The Paths We Walk

The Finals

"Hn. You sure took your sweet time, show-off." Sasuke taunted as Naruto took his place at the end of the row, right next to him. Sasuke now wore a black collared shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back with elbow straps and bandaged his left arm and legs, with black straps buckled over the wrappings. He'd also swapped his blue sandals for a black pair, and appeared to have grown a little himself. "They were about to disqualify you, idiot."

"Heh." Naruto scoffed from underneath his hood. "Like I'd miss a chance to kick your butt!"

"Hah." Sasuke grunted. "You probably overslept again. You're turning into Kakashi, dobe."

"Grrr…that's not true! I just had to make sure all my new stuff was working alright!"

"Well, if it took you that long, you'd better make it worth my time. See you in the semi-finals, dobe."

Naruto smirked, although the shadow his cloak cast completely covered his face. "That'll be the last time you call me that."

"We'll see." Sasuke returned his gaze to the stands, catching sight of Kakashi and Sakura, along with various other figures he recognized in the center box. Then, something caught his gaze. A line of interesting figures, dressed in various garments he'd never seen before, entered from the high entrance in the middle booth. They walked down the stairs leading to the front of the arena, heading to the three reserved rows in the front of the stadium. They numbered twenty in all, including two dressed in black cloaks identical to Naruto's.

"Friends of yours?"

"Uhh, yeah. Met them a while ago."

"…Just what have you been up to?"

"Whaddya mean?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Those were the best seats in the stadium. I'd heard they were reserved for a very special party."

"…"

"Well?"

"I'll tell you the whole story later." He chuckled. "Right after I'm holding the winner's cup!"

"…Hmph." Sasuke closed his eyes, choosing to let it go for the time.

Hayate returned his gaze to the Genin after nodding to the Hokage. "Listen up! This is the last stage of the exam. The stage and scenery may be a little more varied than before, but it's the same as the preliminaries. Anything goes until one combatant becomes unable to continue fighting, surrenders, or expires. If I determine that one combatant is the clear winner, I'll stop the match before any further injury takes place. So, if you really want to become Chunin, don't hold back. Give these people something to watch, for you are the stars of the finals, and today, the future of your countries rests on your shoulders!"

Hayate checked over the Genin one last time before facing the crowd. "We shall now begin the first round of the Chunin Selection Exams Final Tournament: Nara Shikamaru vs. Nanashi Tenten! Would the two combatants prepare for combat while the remaining candidates enter the spectator's box so we may begin the match."

Tenten turned to Neji and nodded, before cracking her knuckles while turning to Shikamaru. "…You're dead. Oh so very dead."

Shikamaru sighed. "What now?"

"Don't give me that!" Naruto paused, wondering just what was going on. "If you try the same tactic on me, I'll cut it to pieces, you pervert!"

"Ehh? What the-"

Hotaka grabbed the back of Naruto's cloak and dragged him away. "I'll explain it in the box."

Naruto went along willingly, feeling very left out. They were followed by Shino, Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji.

Hotaka dropped Naruto inside the box, letting him stumble to his feet. Naruto grumbled, but let it go. He looked up at Hotaka, and saw that he'd changed his outfit, too. He now wore a brown tank top under a black leather jacket with his brown pants, along with his usual shuriken holster and ninja pouch. Surprisingly, he no longer had the jar holding his seeds anymore. His hair was also somewhat longer, falling below his neck in the back with bangs that fell below his chin. "Alright, so what's the story?"

"Well, it all happened during the second day of the exam. Shikamaru and Yoko fought the seventh match, right after my match with Kiba. At first, Yoko had the advantage, but once she had bound Shikamaru's legs with her water lasso, she forgot that water still created a small shadow, and Shikamaru took advantage of that. He caught her, and well…"

"…Well, wha-?"

"KILL HIM, TENTEN! GOUGE HIS EYES OUT!! RIP HI-HMPH!" Yoko's shouting from the middle row on the right-hand side of the middle box was cut off as Michiko tackled her to the ground and covered her mouth with her hand in the stands. Ryuunosuke was standing in the background, shaking his head at the scene.

"…Whoa…" Naruto stared into the stands. Yoko just yelled. In all the time he knew her, she never even spoke at the common level for normal conversation…

"Well, Shikamaru sort of…forced her to, ugh…"

"What?"

Hotaka coughed lamely. "It's hard to say. She is like my sister, after all, so…"

"He took her shirt off." Shino finished.

"WHAT?!" 'AND WE MISSED IT?!' His inner pervert shouted.

Hotaka rested his head in his hand. "No need to be so blunt, Shino."

Shino pressed his finger to his lips, and pointed to the arena.

Shikamaru sighed. "Sheesh. Why'd I have to go first? And another girl?"

Tenten cracked her knuckles. "This'll be over in five minutes, you little perv."

"Hmmm…what to do, what to do…I could just use the same tactic as before…"

"I KNEW IT!!"

"Maybe I should just forfeit…this is too troublesome."

Tenten pointed at Hayate. "You. Match. Start!" And began unbinding her scroll.

"Uhh…First match, Nara Shikamaru vs. Nanashi Tenten, begin!"

"Geez, thanks for the warning, pal." Shikamaru watched Tenten bite her thumb and run it along her scroll. "Aw man, she's really into this."

Tenten ran her bloody thumb across the scroll, and quickly threw the seven kunai as quickly as they were summoned. Shikamaru pulled out a kunai of his own and blocked two of the incoming kunai before side-stepping the ones he couldn't block. Tenten predicted this, and had already thrown twenty summoned shuriken at Shikamaru's new location. Shikamaru noted that all the shuriken were grouped relatively close together, and just managed to pick up on the needles flying along the border of the grouped shuriken. Shikamaru made a high jump into the air, avoiding both groups.

He landed, and looked up at the scowling girl. "I see. You threw the shuriken first to keep my focus on them, and made me think that all I had to do was sidestep their group and be safe. But, you'd also thrown a group of throwing needles, which are easily less noticeable, in hopes that once I'd sidestepped the easily noted shuriken, my attention would still be diverted from the needles. You should know from our experience in the forest that such simple tricks won't work on me."

Tenten growled, but quickly replaced her frown with a smirk. "Heh, good. It'd be far less rewarding if you went down so easily."

"Aah, that really sounds troublesome…but I can't stand the thought of losing to a girl, so I guess it's on!"

"…You sexist bastard."

"Hey, violent combat is the last thing we men still rein supreme. We won't give it up so easily."

"Oh really…we'll see."

Tenten ran her thumb over the seals once more, summoning a myriad of weapons of all shapes and styles. As quickly as they appeared, she threw them at Shikamaru. Shikamaru sighed as he tilted his head to the side avoiding the first shuriken, and immediately deployed his Shika tactic number 1: Hide and pray they don't seek.

Shikamaru ran right for the forest at the edge of the arena, while Tenten continued to launch a barrage of weapons in his wake, forming a complete line by the time Shikamaru managed to reach the cover of a large oak tree. Tenten growled, not entirely sure what to do now.

Break

"Get him, Tenten! Knock his block off!"

Choji sighed as Ino cheered Tenten on. "You really should cheer for your teammate, Ino."

"No way! What he did in the preliminaries was unforgivable."

"Well, still, he is your teammate."

"Choji, you idiot! Don't you get it? This isn't just about Yoko!"

"Hm?"

"You haven't realized what could happen? He may use the same dirty tactic, that pervert!"

"So? It's not that bad. She was wearing a bra. It's just like going to the beach."

"You idiot! Don't you get it?!"

"No…what?"

"It was embarrassing enough during the preliminaries for Yoko, when she was only among friends and a few other people, but if the same thing happened to Tenten, everyone in the entire arena would see it, including the leaders of the other nations! She'd never live it down!"

"Oh…well, it wouldn't be that bad. Her popularity would skyrocket…"

Ino scoffed. "Just shut up, Choji!"

Choji sighed, and grabbed a bag of chips. "Either way, Shikamaru will probably quit anyways. He won't fight more than he has to."

"You're so sure?"

Choji nodded. "It's weird enough that he's in the final match; he won't fight anymore than he has to."

Break

Back on the battlefield, Shikamaru had regained his lazy demeanor, staring jealously at the clouds.

'Oh, if only the clouds knew how lucky they were, able to fly freely wherever the wind takes them without a care in the world. I bet they don't see a reason to fight, either. .I wanted to be a ninja so that I could be just like them, free to do live the wary I wanted…' He returned his gaze to the battlefield, peeking out from behind the tree. 'But, I guess life's never that easy!'

Tenten gasped and began jumping back as fast as she could as a shadow came shooting out of the trees. It quickly gained on her, but stopped short just before it caught up with her. Tenten stopped and grabbed a few shuriken out of her pouch, throwing them where the shadow's limit would be.

Tenten looked up, smirking. "Heh. I already know these moves from the forest. You can only manipulate your shadow, and while you can cross your shadow over others to increase its length, you can't manipulate the shape of any other shadow than your own, which is why you chose the shadowed area of the arena to launch your attacks!"

Shikamaru grunted, desperately wishing he hadn't had to reveal his abilities in the second exam. 'Damn you, Naruto! This is all your fault!'

Neji sighed, turning away. 'It's over. As great a strategist as Shikamaru may be, it's useless if he's out of range. Tenten specializes in weapons, especially long-rangy types. He's finished.'

Shikamaru looked up at the sky and sighed, placing his respective fingers together, with his thumbs above his fingers.

"What's he doing now?" Kurenai asked Asuma in the box. "I've never seen a hand sign like that."

"That's because it's not. He's not initiating any jutsu at the moment. No, he's just following his habit."

"Habit?"

"Yes. He's the grand master of relaxation! He loves nothing more than sitting around letting time slip by, just like some old bat. He's always pestering me to play games like chess or shogi, or something like that, and whenever he's facing a tough decision, he always assumes that pose…"

"…And what exactly does that pose mean?"

"He's planning his strategy! And, truth be told, in all the dozens of times we've played, I've never beaten him. Not once!"

"Alright, fine. So he's good at board games, but this is a real-time battle! There's no time for things like that!"

"True enough, but those board games were based off of military strategists to plot their battles. So, I suppose strategy is where Shikamaru really shines! Though, his opponent also appears quite gifted in that field."

"Alright, fine, but I remember looking over the student's grades at the academy. Shikamaru's were as bad as Naruto's!"

"He'd always say it took too much effort to raise his pencil to take notes, and he always thought of exams as naptime. So, at one point, I was so baffled how he could fair so poorly in school, yet strive in games requiring so much intellect. So, one day I gave him an I.Q. test, convincing him it was just another game. I was just messing around, but…"

"…So? What did he score?"

Asuma grinned proudly. "Oh, he's impressive, all right! His I.Q. is over two hundred! He's a freakin' genius!"

