Yo all! I'm happy you all enjoyed my last chapter and as I said last time, this is my last filler for this arc. Be my next chapter will be out shortly after this one though I'm not positive of the exact date in which I will bring out the next chapter. Oh and to all who got the the quote I put in my last chapter right, COOKIES FOR ALL OF YOU! But, enough of that on with the chapter!

Speaking" Normal

Speaking'Thinking

"Speaking' Jutsu

"Speaking" Kyuubi or Summon speaking

'Speaking' Kyuubi or Summon thinking

"Speaking" Demon Naruto speaking

I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing from Inuyasha

Sarutobi sighed as he surveyed the two carriages that entered through the front gates of his village. It was normal for allied Kages to attend their own allies' Chuunin finals, especially if some of their own ninja had been able to partake in the said event. It was rather surprising to say the least when the Raikage had asked if he could also attend the finals with them.

And by all means, Sarutobi had all rights to say no, after all they weren't even allies, in fact they were one of Konoha's greatest enemies. Yet, Sarutobi didn't deny the man. Some would have called him a fool for being so trusting towards their sworn enemy's most powerful ninja among Kumo to sit beside him. But to Sarutobi, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that, as long as they were in his village, and under his watch he could rightfully assume that someone in Konoha could and more than likely would kill the man should he successfully kill him before hand.

As the two carriages slowly headed towards the arena for the Chuunin Finals to take place, he couldn't help but wonder what had become of his favorite blonde haired trouble maker. He hadn't seen him anywhere around the village during the one month preparation for the finals. Of course he had expected this, what he didn't expect was for Jiraiya and him to hold several conversations with each other. It somewhat worried him when Jiraiya had told him about what the blond and him had talked about during their time on the monument.

'Seems like I did screw up,' thought Sarutobi before taking a drag from his pipe. 'But, I cannot undo what has already been done. All I can do is just watch and see what unfolds for him now.'

Though he hated to think about it, he couldn't help but wonder what Naruto's life would have been like had he known about his father. Almost instantly, an image of an arrogant blond young man sitting in the back of the classroom of the academy with a cold stare and a look of seriousness etched on his face appeared in the old Hokage's mind. Sarutobi had to do his best not to shudder at the mental image of a serious Naruto such as what he saw.

Sure, he wouldn't have had as rough a childhood as he did but he just felt that Naruto wouldn't be the same as he was now. It would be as though Naruto was a completely different person, and would devoid of all the major qualities that made Naruto who he was today. In the end, he mused that keeping the child's heritage was in fact the best choice he made. fter all, he had quite enough of the serious to the letter type of ninjas around his village. With Naruto at least he got a good laugh at his antics back in the day. Before he could muse more on the subject concerning the blond, he heard a knock on his office door.

"Enter," said Sarutobi loudly while adjusting his hat to shade his eyes.

Not long after hearing the response, the door opened to reveal a dark skinned man wearing the white Kage robs and hat stood directly in his doorway. After stepping into the office, he silently closed the door before taking off his hat to show a man with white hair and eyebrows along with a pointed goatee.

"Hokage-dono," greeted the man in a gruff and serious tone.

"Raikage-dono," replied the elderly Hokage politely. "Would you like to take a seat?"

"I'm quite fine standing thank you."

"I understand Raikage-dono, but may inquire why you are here when your carriage is on its way to the stadium without you?"

"My decoy is taking my place for the time being. Too many people hate us in this village, so I had to take all the necessary precautions just to be safe. You understand correct Hokage-dono?"

"Completely," the old man sighed, before taking another puff of his pipe. "Is that the only reason you came here Raikage-dono?"

"No. I came here because I caught wind of some rather…disturbing news that I thought you should know."

This made Sarutobi raise an eyebrow and change his expression from casual to dead serious in less than a second. "Enlighten me Raikage-dono…"

On the streets

It was eventful day to say the least for most of the civilians among Konoha as they watched as two caravans made their way towards the stadium which the Chuunin Exams final round was to take place. Some who were watching had mixed feelings about having enemies among them while the majority of them were furious about it.

Yet among these people, a lone Hyuuga was seething at his position atop of one of the buildings overlooking the street. It infuriated him that the man who had made the demand for the Hyuuga's head was casually being taken to the arena while he could do nothing but watch. To him, it felt like the man's mere presence was taunting him and laughing at him.

