright, if not I can always rewrite it.

Sorry for the lateness of the chapter, but because of a hard drive failure I had to rewrite many of my stories that I was currently working on. Plus I have new pre-readers that are interested in editing any grammatical or mistakes in jutsus that I have accidentally made.

Also, I know that a lot of the information came from the anime, but can you mess with perfection? Anyway, I wanted only certain people to advance to the next level. So only two matches are left, can you guess who will fight who? Here is a good way to find out people's responses to the next two matches.

AAAAAHHHHH! Why me, I just got done fighting in the Forest of Death and now I am fighting here in a match that I don't want… Wait a minute, I remember that guy, Sakura told me that he was going to hurt her. Well Time for a little pay back.

Next time on Fist of Naruto: The Chuunin Exam, Preliminary fight part 2. It's time to put up or shut up. I am here to fight, but what is this? A months? Cool I can train... What is Ero-sanin and Ken-sama doing here?