"T-two hundred? That can't be…"

Shikamaru opened his eyes, released his hands and reached into his ninja pouch. "He's done thinking. Things are about to get interesting…"

Tenten switched from a scowl to an evil grin. "So, you finally ready? Alright, here!"

Tenten summoned more weapons, swiping her blood over the seals fast and throwing the scroll into the air, letting the weapons drop on her. She caught each and every one as they neared her, throwing them where Shikamaru was once kneeling. But he was too quick, and dived behind the nearest tree, tucking tail.

Tenten scowled again, growling. "Damn it, come and face me, coward!"

Shikamaru waited there for another fifteen minutes, ignoring the random wave of weapons that would strike the tree and the ground next to him. Then, after a particularly long barrage, he leapt out from behind the tree, grabbing some kunai and strapping something to the end, from the ground and hurling them into the air, where they arched and began their descent right at the spot right behind the line and to the right of Tenten. She stepped forward to avoid the incoming kunai, noticing that once they hit a package attached to the end unleashed caltrops to her rear and right side, and returned her attention to just beyond the line, just in time to see the shadow reach the line of shuriken in the ground.

'Heh, looks like I overestima-what the?!' Tenten leapt as far to the side as she could, since the area to the back and right were covered in caltrops. The shadow went right past the three shuriken and darted right at her. She leapt to the side once more, and grimaced as the shadow continued to approach hers, but stopped just a few centimeters away.

Tenten looked around, and raised her hand to block the sun, when it all clicked. "Heh, pretty clever. You waited for the sun to set a little before attacking, drawing my focus away from the shadow with the kunai, effectively forcing me up to the line, and then used the caltrops at the end to try and trap me when they scattered. But you missed my left side, leaving me an escape. But still, you caught me off guard with using the setting sun to increase your and the wall's shadows."

Shikamaru scoffed, slowly retracting his shadow. Tenten smirked, putting her plan into action.

'Heh, the idiot. He's already forgotten how I beat Michiko with my Soshoryu. It's a little different, but it's the same principle. I've already scattered all the necessary weapons in the back, in all directions around him. Now all I've got to do is extend my chakra strings to pick them up, and he'll be surrounded. He'll have no choice but to surrender once he's surrounded by my weapons.'

Tenten gathered her Chakra in her fingertips, preparing to unleash it in a wave of strings and surround Shikamaru with her weapons. She crossed her hands as Shikamaru's shadow continued to retract. "Alright, sosho-" she suddenly went all rigid. "W-wha? That's not possible!"

Shikamaru released his hands, smirking in victory. "Ahh…Kagemane no Jutsu, success!"

Tenten stared, unable to properly voice her question. "Heh, you still haven't figured it out? Here, I'll give you a hand." Shikamaru tilted his head slightly to the left, as did Tenten, who gasped when she saw his shadow running through her weapons.

"When we first started fighting, you threw a line of weapons at me. It reaches all the way into the shadow. All I had to do was get you into the proper position, hence the caltrops and kunai, along with a little help from the sun. Then, while I retracted my shadow, I split it up and sent my other part through the shadows of your line of weapons, and came up right behind you. And you didn't suspect a thing."

Ino was gaping at the scene. "H-how…"

Choji started to shovel down chips in anticipation.

Kurenai was baffled. "H-how many steps ahead does this guy think?!"

Asuma shrugged. "Hundreds, I'm sure. I bet he could beat a supercomputer in shogi!"

"Amazing…" Sakura muttered.

"He's a talented one, all right." Kakashi applauded.

Michiko sighed. "Sorry, Yoko…I know you wanted to see Tenten use him as a pincushion…"

"Killkillkillkillkillkillkillkill…" Was her response as she watched the ensuing events.

"Calm down. It's not like anyone took pictures." Ryuunosuke sighed.

Naruto looked around, highly amused with the surprising turn of events. Despite all his training, he never would've thought to use the environment like that. And, by the stunned silence of his piers, including both top rookies, he smirked. 'Shikamaru never really showed any talent in school. Battle really does push one to the limit; the whole stadium wasn't really looking forward to this opening match, but everyone appears to be on the edge of their seats.' Naruto glanced over at the reserved rows. 'Victor hasn't stopped writing for over a minute.'

Shikamaru advanced, as did Tenten. Tenten gulped, expecting the same fate as Yoko, and she was not looking forward to revealing herself in front of the entire stadium. In moments, Shikamaru and herself stood less than a meter apart. Shikamaru opened his eyes, and raised his arm. 'If he gropes me, I'll castrate him!!' She thought.

But Shikamaru kept raising his hand. The entire crowd gulped, wondering just what the boy would do now.

"I give up."

Half the crowd tripped.

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!"

"RIP-OFF!"

"IRONY IS A BITCH!!"

"Told you, Ino." Choji said, before savoring the last BBQ chip.

Tenten stared at him "Wh…what did you just say? You're not going to…you know…"

Shikamaru sighed. "As pleasant as that would be, I'm not about to embarrass our entire village by using such a tactic in front of all the important guests enjoying the exams. That special tactic was only meant to get by in the preliminaries. But, even though I've prepared another two hundred moves or so, I already used up all my Chakra to get this far. Besides, one match is all I need to show my skills. Any more would be a waste of a good nap." Shikamaru sighed as he felt his shadow begin to retract, and Tenten stumbled, having regained her movement.

Hayate coughed, clearing his throat. "The winner is Nanashi Tenten!"

Despite her victory, Tenten stood stone still, trying to process all that just happened. "Wait…you…wha?"

Hayate cleared his throat to gain their attention. "The next match will begin shortly. Please return to the spectator's box while we prepare for the second round!" Tenten's weapons disappeared in puffs of smoke, and Hayate tossed each of them a soldier pill, which Tenten just barely caught. They walked, somewhat awkwardly, up the stairs to meet with the remaining candidates.

"Well, that was quite the show." Naruto applauded.

"I was beside myself at the end." Hotaka complemented.

"Ah, shut up." Shikamaru pulled something large out of his ninja pouch. He unfolded it, an opened up a cap, and began blowing into it.

"…You brought an inflated chair?" Tenten asked.

"Yep." Blow "Like I'm gonna waste" Blow "Standing around."

"…I was caught by this lazy bastard?"

Shikamaru finished blowing it up and hopped into it, only to have it sink, with the sound of hissing air filling the room. Gaara and Sasuke glared at them in annoyance.

Shikamaru inspected his chair, and saw a small cut where the air was escaping near the bottom. "How…" He checked his pouch, and saw a puncture from a kunai. He glared at a smug Tenten. "Oi, you broke my chair…"

"Irony is a bitch." Tenten smirked, turning her back to him.

Suddenly, Hayate's voice echoed throughout the arena. "The second round of the Chunin Exams is about to begin. Would Sasaki Hotaka and Aburame Shino please step down to prepare!"

Shino began his descent, when he felt something tug on his arm. He tilted his head to observe, and saw a vine attached to his arm. Suddenly, he was given a strong tug, and fell very unceremoniously to the ground. He stood, glaring at Hotaka. "I suppose there was a reason for that."

Hotaka nodded, switching from playful to serious in nanoseconds. "Just making sure you're not a bunch of bugs this time."

Shino stared, but said nothing as he turned around. Hotaka removed the wood from under his wood, tossing it to the ground, and followed Hotaka.

Naruto sighed, waiting for the two to finish the long walk, and looked for someone to talk to. Sasuke was keeping to himself, as was Neji, Gaara was out of the question, which left Shikamaru and Tenten. He walked over to Shikamaru, figuring he'd make decent conversation.

Shikamaru was leaning on the railing, trying to get comfortable with his chair destroyed. "Hey, Shikamaru! What'd I miss during the exam?"

Shikamaru looked at him and raised his eyebrow. "Hn?"

"I mean, how'd the other half of the preliminaries go? Isn't Temari supposed to be here? And how'd fuzzy brows lose?"

Shikamaru sighed and rested his head on his hands placed on the railings. "Ask Tenten. Too troublesome."

Naruto growled. "You're not even going to watch the match?"

"It's obvious who's gonna win."

"Who?"

Shikamaru didn't reply, having already entered the happy sanctuary of his mind. Naruto growled, and walked over to Tenten. She was toying with a kunai near the end of the railing, apparently still embarrassed at underestimating the rookie. "Hey, Tenten!"

She turned. "Hn? Oh, it's you, Naruto."

"Those were some impressive techniques you used. I never knew you could store so many weapons in a scroll."

She sighed. "It took some practice, but I got it down after a while." She turned to him. "How about you? Learn anything new?"

Naruto shrugged. "A little of this, a little of that, ya know…So, what happened during the second part of the exam? Wasn't Temari supposed to fight?"

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, but she dropped out. Stupid, really. She would've been my first opponent, and with her wind attacks, it'd be impossible for my weapons to reach her. I think she may be taking care of her brother…oops." She turned back to Naruto, who seemed to be sulking.

"Please…don't remind me…"

"Sorry…you won't do it again, will you?"

"I shouldn't. At least, my teacher said I shouldn't have a problem with it, and that's good enough for me."

Tenten sighed. "Good. I was worried about what might happen to Neji if you went berserk like that on him…"

Naruto sighed. "Speaking of which, where's your other teammate? I was wondering how he could've lost…"

Tenten went silent for a moment, unsure how to answer that. "…Touchy subject. How about I start off with the other matches?"

Naruto looked down at the field, noting how neither combatant had made it down yet. "Sure. They sure are taking a while."

"Maybe they've already started…"

"No, they're not stupid. Anyways, go ahead."

"Well, it all started with Hotaka's match with Kiba. Kiba put up a good fight, but Hotaka trapped him and his dog Akamaru in a cage…Kiba wasn't happy."

Naruto laughed. "Hahaha! I can imagine dog-breath expression! Probably wining, just like a helpless puppy!"

Tenten giggled. "Yeah, something like that. Anyways, Yoko and Shikamaru fought after that, and…"

"I already know how that went…" 'AND WE DIDN'T GET A PEEK!!' His inner pervert shouted again.

"And then, after that, Neji and Hinata fought. Neji won, but Hinata put up a good fight."

"Oh! That reminds me, I saw Hinata walk by my house one time. She didn't look well…what happened? Was she injured in the fight?"

Tenten flinched. "Well, you see…she, umm…" Naruto knew she wasn't just going to come out and say it, so he decided to use the mind reading skill Cloud helped him master.

'Neji nearly killed her, but I can't tell Naruto that. He may push himself too hard against Neji…'

Naruto didn't listen to anything else, and stated "He nearly killed her, didn't he?"

Tenten went stiff. "…How'd you know?"

"I guessed, based on your expression and what I saw." He lied, but it wasn't like he could tell her about his new skill. After all, he'd only ever used it in his berserker state while in Konoha.

"…Naruto, I think I know what you're thinking, but don't push yourself too hard against Neji."

"I'm sorry, but I can't promise anything."