He clenched his fists angrily before whirling around only to come face to face with his cousin, Hinata, who was staring at the Shinobi from Kumo fearfully. Now normally, Neji would have scoffed at her weakness, but this wasn't the same case. These people planed to kill her, gouge her eyes out, and do research on her bloodline while she was left to rot in some dumpster or be used as a blind slave. So, it was for the first time ever, that Neji showed a member of the main branch of his clan a true act of kindness that he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder to attempt to comfort her.

The said girl flinched out of reflex and turned to see Neji giving her a small, almost unnoticeable, smile which made the girl relax slightly.

"It's alright Hinata-sama," said the boy softly as he removed his hand from her shoulder. "I understand why you are afraid of them, and I will not belittle you because this fear."

Hinata just lowered her gaze to the ground while doing her best to regain control of her emotions like her sensei had instructed. After a few moments, she finally felt fear slowly die away a bit.

"Thank you Neji-nii-san," thanked the girl as she lifted her head to look at Neji. Yet her eyes softened when she found that Neji was no longer standing where he was before.

It didn't take the Byakugan to see that Neji was steadily changing from how he used to be. Before, she knew that he would have just left her were she was standing and not say a word to her. But, now his stares weren't full of malice anymore, it was more of a slight disliking but not full blown hate that it used to be.

"It's thanks to him meeting you Naruto," whispered the girl with a smile. "You really do have the power to change people."

With that said she took one last glance at the caravan before turning around and made her way towards the arena where her father and sister were most likely waiting for her.

Nara Household

"Shikamaru!" yelled a woman from behind the door leading to the said boy's room. "Get out of bed and get ready! You have to be at the arena in ten minutes!"

When she received no answer she huffed angrily before pushing the door angrily.

"SHIKAMARU GET OUT OF-"

She blinked a few times when she found that, among the mess that made up Shikamaru's room, her son couldn't be found anywhere. She glanced around to make sure that her son wasn't hiding anywhere only to come up with nothing. Just when she was about to leave his room she found a small note laying on his bedpost. Raising her eyebrow, she walked over and picked up the letter.

Mom

Even if it's troublesome, I left to meet Choji halfway to the arena. Wish me us luck and I hope to see you later.

Shikamaru

Nara Yoshino couldn't help but smile at the note that was left. It might have been small, it was at least an improvement on her son's incentive to actually get up and do something. It also proved that her son was actually going to try in this exam.

Suddenly the sound of a twig snapping made her turn around to face the window. Her expression change to complete rage at the sight of Shikamaru standing there, frozen in mid-step.

'Damn twig,' thought the boy angrily before glancing over to face his mother who was now crumpling his letter with her fist.

"SHIKAMARU!"

If one were to watch, one would be amazed how quickly the lazy boy ran away from his home. Some people found it hard to believe that the boy was a Nara while others gave the boy sympathy for the predicament he was going to be in later.

Yet from his spot on the roof, Shikaku was laughing his ass off while his two friends Choza and Inoichi were doing their regain their composure. It was easier said than done as the two were also holding their sides laughing along with their friend.

"He gets that from you doesn't he, Shikaku?" asked Choza in-between laughs.

"Maybe," replied the man. "I think it's a curse all Nara's have. But, it's funny as hell when it's not me hauling ass down the road."

"What are you three laughing at?" asked a voice from behind the three.

All laughing stopped as the three all slowly turned their heads to see a still angry Yoshino holding a frying pan in her hand. Soon, all three men were sweating heavily while Shikaku was taking a few steps away from his angry wife.

"I do know who let him get away, and now guess who has to pay the price Shikaku-kun."

Not long after that, three more blurs followed behind Shikamaru with an angry wife following not far away from them.

Team Gai's Training Ground

"… 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100! Yosh, finally finished!" yelled out Lee as he pumped his fists in the air.

Not far away, Kagari was sitting on a rock watching as Lee finished up his exercises for the morning. She had to admit, just watching him do some of these exercises made her sweat a bit. She saw him grin in her direction and couldn't help but smile back at his enthusiasm.

"Now, for a few more laps around the village just to be sure I'm in tip top shape!"

"Lee, you've done enough exercising to last a day. Don't wear yourself out before the exams even begin," stated Kagari with a bit of frustration. 'Honestly, don't you know when to give it a rest?'