"I see…but you need to understand, there's more to it than that…"

"I don't care. He almost killed his comrade. That's unacceptable, by any standards."

"…Naruto…"

"Let's move on. Who's match was next?"

"…Mine, against Michiko. We'd been rivals for a long time, you see…she used close range weapons, and I'd use long range ones. That match meant a lot to us, since we'd always wanted to fight. It was hard, but when I used my best move, Soshoryu, the proctor had no choice but to end the match, or she would've been seriously hurt."

"Was she?"

Tenten shook her head. "No, I stopped my attack before they hit. The last match was Lee versus Gaara, and…it didn't end well."

"Why?"

Tenten bowed her head. "Lee pushed himself too far. He almost won, but Gaara had too many tricks, and Lee wound up in the hospital. It's questionable if he may ever be fit enough for active duty again."

Silence. Though Tenten couldn't see it, his mouth was hanging wide open. Finally, he spoke up. "No…not him. He'd never accept that."

"Well, they haven't told him that. He's fit enough to walk around, but parts of his bone fractured into his muscle. They can't remove it at the risk of pieces breaking off and floating through the bloodstream into his heart. If that happened, he could die…"

"…There has to be a way…"

"Naruto…"

"I've got connections. I've got people who owe me some favors. I'll see what I can do." He turned to her, and gave her the good guy pose in tribute to Lee. "That's a promise!"

Tenten stared at him, unsure of what to say. "…Thanks for the concern, but Naruto-kun, but I think even the legendary Tsunade-Sama would have trouble with this."

"We'll see." Naruto looked down at the field again, and noticed that while they'd been talking, both Shino and Hotaka had taken their positions.

Hayate looked from one opponent to the other, and nodded. "The second round of the Chunin exams, Sasaki Hotaka versus Aburame Shino, begin!"

Hotaka pulled out four shuriken and threw them at Shino. Shino did nothing himself, but ordered his bugs to form a shield. He held out his hand, and his bugs crawled out, knitting themselves together to form a proper shield. The shuriken dug in between the bugs, which Shino took for himself as his bugs returned. Hotaka had used the time to circle to the left and dropped seeds every few steps.

Tenten called over to Neji "Neji! Where's he getting those seeds?"

Neji activated his Byakugan, narrowing his eyes. "Ingenious. He's using a capsule on each arm at the wrist, with a spring forcing the seeds out every time he presses a lever that reaches just above his wrist on his palm, which he presses with his middle finger. A quick tap releases a single seed, but the longer he holds it down, I'm guessing the more seeds will come out."

"Interesting…" Naruto pondered. "He appears to be using this as his backup plan, or, more likely, he's preparing something big."

Back on the field, Shino remained at the ready, awaiting whatever Hotaka had up his sleeve. Hotaka quickly made some hand seals, and placed his palms on the ground. The crowd couldn't hear the name of the technique, but it was nonetheless impressive.

From the ground, twelve massive tentacles of wood shot out, and charged straight for Shino. As they sped towards their target, they continued to span out, growing branches and leaves. It was a magnificent sight, which earned Hotaka many gasps and cheers.

Shino stood there, unworried. When the wood began to near him, he tapped his foot on the ground, which collapsed beneath him. Hotaka had no time to alter the course of the wood as it crashed into the spot where Shino had once stood, covering the hole, and making further access impossible.

'Damn! I still haven't learned how to retract the wood!' Hotaka thought, looking around. He had no idea where to grow the roots so it would hit. It would just be a waste of chakra.

'He's good, far better than I expected. I never thought he'd be able to use the terrain in such a way only using his insects.' Hotaka continued to scan the arena, looking for any sign of Shino, and he finally caught one. He pressed the lever on the lower part of his palms, bringing out a few more seeds, and threw them in the area where he saw a small crack in the ground. He quickly went through more hand seals and slammed one palm into the ground. He ran a string of chakra over to the seeds, feeding them his chakra. They grew into the ground, and ran throughout a small tunnel until they latched onto the body of Shino. They then forced their way above ground, carrying the body of Shino with them.

Shino struggled against the vines, desperately tugging, but they'd firmly secured all four limbs. He was trapped. Hotaka walked over to him, having the wood place him at ground level so they could speak. He stopped about a meter away from Shino, and smirked.

"I'll admit, you took me by surprise when we started. You had your bugs dig around underground for you at the start of the match when I was planting my seeds, planning an escape route for yourself. Then, you'd dig around and wait for a chance to strike, am I correct?"

Shino shook his head. "No. The first part, you accurately deduced, but I'm afraid you've still forgotten to take note of a few details."

Hotaka went to a guard, wary of any danger. "And what would those be?"

"First, my goal wasn't to look for you. I had expected to get caught. To which, I prepared a backup plan."

Michiko looked skeptical. "He's completely trapped. What can he do?"

Ryuunosuke smirked behind his hand. "Ahh…I see."

"See what, Sensei?" Yoko asked.

Meanwhile, Naruto was asking the same thing.

"It's over. Shino can't move."

"No." Shikamaru yawned. "Shino's won this."

Sasuke scoffed, walking up to the rail. "Oh really? Well, how?"

Shikamaru sighed. "You haven't seen it? Use your Sharingan."

Sasuke grudgingly abided, and narrowed his eyes. "Ah…I see…"

"See what?" Naruto asked, avoiding reading their minds to sound more natural.

Ryuunosuke chuckled. "Hotaka's gotten cocky. He thinks that just because Shino is captured that he has the advantage. He's forgotten that Shino has an army of insects at his command."

"And not only that, but those insects feed on chakra." Shikamaru added.

Yoko's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

"What?" Michiko asked.

"What is Hotaka's wood made of?" Shikamaru asked.

"…Oh!" Michiko exclaimed.

"Now it makes sense." Naruto commented.

"So that means…" Tenten pondered.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, even now…"

"The wood has Chakra running through it." Ryuunosuke continued.

"Shino's insects feed on Chakra."

"So even now, his insects are feeding on the Chakra in the wood, killing and weakening it, which means…"

"At any moment, the wood will be weak enough for Shino to break free!" Shikamaru and Ryuunosuke finished their explanations at the exact same time.

At that exact moment, Shino broke free from the weakened wood and threw the same four Shuriken he'd been holding on to back at Hotaka, who quickly pulled out a kunai and parried all of the incoming Shuriken. As soon as he finished, he put the kunai in his mouth and flipped through more seals, and cupped his hands together, and whistled through them, creating a hollow sound.

"What's he doing now?" Naruto asked.

"Genjutsu." Sasuke replied. "Hotaka's other specialty. It's a sound Genjutsu, so both Shino and his bugs will be affected, along with anyone else hearing it. So, we'll all be caught up in whatever Hotaka has planned."

Shino didn't seem to notice this, and rushed at Hotaka. But just then, a huge forest sprouted up, full of tall trees and shrubs. Hotaka jumped into a tree, which he seemed to phase into. Shino ran after him, but ran right into the tree, unable to pass through.

"That's quite a genjutsu." Kakashi commented. "He's managed to convince Shino that the forest is real, and is unable to pass through anything his mind considers to be real. Hotaka truly is a Genjutsu prodigy."

"Amazing…" Sakura commented. "He's managed to fool the majority of the stadium, and even managed to work past most of the attempts to break it!"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, but Hotaka's been pushed into a corner. Mokuton will just feed Shino's insects, and this is the last area where he has any special skill in, besides sensing Chakra. This is his last resort…"

Hotaka jumped from each area where he placed a tree, each time knowing Shino was unable to follow. After a dozen hops, Shino had lost track of him. He was beginning to feel the effects of using too much Chakra, so Hotaka used another genjutsu to disguise himself as a shrub, and followed Shino as he ran through the forest. After a minute of running, he was right behind Shino, and was about to punch him out. He raised his fist, but Shino whirled around and beat him to it, burying his fist deep in Hotaka's gut. Hotaka exhaled sharply, and fell to his knees, suddenly feeling extremely heavy.

"Wh-what's going on?" He questioned.

Shino made the ram sign, and muttered "Kai." The whole Genjutsu immediately disappeared, for everyone.

Hotaka shakily stood, gasping. "H-how…what? My Genjutsu…"

"That wasn't your Genjutsu. Yours ended shortly after it was cast."

Various murmurs echoed throughout the stadium, most of pure confusion, but from the elite shinobi, there were words of praise.

"When you dug me out from the underground tunnels, I left half my insects there to continue digging. They burrowed small tunnels just large enough for them beneath your feet. When I threw the shuriken back at you after my remaining insects had killed the wood, you had to parry them, and that was the chance for my little friends to quickly dig their way out and scurry up your legs, in those few precious seconds. While you molded Chakra, I ordered them to do nothing, allowing you to perform your Genjutsu for a moment. I quickly got an idea what it was, and through the Genjutsu training that Kurenai-Sensei gave us, I was able to at least produce an image of your Genjutsu. I couldn't affect more than one sense at that massive level, but visual images of any time are simple to put up. So while touch is extremely difficult to induce, since you didn't expect to feel anything from the trees, there was no need to incorporate that. Then, once it was up, I ordered my insects to eat the Chakra you were using towards the Genjutsu, canceling it, but leaving my copy image up. So, I acted like I was still under the influence, when I could see your every more. Slowly, my insects ate more and more Chakra, until you finally began feeling the effects of Chakra exhaustion. So, you tried to end it, but extra Chakra you thought you were using to disguise yourself as a shrub was once again eaten, and I saw you approach me, and was easily able to counter your move. Then, I allowed my insects to eat as much Chakra as they wished, immediately draining you. And that, Hotaka, is my victory."

The crowd stared in awe of Shino's plan, amazed that a rookie could come up with something this effective against a far more experienced ninja.

Hotaka smiled sadly, amazed that he'd been beaten by a rookie. "That was your real backup plan all along, wasn't it? I underestimated you…"

"You did."

Hotaka raised his hand with the last of his energy. "I surrender." He said, before collapsing. Shino managed to catch him before he fell, withdrawing his insects from Hotaka's body.

Hayate smirked, amazed at the accomplishments of another rookie. "The winner of the second round is Aburame Shino!" The crowd erupted in applause, this time knowing there was a clear victor. Hayate walked over to Shino and Hotaka, giving both soldier pills. "Neither of you received any physical damage. These pills should do." Hotaka grabbed his and swallowed it, as did Shino. After thirty seconds, Hotaka was able to stand by himself again.

Shino let go of Hotaka, who extended his hand. "Good fight. I'll make sure to train hard, and one day, I'll be back, so watch out!"

Shino looked at the hand, and extended his own, giving it a firm handshake. Then, the two made their way up the stairs, arriving much faster than they had descended.

"You were cocky, Hotaka." Naruto lectured.

Hotaka twitched. "Oh, like you can talk, Mr. 'And none of you are gonna beat me!'

Naruto shrugged. "Well, that isn't being cocky. That is the truth." All glares dug straight into Naruto's skin. "What?"

"You've got no right to lecture him, dobe." Sasuke smirked.

"I'll wipe that smirk off your face when I'm in the final round!"

"Yeah, when pigs fly."

"Actually-" Naruto caught himself before revealing what he read about Hojo's experiments. "Ah, I'll kick your ass either way!"

"Whatever, loser."

"Does every word they exchange result in an argument?" Tenten asked Hotaka.

"Sadly, it appears so."

"Wow, they're worse than me and Michiko."

"Michiko and I" Naruto corrected.

"…" Smack, via Tenten.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For being a grammar Nazi!"

"Ah, touché!"

Somewhere in Konoha, Iruka twitched.

"What's with you two?"

"Nothing." Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Break

Back with the Hokage and Kazekage, both were admiring the quality of the Genin.

"Konoha truly has some impressive candidates, especially among the rookies. If I'm correct, half the competitors are from the rookie class…"

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, our future is bright, but I'm also expecting quite a performance from your Gaara against our young Uchiha Sasuke. It'll be quite the spectacle."

The Kazekage nodded. "Yes…I'm sure that's the reason many of the feudal lords have arrived today. This is to be a fight of special magnificence."

"Yes, and next we have quite an interesting match-up: Uzumaki Naruto against Hyuga Neji. I'm looking forward to it."

The Kazekage was silent for a moment, before turning back to the Hokage. "My subordinate Baki-san told me an interesting thing…" The Hokage's eyes hardened. "He told me that the boy had the ability to allow another identity to control his body, and multiply his power by several factors…beyond Jonin, possibly Kage level. Is this true?"

The Hokage nodded stiffly. "Yes, but I pray he controls it. When that other identity comes out, he attacks everything he sees. He cannot be controlled."

"I see…so it's like a split personality, then?"

"Possibly."

The Kazekage closed his eyes in thought. "Well then, as selfish as it sounds, I wish to see this power." The Hokage gave him a questioning glance. "It would be an amazing thing to witness such strength from one so young. I'm actually looking forward to his match more than ever."

"I see…" The Hokage turned back to Hayate, and nodded.

Break

"Attention, the next match of the Chunin selection exams is about to begin. The third match will consist of Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuga Neji. Would the combatants please enter the arena at this time!"

Gaara twitched in excitement; signs of a sadistic smile flashed on his face.

Neji smirked, already walking to the stairway. "I'll be waiting, Uzumaki." With that, he left."

Tenten wished Neji luck, then turned to Naruto. "Naruto-kun…please just forget about Hinata. No Genin can beat Neji, so please don't push it!"

Naruto chuckled. "Relax, Tenten-chan. I'll be fine. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, too. Just watch!"

"Neji's fast, and deadly with Juken. Watch out." Hotaka warned.

"Yeah, even if it's just a tap, that alone may take you down, and watch out for his tenketsu strikes. That's how he beat Hinata." Shikamaru added.

Naruto nodded. "Thanks. I'll remember that.

Sasuke scoffed. "Hn. You'd better win then, dobe. It'd be a shame if I missed such a perfect opportunity to beat you."

"We'll see."

Naruto turned to leave, but another voice caught his attention.

"Naruto" Cloud called from the opposite stairway. Everyone turned around to the man in the same clothing as Naruto, except that his cloak had a picture of a winding dragon with horns on the back instead of a wolf. "Here." Cloud held out Naruto's Buster Sword, all shined up and ready for combat.

Surprisingly, Naruto raised his hand. "Not this time. From what they've told me about the Hyuga fighting style, I'll be needing my speed. And the same will probably go for Sasuke. I'll use it in the finals."

Cloud nodded and strapped it to his back, along with his own sword, The First Tsurugi. "Alright. Come pick it up when you're ready."

Naruto nodded and turned around, heading down the stairs and into the arena. Cloud mirrored his actions and planned on returning to his seat.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, walking after the older man.

"Oi, Sasuke, what're you doing?" Hotaka asked.

"Naruto's changed. He actually figured out what was happening during your fight, and I'm sure this man can give us some answers."

"Oh really?" Tenten asked.

"No idea, but maybe he can describe anything new we see."

"Nah, too troublesome." Shikamaru complained. "I'm staying right here, thank you very much.

"I'm not concerned." Shino noted.

"I'll go. I'm out, anyways."

"I'll come too." Tenten said.

Sasuke sighed, annoyed by the unwanted company. "Do what you want." He said, before following after Cloud with Hotaka and Tenten on his tail.

Break

Meanwhile, Naruto had just walked out into the arena. He looked up, and shielded his eyes from the sun by pulling the hood of his cloak farther down. He stepped into the center of the arena, facing Neji.

"Why did you do it?"

"Hm?"

"Hinata. Why did you do it?"

"That's none of your concern."

"She is my comrade, and fellow Konoha ninja. That is reason enough. So, why did you do it?"

"…You really want to know?"

"Duh."

"Fine." Neji undid his forehead protector, removing it, and revealed a swastika mark between two lines on his forehead. "This."

"…What? She draw on you with permanent marker or something?"

Neji scowled. "No, you idiot. She is a member of the Main house of Hyuga, and I am a lowly Branch member. We who are given this seal are bound to service of the Main Branch for the course of our lives. When I was of the age of four, I was branded with this mark. Do you remember those events? It was a festive day in Konoha, because we were to sign a treaty with Kumogakure. They had sent their strongest ninja to participate. However, not all the village was in celebration. For the Hyuga clan had another festivity: the third birthday of the house heir, Hyuga Hinata. And on that day, I was given this curse seal as a permanent symbol of my place. I became a Branch member, and was forever resigned to that fate."

"So, what's so bad about that?"

"The Main Family has the power to destroy the minds of us Branch members through a simple hand seal. We are the tool of the Main Branch, to be sacrificed as they see fit. I saw that quite clearly just a week later. On the night of the Cloud ninja's leave, he entered the Hyuga compound, and kidnapped Hinata-Sama. But he was clumsy, and killed by Hiashi-Sama. It soon became apparent that Kumo was after the secret of the Byakugan from the very beginning, and that these events were merely to lull Konoha into a false sense of security so that they could kidnap the heiress. However, Kumo completely ignored that fact, and focused only on how their strongest ninja had been killed. They demanded compensation in the form of Hyuga Hiashi-Sama's corpse. Of course, this was another attempt at the Byakugan. So Konoha gave into these demands and handed over a double." He swallowed. "My father, the brother of Hiashi-Sama, was sacrificed for the sake of the village in his stead!"

"…But you still haven't explained why you hurt Hinata."

"Don't you get it? This seal is meant to seal the Byakugan should we die. Our servitude only ends with the fate we all share…death." He sighed, before looking up. "I was destined to fight Hinata-Sama, and at that point in time, I was destined to win, but she is destined for victory over all Hyuga as the heir to the Main Branch. The only way to escape is death, and even then, our power, the Byakugan, is forever sealed. That is my fate, and I cannot escape it, just as your fate is to lose this match!"

"…So, are you going to get around to why you hurt Hinata anytime soon?"

"Haven't you been listening?"

"Yes, and I got a history lesson. I wanted to know what Hinata did to you to make you try and kill her. So?" Neji was about to say something, but was cut off. "Before you speak, I don't want to hear a word about the Main or Branch family, parents or village. I want to hear about you and Hinata, and what she did to you personally to deserve your hate."

Neji growled. "You…"

"Are absolutely right." He finished.

"You don't get it at all."

"No, you're just making no sense."

Neji was about to say something, but calmed himself. "Enough. I know why I did what I did, and I know that I am fated to do the same here. Now, prepare yourself."

Naruto grinned beneath his hood. "Heh. Looks like I won the verbal battle. That's one-zip!"

"We'll see who's laughing after you're hooked up to an I.V."

Break

Sasuke, Hotaka and Tenten ran up to the central box, searching for the man who'd just disappeared.

"I recognize that cloak. I saw two people wearing it in the reserved rows in the front." Sasuke said. "He said they were his friends."

Hotaka narrowed his eyes. "I heard about those rows…reserved for a mysterious organization that popped up overnight. I heard a rumor that they're the ones that took Naruto away."

"It looks that way…" Tenten commented.

They ran down the stairs, trying to reach the first area of the arena, but stopped when they saw Kakashi, Gai, Sakura and Lee already at the front. Kakashi turned to them and smiled beneath his mask. "Ah, it seems we had the same idea."

"So it seems…" Sasuke muttered. "When did Lee and Gai get here?"

"We were worried about Neji! Naruto's flames of youth have been igniting into a raging inferno as of late!" Gai screamed.

"…What he means is that they want to know if he'll go berserk again." Kakashi muttered.

"Exactly! We have to watch out for our team."

"Right, Lee!" Gai gave the good guy pose. "And Tenten! Excellent match, and may youth be with you against Shino as well!"

Tenten sweatdropped. "Uh…thank you, Sensei, Lee…"

"Hotaka!" Michiko shouted as Hotaka's team came down. "Sorry you lost, but still, you put up a good fight!"

Hotaka sighed. "I got a little cocky, I know…I'll make sure I work on that for the next exam."

Yoko sighed. "So, why is everyone gathered around here?"

"We're about to listen to a little story, right?" Kakashi asked Cloud, sitting at the end.

Cloud looked up from the battlefield, over to the shinobi. "Alright, what is it you want to know?"

"What have you been up to?"

"Training."

"…And?"

"Fighting."

"You could be a little less vague."

"And you could withdraw these pesky ANBU guards, but that isn't going to happen, is it?" Cloud questioned.

"It'd be nice if we could avoid any hostilities. As his sensei, I have a right to know."

"As I recall, I was the one teaching him."

Kakashi twitched. "You know, I really want to stab you right now."

Arash, who was sitting next to Cloud, stood up and strung an arrow, aiming right at Kakashi. "You'd be dead before your blade was drawn!"

Four ANBU immediately had Arash surrounded, with kunai pressed to his throat. Arash looked around warily, before his gaze landed on Cloud. Cloud raised his hand, then lowered it, signaling Arash to do the same. Still staring at Kakashi, Arash released the tension, and replaced the arrow in his quiver, sitting down and placing his bow in front of him, plucking the string. The ANBU disappeared as quickly as they'd arrived. Most people had been in their own conversations, and hadn't even noticed what was going on.

"Well, that was interesting." Kakashi hummed.

"Great. A band of psychos." Ryuunosuke pondered.

Cloud let the comment slip, turning to their hosts. "Forgive him, he's been a little on edge. Please avoid such threats for the time being."

"…Alright, but will you tell me what I want to hear?"

"I'm not sure you want to hear it."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What don't I want to hear?"

Cloud sighed, standing up. He turned to the rest of the WRO and nodded. "Come. We'll use the second and third row. They're reserved, so feel free to sit where you want."