Lee blinked a few times at that before nodding his head. "You are absolutely right Kagari-chan! I have been training hard this whole month, I think I'll just jog to the arena instead."

The girl only sighed in annoyance before replying, "That's fine."

"Kagari-chan."

"Hm."

"I thank you for your concern of my wellbeing this last month. And I promise to see you in the future should I pass this exam."

The girl could only blush a bit at his words. She found it rather sweet of him to make a promise like that even though her village would most likely not allow it. But, the boy did have a knack of doing things that people didn't think he could do.

He had told her a lot about how he used to be and how his sensei had changed him for the better. She could hardly believe that this boy, one of the few who could actually beat her besides Yugito and a few others, was actually the worst of his class. It was then that she not only found a new respect for Lee, but also for Gai and the blonde that had encouraged Lee to keep fighting.

"Well, I'm off Kagari-chan."

"Wait, Lee," said Kagari hastily before the boy could run off. The heavily eyebrowed boy stopped just as he was about to leave and turned to face Kagari with a confused look on his face.

Wordlessly, the girl removed her cloak before walking over towards Lee and handing it to him. Still confused, Lee took the garment before glancing back up at the girl.

"It's something you can have to remember me by after I leave," said the girl before gesturing him to put it on.

Getting the message, he quickly put it on and immediately noticed that it fit him perfectly. He grinned back at Kagari and was about to say thanks when something happened that he never thought would never had expected. Kagari had placed a small kiss on his cheek before stepping back with a crimson blush on her cheeks while Lee was staring at her with eyes widened and pink flush on both cheeks.

"And that, Lee-kun, was for good luck," said the girl with heartwarming smile.

Lee only continued to stare at her for a few moments before his face broke out into a huge grin. And for the first time, he didn't say anything in response, he didn't need to. So, without a word, he gave a nod of his head before turning around and walked towards the arena while his grin remained plastered onto his face.

Random Hotel

Temari sighed as she heaved her fan onto her back before making her way out the door. Today was the day, the day she somewhat dreaded. She didn't like the idea of fighting against their allies just to prove something. She was no fool, she knew better than to fight against a force as strong as Konoha was.

Even if the time of peace had dulled some of the Shinobi's skills over the years, they never once stopped showing promise as most of the ninja legends that were known worldwide were born, raised, and trained as a ninja in this very village. So, for someone like her, she knew this wasn't just some act to prove Suna's worth to their daimyo, it felt like it had something… more to it than that.

Upon the sound of a door opening, her thoughts were broken as the sight of Gaara entering with his gourd on his back along with his standard gear. She had to fight the urge to shudder while cursing the fact that she was the only one in the room with her brother.

"Temari," came Gaara's monotone voice. "We are leaving."

"R-right Gaara," stammered out the girl before following behind her brother.

Temari couldn't help but hate her father for this. Not just for what he did her little brother, but also for taking Kankuro away from the village. Though, she didn't hear any word from her sensei about it, the man had said that it was all taken care of and that he should be in Suna by now.

'I wish you were here Kankuro,' thought Temari bitterly. 'At least then I wouldn't be alone with a berserker in the room.'

"Hurry up!"

"Yes Gaara."

Yugito's Apartment

Yugito sighed from her spot on the bed as she glanced out the only window in her temporary home. She was glad that the finals had arrived after such a long and grueling month, and yet she found herself wishing that today hadn't come. Like, she didn't want her time in this village to end just yet. Seeing as how, she had made two new friends in this village, Inuzuka Hana, and of course Uzumaki Naruto.

But she knew it was inevitable, that this day would come eventually and that once it was over she would more than likely never be able to step foot in this village again. She didn't want to leave, she actually liked it in this village and the thought of not seeing either of her new friends for days, months, or even years made her feel somewhat sad.

"What's wrong kitten?' asked her tenant curiously. 'I thought you were looking forward to this."

'I was till I started growing attached to this place,' thought Yugito with a sigh. 'I guess this place just does that to you.'

"Or could it be because of the Hanyou?" snickered Nibi in her cage before sending her container mental images of her and Naruto sleeping in the same bed the day they had gotten drunk together.

Poor Yugito could only blush heavily as she tried to block out the images, but to no avail. This wasn't the first time Nibi had done this to her since that day, in fact the Biju had been repeating the same images every night as she slept. But, having known how to suppress some of Nibi's mental images since she was young, it wasn't too hard to block out unless Nibi was actually putting forth some effort to do so.