Cloud walked and sat in the center of the second row. Lee, Tenten and Gai sat on his right, with Gai supporting Lee as he walked on his crutches. Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura sat on his left, Michiko, Hotaka, Yoko, and Ryuunosuke sat behind him.

"Alright, now just where did you take Naruto?" Kakashi continued to do the talking.

"I can't tell you that."

"Oh? And why's that?"

Cloud sighed. "Naruto's sure been in the spotlight lately, hasn't he?"

"You could say that, what with him going berserk left and right."

"Well, if you really want to see what we did, just take a look in the arena."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"They're starting, of course."

Break

"The third match of the Chunin Exams, Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuga Neji, begin!" Hayate shouted.

"So, you like close combat, don't ya?"

"…What're you getting at?"

"This!" Naruto charged right into Neji. Neji quickly adopted the Juken stance with Byakugan active, waiting for a chance to attack. Naruto threw a fast punch at his face, but Neji easily knocked it away, and aimed to blast Naruto in the stomach. Naruto saw this, and sideslipped to the right, trying to roundhouse kick him, but Neji weaved low, managing to avoid it, and tried to strike one of Naruto's tenketsu in his shoulder, but Naruto leaned forward just in time, causing Neji to overshoot. Now in close, Naruto tried to knee Neji, but it was parried, so he tried a right hook, but Neji once again knocked it away. Neji aimed for another strike to the stomach, but Naruto jumped back, putting a few meters between them.

Break

"Tch. Idiot. He was told to avoid close combat." Sasuke muttered.

"This won't last long if he stays close." Tenten analyzed.

Cloud chuckled. "No, listen."

Back on the field, Neji taunted. "Hm, you're the same bum-rushing idiot as always."

"Heh, I'm just getting warmed up."

"Cocky bastard." Sasuke scoffed.

"No, he meant it."

"Hm?"

"That was nothing more than a warm-up for Naruto."

"How's that?" Hotaka asked.

Cloud rested his chin on his palm. "He wasn't there in the preliminaries to see how Juken works. He just wanted to test just how Juken operates, to know his opponent."

"So, if you're right…" Michiko muttered.

"Yes. This is where things get interesting."

Break

Naruto rushed in again, this time trying to uppercut his chin. Neji tilted his head back, and brought his own arm up to strike a tenketsu. But Naruto saw that coming, and brought his fist back down, square into Neji's face. Neji didn't have enough time to react, and staggered back, trying to recover from the blow.

"Y-you…"

"Y-yes, me." Naruto taunted.

Naruto rushed in again, grabbing hold of Neji's arm as he tried to strike Naruto. Neji tried again, and Naruto grabbed that one, too. Then, Naruto brought him in close, and delivered a bone-shattering headbutt. Neji staggered back after Naruto let him go, rubbing his skull.

'A headbutt? Is he completely insane?!'

Naruto smirked as Neji recovered. "Just quit now. It won't be getting any easier.

Neji scoffed. "Fine. No more holding back."

Break

"Did Naruto just…" Lee asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"He hit Neji twice…" Gai muttered.

"Just what has he been up to…?" Sasuke asked.

"More than I can say in one sitting." Cloud answered.

"Obviously…no illegal drugs were used in his training, right?" Kakashi asked.

"No, not really. Nothing like steroids, at least."

"But…"

"…Some were used for the purpose of training, mainly to numb the pain, or to decrease the time of sleep needed, but no drugs were used to permanently alter his body."

"So…when did he get so strong?"

"…Now that, is an interesting story."

Break

Naruto rushed at Neji once more, trying to punch him in the face, but Neji deflected it above him. Naruto around with his arm and tried a back kick, which Neji sidestepped and moved in. Naruto swept his leg back, performing a small backflip as he bicycle kicked, but Neji blocked it above. Naruto caught himself with one hand and tried kicking with his other leg, but Neji once again deflected the strike, knocking it down. Naruto planted that foot in the ground and kicked up, removing his other leg from Neji's block and flipping behind him. Neji spun around to meet him and deflected another punch, but just barely knocked the right hook Naruto sent, having to lean back to fully avoid it. Naruto kept the momentum going and spun around, leaping into the air and kicked while he flew. Neji ducked, but Naruto landed and tried again from the ground, forcing Neji to hop over it, but once again, Naruto surprised him by leaping up into the air again with the same momentum and tried another circle kick with his right leg. Neji just managed to knock it over him, but realized this was a mistake as Naruto used his left leg to strike with the same kick, crashing right into the sides of Neji's ribcage.

Neji lay on the ground for a moment, recovering from the pain. He slowly stood up, noting that Naruto had stopped his barrage. Even when not holding back, it was getting harder and harder to get on the offensive. In the previous engagement, he hadn't been able to try and strike once.

Naruto chuckled. "Is this all the house of Hyuga can do? I'm not impressed."

"Hn…don't think I'm finished just yet."

"Oh, more chances to humiliate you? By all means!"

"We'll see."

Break

"Naruto didn't gain all of his strength from me. He was already powerful before we even left."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, he had talent, but…he was the bottom of his class…"

"That's because you've only been taking him at face value, since it seemed that's all there was." Feeling their gaze, he continued. "But, the Hokage saw it, and decided to try and help it manifest."

"How?"

"Before Naruto was in class with the rest of you, he was actually in a class two years above the rest of the rookies. He was accepted into the academy two years before students are normally accepted."

Kakashi nodded. "I see…"

"What? What do you see?" Michiko asked.

"Naruto failed the graduation exam two years straight, each time having to repeat the final year. Every time, he'd be bumped back, until he was finally with his own age group. That year, he finally passed the exam."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "So, looks like they were wrong about that potential, then."

Cloud shook his head. "No, they were right, and it did manifest at an incredible rate."

"And how do you see that?" Gai asked.

"Naruto's no genius, by any rate. It takes a huge effort to master a new technique. But Naruto wasn't lazy, and while he pulled pranks, he spent more time than anyone mastering the basics. In fact, he was one of the first people in his class, with students two years older than him, mind you, to master all of the basic ninja arts."

"But Naruto could hardly make one clone during our graduation exam, and it was horrible!" Sakura commented.

"True, but there's a reason for that."

"…Which is?"

"First, let me finish: Naruto's taijutsu at the time was above average for children his age, and by his first attempt at graduation, he was about as strong as Lee was half a year after becoming a Genin. His Genjutsu was also developing at a steady pace, and I already told you about his Ninjutsu. Whenever he was alone, he would train nonstop. That's how he became strong enough to carry the Buster Sword out of the forest. He was determined to overcome his failures, thinking he was just too weak, never realizing what was really holding him back."

"Then why did he finish last?" Yoko asked.

"Quite simple." Cloud paused. "He was afraid."

Break

Naruto smirked, ready to attack once more. He leapt ten feet into the air, extending his leg out to strike at Neji.

Neji stood there, contemplating his options. 'No choice, then. I'll have to use the Kaiten.'

Naruto continued his descent, but became wary when Neji didn't more, or try to block his attack. He quickly read his mind, but too late. His kick impacted a sudden wall of Chakra, and Neji began to spin around, creating a spinning sphere of Chakra, throwing Naruto off to the side. "Hakkesho Kaiten!"

Naruto stood up shakily, staring at Neji. "Interesting…but you can't keep doing that forever…"

"You're right." Neji relented. "This next attack will end it."

"Oh, now who's getting cocky?"

Neji smirked. "I have every right to be."

Naruto shrugged it off. "Alright, fine! I'll take anything you can dish out!"

"Heh. Never bite off more than you can chew."

Break

"He was afraid?" Sakura asked. "Not Naruto; he was always the one getting us into trouble."

"No, he was afraid. During every fight, he put up a tough front, but inside, he was panicking. During the exams, he was afraid of failure, and found focusing impossible, limiting his strength, and made completing techniques impossible. The same can be said for everything else Naruto's done. He was horrible at manipulating Chakra because he was worried about messing up, he was below average in Taijutsu because he'd just rush blindly into things, too afraid to think of a plan of attack, and he was horrible in combat because he was afraid of messing up. That's why he always shouted, to make it seem like he was never afraid. But he was, and he suffered for it."

"However, there have been times when he's risen above his fear, and allowed his true strength to manifest."

"And when would this be?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm sure you all know about the events that took place right after he failed the exam for the third time, Mizuki tricked him into stealing the forbidden scroll, from which he mastered the shadow clone technique in just under twelve hours. He mastered a forbidden Jonin-level technique in seven hours through his nonstop training routine. And then, when Iruka was put in danger, Naruto, for the first time in his life, let go of his fear, and summoned all of his power, creating over a thousand clones to defeat Mizuki. Therefore, it could be argued that at this point, Naruto was already at Chunin level combat-wise."

Mouths dropped. "I find that rather hard to believe…"

"Believe what you want, but our witness was Iruka. Shortly after the preliminaries, I took him to a special training field where we trained with shadow clones to master various arts. In those forty days, Naruto began to trust me, and was easily able to let go of fear when I was around. I saw his true power, his unlocked potential, and believe me, it was most impressive."

"So, what happened when he wasn't around you?" Tenten asked.

"Well, that was a problem. His fear would return, and he'd freeze up, at least according to Arash. But five days ago, Arash helped Naruto let go of his fears completely. He told him about how we can't afford to be afraid of what might happen, and that we have to focus on what we want to happen. There's more to it than that, but that's another story for another setting. On that day, Naruto learned to completely let go of his fear, and I stopped being his teacher. I've got no doubt that Naruto will win this tournament, no matter how strong the rest of you are."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the insult. "And how do you figure that?"

Cloud kept his gaze on the battlefield, watching Naruto's every move. "Because, everyone in the exam is obviously at Chunin level, but Naruto, with his skills, he could easily achieve the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin specializing in combat, without question."

"!!!" Was their reply.

"You may be overestimating his abilities just a liiiiiitle bit, there." Kakashi said skeptically.

Cloud shook his head. "You haven't seen what I've seen. Just watch; it'll be over soon."

Break

Neji took a stance slightly different than his normal Juken stance. I was much deeper, with his arms spread farther apart. "This is the end."

"Oh? And how's that?"

Neji smirked. "I was planning on using this attack if you went berserk, but I suppose using it now isn't going to hurt."

Naruto looked questionably at the attack. It was undoubtedly another Juken move, so he figured his aura armor could take the blunt of it. "Fine. Do it. I won't even move." Naruto relaxed his guard and put his arms behind his head. He decided to quickly read the Hyuga's mind. 'He's going to try to block my tenketsu, huh? Oh well, my aura armor will protect me.'

Neji closed his eyes for a moment, focusing his Chakra, before opening them, staring straight at Naruto. "Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Neji rushed at Naruto, who just kept his laid back demeanor.

Until…

Neji reached him and pressed his index and middle fingers of both hands into Naruto, shooting a small needle of Chakra into him and blocking his tenketsu "Two Palms!"

'WHAT?!' Naruto felt the needles cut right through his aura armor and block his tenketsu 'Damn, I underestimated him…!!'

"Four Palms!" More strikes. "Eight Palms!" Naruto growled, trying to dodge, but couldn't regroup fast enough. "Sixteen Palms!" Naruto found it was getting hard to keep his balance. "Thirty-two Palms!" Naruto gasped as he felt his muscles constrict. "Sixty-four Palms!" Naruto was knocked back by the force. He landed with a thud on the ground, finding it impossible to get up.

'Damn, I'm powerless!' Naruto thought as he felt his strength drift away. 'I overestimated my armor…'

Neji chuckled, amused at the sight of Naruto trying to stand. "It's useless. I've blocked your tenketsu. You won't even be able to stand."

Naruto sighed, looking up into the stands to where Cloud was. They met eyes, and Cloud nodded, which made Naruto smile.

Break

"…I wouldn't call that Jonin level combat." Kakashi sighed.

"I told him, no Genin can beat Neji." Tenten sighed.

"Naruto-kun…" Lee muttered.

"Maybe we eliminated too much fear…" Arash turned and spoke to Cloud, who shook his head.

"He just wanted to show off on his premiere match."

"And look where it landed him, the idiot." Michiko huffed.

"No, it's not like how Hotaka lost. Naruto still has one last trick up his sleeve; his last resort."

"What?" Lee asked.

Cloud pointed at the battlefield. "Soon, none of you will question Naruto's status ever again."

Break

"…What?!" Neji exclaimed as Naruto managed to roll over. He struggled, but managed to lift himself up on his hand and knees. His left arm slipped out from underneath him, but he kept himself secure with his right. He struggled, but he managed to kneel, and force himself up on his legs completely. He looked up, breathing heavily as his body shook, but stood his ground.

"…You're pathetic, Hyuga." Naruto muttered.

"Hmph. I'm not the one who lost, idiot."

Naruto smirked. "Oh, this is far from over."

"Oh, really." Neji scoffed.

"I've still got one killer move up my sleeve."

"Oh yeah? And how are you going to use it without any Chakra?"

"Hmph. Don't underestimate me."

"I'm not underestimating you, I merely follow the path fate has set for me. I've won, and that's the end of it, just as it was your destiny to lose."

"Oh, shut up! Blablabla fate, blablabla destiny, blablabla Branch family, get over it! Stop wining about not being able to do anything and stand up for yourself if you don't like the way something's going instead of using that same damn excuse over and over again! It makes me sick! No, I'll never lose to a coward like you!"

"…You'll never get it, will you?" Neji's calm expression was suddenly replaced by one of rage. "How would you know what carrying a curse all your life can feel like? How could you possibly understand what it means?!"

'Did…he just say that to me, the container of the Nine-tailed fox? HA!'

"Actually, I gotta say, I understand it pretty well." Naruto staggered, but continued. "And, so what?"

Neji's eyes hardened. Naruto met his and stood his ground, chuckling beneath his black hood. "Get over yourself. You're not the only one who's special around here. Hinata realizes it too. She puts up with all this pressure and expectation as a Hyuga heiress, but through it all, she keeps on trying to improve herself, and faced her fears when she fought you, pushing her body to the limit! And you were supposed to protect the Main family, but you tried to kill Hinata in the exam; you wanted to defy your destiny too, didn't you?!"

Neji flinched, lowering his gaze, before returning it to eye level. "That's enough. Proctor, I'm going for the kill. Feel free to stop me, if you must. Or perhaps you weren't bluffing about that new move, after all?"

Naruto smirked. "Just watch."

Naruto closed his eyes, and prepared his final attack.

Break

"What's he doing?" Sakura asked.

"He's ending this." Cloud replied.

"How will he do that without Chakra?"

"Oh, he still has Chakra, just very minute amounts. Neji altered it so that Naruto has just enough to live, but that's more than enough for Naruto's needs."

"…Is this another one of your strange arts?" Gai asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yes."

"What kind?" Hotaka asked.

"It's not so much a single move as it is a release. It's the necessary precursor to Naruto's most powerful attacks."

"And just what is this move called?" Kakashi asked.

"It's called…"

Break

"…Limit Break!"

Naruto burst five Chakra coils, one in each arm and leg, and one in the center of his chest. He felt the freed Chakra flow throughout his body, and just as quickly as he power arrived, the coils repaired themselves, severing the abundant Chakra from escaping. The Chakra began to seep out of his pores, surrounding him in a blue aura.

Neji stared as Naruto stood upright, immediately healing all scratches and scrapes. He saw the tenketsu flow freely once again via speeded recovery from Naruto's healing. "H-ho" He never finished that sentence.

Naruto leapt for him, faster than the human eye can record, and uppercut him into the air. Neji flew thirty feet in the air from that alone, but Naruto wasn't done. He quickly jumped up to meet Neji, and punched him up with him. Now, they were level with the main boxes, giving them a clear view. Naruto could've continued to beat on Neji, but instead, he backflipped in the air and kicked Neji back down to earth. He quickly created a shadow clone and launched it to intercept Neji right before he hit the earth. The clone landed hard, and let Neji use him as a landing cushion. The real Naruto landed feet from the real Neji and the clone. The clone tossed Neji on the ground and disappeared, its task complete.

Neji stared at Naruto, not believing what just happened. "…H-how did you…" Neji cringed in pain, slowly reaching up to check his jaw.

"…Let me tell you something about fate, Neji." Naruto gripped the sleeve of his right arm. "That marking you saw earlier? It was a disease called Geostigma. In all of the shinobi nations, there's no cure, and it's guaranteed to be fatal to anyone who catches it. It drives the victim insane, causing hallucinations and such, until one is killed, or possibly turned into a monster." Naruto gave a tug on his sleeve, revealing his perfectly healthy, natural arm. Neji stared at it in understanding, before Naruto slid his sleeve back down.

"Stop talking as if everything's certain and that nothing can change! You really shouldn't be wining about such crap. But, if you want to forever wallow in your misery, go ahead. I'm through wasting my time on you. If you ever want to break free, change the Hyuga yourself!" Naruto finished, turning away from Neji.

Hayate smiled for a moment, before raising his arm. "The winner of the third match is, Uzumaki Naruto!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'd won the match. My first major victory in the village. I'd just beaten the top rookie of the class above me. No one could call me weak anymore. No one…"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No way…N-Naruto beat…" Gai stuttered. His entire team was beside themselves.

"…Is every rookie a freak?!" Michiko wined. "They're kicking our asses!" She pointed at Tenten. "You've gotta shine for us in the semi-finals, got it?!"

"Hey, why me?!"

"Cause you're the last non-rookie in the running!"

"At least I got that far!"

"Shut up!"

Yoko slapped them both over the head. "Ow!"

"What was that for?!"

"Just cheer." Yoko pointed behind them, where people were applauding the match, and complimenting the victor.

"That was awesome!"

"Unreal!"

"Way to go, kid!"

"What an amazing battle!"

"Wow, he's really good!"

"And I bet he's cute, too!"

Break

Back on the battlefield, Naruto began hearing the applause, and curiously looked up at the boxes, taking in the honors and praise. Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose, not entirely knowing what to do, but decided to go with instinct and threw his arms in the air, waving back at the crowd, and adding a few blown kisses here and there. Then, after a minute of waving, he walked off through the exit, heading up the stairway.

The medics came out and prepared to load Neji onto the stretcher, checking him over to make sure it was safe. Hayate walked up to him, staring up at the sky as he tossed him a soldier pill. "He didn't even let me give him one…he's got stamina like crazy!" Hayate coughed and chuckled at the same time, making a rather interesting combination. "You know, even a bird locked in a cage will still some day learn to open the lock with its beak, never giving up on its desire to fly free again." Neji stared as the medics lifted him. "Think on that." The medics rushed Neji off up the stairway to the hospital for treatment of his cracked jaw and broken rib."

'Flying free… change the Hyuga yourself…maybe…they're onto something.' They laid Neji down on a spare bed and prepared to mend his bones with Chakra treatment. Before they started, Neji looked out the window. 'If I tried, would it really make a difference?' Neji reached up with his right arm and brushed his seal. '…I don't want anyone else to grow up in a cage…for the future, I'll try. I'll test your words, Uzumaki…'

Break

"Naruto won…amazing!" Lee smiled. "Neji actually lost."

Cloud grunted. "Hn. Nothing unexpected here."

Sasuke stood up, and waved. "I'm going."

"Huh? Sasuke-kun?'' Sakura asked, but Sasuke just pointed at the arena.

Hayate coughed, and shouted up to the arena. "The fourth match of the Chunin exams is Uchiha Sasuke versus Gaara of the Desert. Would both combatants please enter the arena at this time!"

"I see. Good luck, Sasuke." Kakashi smiled happily.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted before walking off.

At the same time, Gai stood up. "Lee, Tenten, I shall go check on our youthful comrade! I shall return before the end of the match!"

"Yes, Sensei!" Lee shouted back enthusiastically. "Give Neji my regards!"

"Same here." Tenten added, though far calmer than her male comrades. Gai ran off through the back exit and headed for the recovery room.

Michiko sighed. "Geez, this is taking too long!"

"You can wait another five minutes."

"…I should've brought something to read…"

Kakashi pulled out his book and handed it to her. "Here, read this."

"Thanks!" Michiko chirped happily as she took the book.

"Uhh…Michiko…you may not want to…" Sakura suggested.

"Aw, whatever." Michiko opened the book to a random page, and read the first five lines. Then, she shrieked, throwing the book into the air in surprise and utter shock.

Kakashi reached up to the sky and caught it as he fell. "There. Now keep quiet." Kakashi started reading the same page Michiko was reading, and let out a perverted giggle.

"…The pain…" Michiko assumed the fetal position

Subject status: scarred for life.

Break

Naruto made his way up into the box with the remainder of the candidates, passing Gaara on his way up. They exchanged glances as well as they could with Naruto's eyes covered in shadow, and kept on walking. Naruto stepped through the entryway, and met a gaping Shikamaru.

"What. The. Hell."

Naruto chuckled lamely, scratching the back of his head. "Well, you see…it's really hard to explain. Go ask my friend later, he's better at explaining this stuff than me." Naruto pointed to the box where the other members of the W.R.O. were, and was surprised to see many of the Konoha shinobi surrounding Cloud. "Speaking of which, I think I'll head over, too. See ya, Shika!"

Naruto ran past the confused Shikamaru and made his way for the other staircase, running up as fast as he could. It was like the other one, a series of short perpendicular stairways heading straight up. Naruto ran up, and just when he reached the top, he spotted Uchiha Sasuke making his way to the arena.

Naruto smirked. "Hmph. Not bad, eh?"

Sasuke grunted. "Nothing particularly special."

"What?! You bastard! I just beat the upper class rookie of the year to a pulp!"

"From the battles we saw before, that isn't saying much."

"Oh yeah? We'll see who's superior after our match!" Naruto took a deep breath, and calmed himself. "Sasuke, I wanna fight you too. You'd better meet me in the Semi-finals, you got it? Failure is not an option!"

"…Yeah…"

Naruto and Sasuke resumed their pace, making sure to give each other a hard shoulder bump as they passed. So, Sasuke continued on to the arena, while Naruto kept walking towards the main box.

Naruto entered a hallway after exiting the stairs, and walked along until he was at the center box, and took a left. He found himself in the back row of the central box, and made his way down the row. He could hear a few people mention his name as he passed, recognizing him from the battle. He went to the front row, catching sight of Vincent at the end. Vincent seemed to sense him, and pointed to his right, where Cloud was entertaining the other Shinobi.

Naruto entered the row behind Vincent and the others, crossing until he was right beside kakashi, who was still giggling madly.

"Oi, Sensei, still reading that perverted book?"

Kakashi looked up. "Oh, yo, Naruto."

"Naruto!" Sakura and the others turned around, catching sight of him. "You've really gotten strong, haven't you?" Sakura congratulated him.

Naruto nodded proudly. "Thanks, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto looked over the others, his eyes landing on Michiko, who was still in the fetal position. "Hey, not even a hello?"

"She read your Sensei's book, Naruto-kun." Lee explained.

"Ah, not good. The same thing happened to me and Sakura when-"

"Sakura and I!" Tenten corrected, grinning smugly at Naruto. Naruto glared right back at her (not that she could see it), and sighed.

"Whatever." Naruto muttered as he took Sasuke's old seat, right between Cloud and Sakura.

"The match is going to start any second!" Sakura shouted excitedly. "Sasuke-kun is going to wipe the floor with that Gaara!"

Lee's expression went sullen, clearly not wanting to remember the past events. Naruto watched, and tried to examine the extent of Lee's injuries. Both limbs on his left side were bandaged, and he carried a crutch with him to help him walk. He was wearing blue robes instead of his usual green training suit. Naruto made a note to talk to Victor as soon as the exams were finished.

"Looks like it's about to start." Kakashi noted as Sasuke and Gaara made their way to the center.

Break

"At last, the fourth match of the Chunin exams, Uchiha Sasuke versus Gaara of the Desert, begin!" Hayate signaled.

Gaara immediately readied his sand, which Sasuke leapt back to avoid, having seen what it did to Lee first-hand after recovering. Suddenly, Gaara grabbed his skull; his head throbbing.

"Please…don't be so mad at me…mother!" Gaara said psychotically. "I haven't been feeding you lately. I'm sorry, but I'll give you a grand meal right now, and I'm sure it'll be really tasty!"

"What the…?" Sasuke asked himself as Gaara twitched once more.

Gaara took a deep breath, seeming to calm himself, and glared at Sasuke. "Come."

"…Fine, then. Here I come…!!" Sasuke took out three shuriken and threw them at Gaara a he charged forward, but Gaara made a Sand Clone to catch the shuriken, who then burst into a wave of sand, charging straight at him. Sasuke leapt high into the air to avoid it, throwing two kunai at the original. But Gaara's clone reformed and took the blow to the head. Sasuke took advantage of this and landed right in front of Gaara's clone, backhanding it in the neck. But the clone just smirked as it began to cover his hand in sand. Sasuke grimaced, and smashed his palm into the clone's head, scattering the sand. Sasuke rushed through to attack Gaara once more, but the sand armor rose to defend him. Gaara stared on, unimpressed, until he felt a sudden wave of wind in his face, and turned around just in time to watch Sasuke's fist make contact with his cheek.

'Fast…wait, that's my…!!' Lee thought as he watched Sasuke assume his Taijutsu stance.

"The sand armor again, eh?" Sasuke signaled for Gaara to strike. "Come."

Gaara remained kneeling, allowing his sand armor a chance to repair itself. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke wasn't about to give him that.

"If you're just going to stay there the whole match, I'll come to you!"

Sasuke ran once again, circling behind Gaara before he could even comprehend it. Gaara's sand circled behind him in an attempt to halt Sasuke's attack, but Sasuke jumped above the sand, quickly kicking Gaara in the chin, and followed through, pulling Gaara into the air, where Sasuke grabbed a hold of Gaara's sash, pulled him in and punched him once again, flipped himself over Gaara and turned him upside down, and pelican dropped him straight into the ground before Gaara's sand could regroup. Sasuke backflipped away a few meters as Gaara straightened himself out, his sand armor once again taking the majority of the blow as it compacted itself to form a shock of sorts.

"Is this it? Is this all you can do, Gaara?"

Gaara didn't react, and once again just sat still, allowing his armor to reform.

Sasuke was becoming annoyed with that pesky armor, and decided to get rid of it. 'I'll tear that right off of you!'

Sasuke rushed at Gaara again, this time at such speeds that appeared a blur to normal vision, and circled around Gaara so fast that a dust circle formed in his footsteps. Gaara's sand circled in a halo around him, not knowing where to expect an attack. And then, in an instant, Sasuke dived underneath the halo and grabbed onto Gaara's shirt, pulling him into a knee, and finished with a hard punch to the face. Gaara flew back once again, landing roughly on the ground. Sasuke started panting, tiring out from the intense speeds he'd been maintaining.

Break

Gai returned from visiting Neji, but stopped as soon as he entered the arena, watching how Sasuke looked almost identical to Lee with his moves. He glanced over at Kakashi, and leapt over the other seats, landing in the one right next to Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced up at Gai's return. "Yo."

"…Just where did Sasuke gain that speed? It looks just like Lee's Taijutsu…"

"Well, technically it is. Sasuke observed Lee with his Sharingan on several occasions, so when we were training, I had him remember those moves, and use them as a basis for his own style."

"But…in just three months…"

"It was still incredibly difficult, don't get me wrong. Sasuke never took more than five seconds to fall asleep after a hard day's work."

"But…you know just as well as I do that if Lee couldn't beat Gaara, with all of his years of experience, then copied Taijutsu will be even less effective! Sasuke's already tiring out; there's no way he can win like this!"

"…I know, but just watch. He's still got a few tricks up his sleeve."

Meanwhile, Cloud, Arash and Naruto were having a conversation of their own.

"Woah! I didn't know the bastard could move so quick! He's faster than me!"

"Only without limit breaks." Arash noted. "If you go with that first, you'll be able to win without too much of a hassle."

"…Maybe, but I think I'll be using my sword this time for the defensive circle…"

Cloud reached down on the floor, where the Buster Sword and First Tsurugi lay on a cloth. He picked up Naruto's Buster Sword and handed it to him. "But please, don't kill him."

"I'd never do that! He's my ally!"

"Good. But keep an eye open for that Sharingan tool. We don't want any Kyusokai secrets leaking into the village just yet; not while things are so shaky between us." Cloud instructed.

Naruto nodded. "Understood."

Break

Gaara was back on his feet, forming a giant dome of sand around him. Sasuke charged straight into it, trying to land a hit before Gaara was completely sealed in, but Gaara managed to close the hole just in time, and Sasuke's fist landed on solid sand, with spikes shooting out. Sasuke managed to avoid anything serious, but decided it would be best to form another strategy. He leapt back, preparing another strategy.

'No good, he's locked himself up tight. I can't break through with just my fists, and I don't think any fire jutsu will serve me well either. I never though sand could be such a pain…'

Sasuke noticed how the third eye kept watching him, keeping Gaara fully aware. 'He wanted this to be a death match…so I guess I have no choice.' Sasuke unbuckled the first few straps on his left arm, preparing to leap back. 'I don't know what he's doing in there, but it's fine by me. This thing of mine is going to take some time…!'

Sasuke ran back to the opposite end of the field, and once reaching the wall, flipped around and performed backwards handsprings until he was at the top. He ran through a few hand signs and placed his left hand on the arena wall while holding it still with his right.

Break

"Kakashi-Sensei…what is Sasuke-kun doing?"

"Sakura, you see the reason I took Sasuke with me to train alone is because…he's very…similar to me…"

Everyone in the arena went silent as Sasuke held what appeared to be pure lightning in his hand. He skimmed it across the roof, tearing apart the tile, and charged down to the ground.

"So that's why you had him work on his Taijustu so much…" Gai realized. Kakashi raised his head in satisfaction.

Sasuke hit the ground, sending smoke and dust in all directions, before he charged out straight at Gaara with the lightning tearing the ground apart.

"I…I can see the chakra! Is that even possible?!" Michiko gasped.

"This is unreal…" Hotaka muttered, completely drawn in.

"Whoa…" Naruto stared on.

"What is that move, and what is that noise?!" Sakura asked.

"It's just a palm thrust." Gai began to explain, before glaring to Kakashi. "However, it's an original move developed my Konoha's top Jutsu master, Kakashi. Technically, it's an assassination technique, with the secret lying in the speed of the thrust, and the immense Chakra produced by super-activating the flesh, creating a blade that can cut through just about anything. By narrowly focusing that Chakra in the dominant, hand, a pulsing fluctuation is formed, resembling the chirping of a thousand birds. Accordingly, the move is called…"

Sasuke charged straight into the sand spikes, using the Sharingan to see and dodge all incoming spikes, and thrust his arm into the sand, cutting through it like a hot knife and butter.

"…Chidori!"

Silence swept throughout the stadium as all onlookers stared at the battlefield, Sasuke's arm embedded in the sand. "Gotcha!"

Lee stared on jealously. 'Not long ago, I mentioned that your eyes meant nothing if you couldn't keep up with me. Back then, I was basking in the sense of superiority I felt; but now, you've attained a powerful body over the course of just three months, and you've got the Sharingan! It won't be possible to defeat you if you continue at this rate. I truly envy you, Sasuke…both you and Naruto-kun…'

"That was amazing!" Sakura shouted.

"I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that!" Yoko applauded.

"Kakashi, your team is quite impressive." Ryuunosuke congratulated Kakashi; said man shrugged.

"So, what do you think of Sasuke now, Naruto-kun?" Michiko asked, leaning over on his chair.

"…I'm thinking we're gonna need a bigger stadium."

"Ha! Good one, Naruto." Hotaka complimented.

"…I was serious…"

Neither combatant had moved, with Sasuke's smirk still shining as brightly as it had when the sand had been cut. Then, out of nowhere…

"Ugh…HUAAAAGH!! BLOOD! I'M BLEEDING!!!" Gaara shouted from inside his shell.

Sasuke suddenly felt something clawing at his arm, and quickly tried to remove it. He tugged and tugged, but it wouldn't budge. Finally, he activated more lightning, running it through Gaara once more. He continued to try and pull back, but when he finally did, he dragged something else out, too. It was large, misshapen and ugly, only slightly resembling an arm with claws. Sasuke managed to shake it off, and watched it slither back inside the hole. But for him, with his Sharingan active, that wasn't all he saw.

Gaara's shell began to crack, and after a few seconds the dome sank to the ground, revealing an ordinary Gaara gasping the bleeding area just below his left shoulder. His eyes were wide with shock, as if refusing to believe this.

'Those weren't the same eyes…those weren't the same eyes…' Sasuke shuddered.

Just then, feathers began to fall from the sky, and the entire crowd suddenly felt their eyes feel heavy, falling asleep in moments.

"Kakashi…is this?"

"Yeah, Genjutsu!" Both formed the ram seal, and quickly cancelled the illusion. Sakura followed suit, as did Hotaka. Naruto, Cloud, and Arash all undid the illusion, but acted as though they didn't keeping their eyes hidden under the darkness of their cloaks.

Break

Over in the Hokage's box opposite the stands, the Hokage and Kazekage turned to each other, locking eyes just as the Kazekage raised his arm. "Well then, let's begin, shall we?"

The two Suna guards activated their smoke grenades, covering the box in smoke. They each took out a Kunai and stabbed Raido in the gut and shoulder, disabling him. The Kazekage grabbed the Hokage around the neck and jumped through the smoke, landing on top of the building just as his guards undid their combination transformation, meeting at the edges of the rooftop, forming a large purple barrier over a hundred feet high all across the roof.

Break

Kakashi turned around, watching as over thirty sound ninja burst through the door, along with one renegade ANBU, who appeared to have cast the Jutsu. One ANBU squad had already split up to defend the guests, one on each side box and two in the center, while another squad had left to help the Hokage. About a dozen other Jonin were still moving in the center box, and about a half dozen in each of the smaller side boxes. He looked down at Sakura and Hotaka. "You two, stay put. We'll handle this." Kakashi, Gai and Ryuunosuke leapt up into the air and landed on the stairwell to the right, while Asuma and Kurenai landed on the one to their right, along with Aoba and Genma.

Sakura felt some wind at her side, turning to meet Sasuke just after he landed. He was still using the Sharingan, checking to make sure the area was secure. "Sasuke-kun! What happened?!"

"Proctor told me to meet up with my team. He's fighting that Gaara's Sensei."

"…!" Sakura looked down at the arena with Sasuke, watching as Hayate used a katana against Baki's kunai. Gaara had already disappeared. "Where'd he…"

Sasuke pushed her down as two shuriken flew through the space her head had once occupied. Sasuke held her head down as two Ninja clashed above their heads. "Where's Kakashi?"

"He's already fighting the enemies over there." Sakura pointed at the top. "They're fighting the Sound Ninja."

"…!!"

A Sound Ninja appeared right in front of them. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and blocked the blow, and Sakura stood up with her own Kunai, trying to cut his arm. But the Sound ninja jumped to the side, throwing several shuriken at them. Sasuke jumped up to avoid them, while Sakura parried three of them aimed at her. Hotaka jumped in from the row behind, bringing out some seeds and threw them at the sound Ninja, but the Sound ninja used the substitution Jutsu. He appeared behind Sasuke, who whirled around and blocked his strike. He was about to prepare a Jutsu, but turned over his shoulder when he felt another presence, catching sight of another Sound Ninja raising his kunai for the kill. Sasuke was about to pull out a second kunai when he froze.

A giant sword ran right through the Sound Ninja. Blood flew out through the wound, a few drops landing on Sasuke's cheeks. The ninja looked down, staggered, and went limp, dying while still on the sword. Then, in one fast motion, the sword was withdrawn. The shinobi fell over, and Naruto stepped forward.

"Sasuke, move."

Sasuke stared at him, momentarily forgetting about the ninja in front of him. While parrying Sasuke's attack, he used his left hand to pull our a katana from behind his back and brought it down. Naruto leapt forward, shoved Sasuke to the side, and blocked the Katana with his vambrace. He tried to stab the Sound Ninja with his Buster Sword, but the enemy kicked the blade to the side. He tried to cut Naruto's neck with his kunai, but Naruto leaned back, and kneed him in the stomach, and when he leaned over in pain, Naruto elbowed him to the ground. Naruto raised his sword high into the air, and stabbed the man in the back.

Naruto looked up, and saw one more engaged with Hotaka. He picked up the dead ninja's katana with his left hand and used his buster sword in his right, leaping over into the next row. "Hotaka, duck!"

Hotaka looked over his shoulder, catching sight of Naruto running at him with two swords. He didn't show any sign of stopping. Hotaka's eyes widened, and jumped to the side down to the next row. Naruto slashed down with his giant blade, which the enemy easily side-stepped, but he swung the katana with his left hand, forcing the ninja to duck. He pulled out two kunai, and leapt inside Naruto's range. Naruto's left arm was across his body from the strike, so he quickly leapt forward and elbowed the ninja in the neck, knocking him back. Naruto swung both swords up, cutting off his arms, and in the air he reversed his grip, bringing them into an underhand position, and running them both through the man's chest.

Naruto pulled his swords out, of the man, letting his corpse drop. He looked over near the back, and saw another ninja preparing a fireball technique. Just as he was about to release it, Naruto threw the extra katana in his left hand at the shinobi, sending it right through the back of his mouth. He gagged, falling to the ground.

Naruto turned back to his group of friends, who were all frozen in shock. "Naruto…you-"

"Yeah…I've been busy…hehe." Naruto scratched the back of his head. Then, he looked over his shoulder, catching sight of another Sound Ninja. Naruto prepared to strike, but an arrow in the skull stopped that fast.

Arash was standing on the ledge, drawing another arrow. Naruto smirked, running over. "How many you got?"

Cloud jumped back from the box to the right. "We're keeping count?"

"Yeah! I've got four!" Naruto said proudly.

"Seven."

Naruto twitched. "Shut up!"

"I didn't bother. I'm going to win, anyways."

Naruto and Arash nodded, agreeing. "True…"

Cloud looked over at the other WRO members, of which only half were still awake, sitting back, knowing they weren't allowed to interfere. "I'll help get them back to HQ and figure out what's going on. Arash, scouting duties. Scan the village and give me a report of the number and types of enemies. Naruto, you remain under the command of Kakashi Hatake. It'll better our relations with them if we've got a member they know and trust, understood?" The two nodded. "Alright, dinner's on the loser. Go!" Cloud ran over to the WRO box, and Arash leapt away through the opening to the top of the wall, and leapt off for the gates. Naruto ran back to his friends.

Kakashi had returned with a conscious Shikamaru and Shino, and had already awoken the other Genin, including the whole of the rookie nine, the two senior teams, and a few other teams.

"Naruto, good. Everyone's present. I've got another mission for you all."

"Alright…"

"It'll be for all the finalists in the exams. You, Sasuke, Hotaka, Tenten, Shikamaru, and Shino will all pursue Gaara, who is believed to be accompanied by his siblings, I'm rather worried by what we saw during the exam. You're to pursue him and capture him, if possible. If not, he's to be eliminated, understood?"

"What? Right now?" Shikamaru complained.

"There's no time for delay! Do you understand?!"

The six of them nodded. "Good. The rest of you will be awakening the civilians and lead them to the underground shelters. You'll be leading them through the underground path to the shelter in the mountains under the protection of us senior ninja each. We'll gather up any remaining ninja first and wake them up, and they'll be assisting us, understood?"

"Maybe I should go to. I can track them down!" Kiba offered.

Asuma shook his head. "No. The finalists were all training in tactics to counter the other finalists. They've trained specifically for these opponents and have analyzed their strengths and weaknesses. It'll be best if they go alone. Shikamaru will build a battle strategy as you go. Sasuke will act as team leader, since he's already experienced combat with Gaara. They were last seen heading west. Go!"

Everyone nodded, and prepared. Naruto pulled a blue sword strap out of his cloak. He wrapped the strap around his torso from his right shoulder to the bottom-left of his waist. It had a part hanging down to the right to hold the point of the Buster sword, and a strap near his shoulders to strap the blade in. He put the point in the bottom part, and strapped the blade up for easy access.

At that moment, Kakashi pulled Sasuke to the side. "I know it was Naruto who killed those men. Impressive as it may be, I'm worried about him…see what you can find out." Sasuke nodded, and ran through the exit, with the rest of his team following. Kakashi stared on for a moment, before the next wave of Sound Shinobi arrived. The Jonin took the front while the lower ranks began breaking the Genjutsu, whether it be done through the release technique, or simply pinching their noses.

Break

"I never imagined that Suna would betray Konoha." The Hokage muttered as the Kazekage pressed a kunai to his throat.

"Treaties are nothing more than mist, with which we may lull our opponents into a false sense of security…from this day forth, history shall be made!"

The Hokage's eyes hardened. "There is still time to avoid this needless bloodshed. Kazekage-Dono, I plead you to lay down your arms!"

The Kazekage chuckled. "Kukuku…you're easily blinded by your old age…Sabutori-Sensei!"

The Hokage's eyes widened as the Kazekage reached for his face, and gripped it. "I see…so this was your plan from the very beginning…"

The Kazekage's face ripped clean off, behind which, Orochimaru's grin bubbled up from the Hokage's memory, matching the being before him. "I warned you many years ago that I would bring the house of Konoha down. By sunrise, Konoha will just be another page in history!"

Next time: Scattered Embers

Notes

Damn, this has got to be a record or something…I don't think I've ever updated this rapidly before (except for chapter 2, and that was almost straight from the manga). I pretty much wrote everything up to Naruto's fight on MLK Day, but I found Sasuke's fight really hard to write, because I was going back to just taking things from the Manga. It got really boring, so I cut it a little shorter than usual. Oh well, you all know how it went.

Did anyone notice the reference to Naruto Abridged? If you didn't, look at the part right after the Hotaka vs. Shino fight.

I'm taking a break for a few days. I need to get caught up in my work. I'll update New Reasons To Smile next, because it's the only chapter I've got planned.

Also, I made a mistake in the previous chapter. Arash joined two months prior to Naruto, so that's my bad. I've posted an updated version with the correct dates, and some spelling errors, but nothing else worth mentioning.

Once again, I'm thinking of starting up a side project. It'll be a parody/comedy, so expect that to come out soon. It's about Naruto, and a crossover later. You'll see why when I get the prologue up.

Here's the jutsu list:

Soshoryu-Twin Rising Dragons

Kagemane no Jutsu-Shadow Imitation Technique

Mokuton Jutsus-Wood Release Techniques

Juken-Gentle Fist

Hakkesho Kaiten-Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin

Tokubetsu Jonin-Special High Ninja

Hakke Rokujuyon Sho-Gentle Fist Style Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms

Chidori-One Thousand Birds

Alright, thanks everybody! If you liked it, please leave a review!

Later

Tsurugi-Sama