'Knock it off Nibi!'

"Why, you seemed so content then, what's wrong with it now?"

'I was under the influence of alcohol you stupid cat!'

"Tsk tsk tsk, blaming such things on alcohol when you know full well that you could have just asked me to make you sober. Face it kitten, you enjoyed it and I personally don't blame you."

'I didn't know that!'

"Oh! Well, now you do. But the fact still remains that you enjoyed yourself that night."

'Whatever,' huffed Yugito inwardly. 'I need to get ready for the finals. Don't take any naps 'cause I might need you sometime in the future matches.'

"Fine, kitten," replied the demon before grinning. "Be sure to give the Hanyou a kiss for me!"

Before the girl could react to the statement, Nibi severed the link between them but was still able to send her one last mental image. An image, of her kissing Naruto dead on the lips with both of their faces scarlet red while her eyes remained closed.

Yugito had to do everything in her power to fight down the blush that threatened to cover her entire face. But it was then that she remembered something, one of Nibi's abilities that had somewhat passed onto her. It didn't happen often, but on some occasions her dreams or images that Nibi would sometimes send her would show vivid glimpses of her future. The only problem was that, seeing as how she wasn't the Nibi herself, she could never distinguish the difference between predictions or just little things that Nibi ties to send her to mess with her head.

'Screw it,' thought Yugito as she started putting on the rest of her gear. 'I can think about that later.'

With that said, she strapped her kunai holster onto her leg before making her way towards the door. However, just as she was about to leave, she glanced back at her room and allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she looked at the free ramen ticket that Naruto had given her to his favorite stand. He had given it to her three days ago before they had parted ways and had yet to find the time to go and use it.

"After this is over, I'm going to go ahead and use that. Seeing as how in a few more days I won't be around here anymore."

So, with one last sigh, she stepped out of her home, locked up, and headed for the stadium where her final test would take place.

At the Stadium

The stadium was, for lack of better term, packed. Civilians, daimyo, and other people ranging from the rich to the dirt poor were all cramped into the massive stadium. As they sat there, the participants all stood in a single row in the center of the arena in which they were going to be fighting in. Though some noted that two of the participants had yet to arrive.

From her spot at the far right, Tenten looked down the row in annoyance as Naruto had yet to arrive. She knew he wouldn't miss this, not for the world and the fact that he was late either meant two things. One, he overslept and was most likely going to miss his fight, or two he lost track of time and was still training as they stood here.

Tenten wasn't the only one wondering where the blond was, as Yugito was also looking around for sight of the blond swordsman. It didn't make since as to why the blond wouldn't be here yet. She even asked Nibi if she sensed him nearby only to come up short when the demon couldn't find him nearby. She clenched her fists in anger while making a mental note to kick the ever living crap out of the blond the next time she saw him.

Up in the stands, Sakura was also curious for both her teammates' tardiness. It wasn't normal for either of them to be late and she hadn't seen either of the two since the month started. Though, she didn't put that much incentive to find Naruto as much as she did Sasuke, she did often wonder where the boy could have gone to make him late.

"Hey forehead!" mocked Ino as she suddenly plopped down next to Sakura.

"Hello Pig," answered the girl while raising her fist at her rival/friend.

"You excited about this?"

"Yeah, but I don't see Naruto here yet. His match is supposed to be first and if he doesn't get here soon, he might lose his match by default."

"Don't worry about him, I'm pretty sure he'll show up on time," said Ino reassuringly before relaxing into her chair.

Over at the Kage's box, Sarutobi was having similar thoughts about Naruto's strange absence. But, he couldn't ponder it for long as his two guests had arrived.

"Ah, Kazekage-dono, Raikage-dono. Good too see both of you," said the elderly Hokage with a friendly smile.

"Wut up?" answered the Raikage as he took his seat to Sarutobi's left.

"Good to see you Hokage-dono," replied the Kazekage while taking the seat to Sarutobi's right.

"I hope the journey here wasn't any trouble for either of you."

"Naw, it wasn't much a problem for me."

"The same could be said for me as well. Though, I'm glad that this year's exams were taking place here. While you're still young, the trip may have been too much for you Hokage-dono. Perhaps you should decide on the fifth?"

The old man chuckled a bit at that before replying. "Please, don't treat me like an old man. I intend to do this for another five years. But, enough of that, let's begin."

Standing up, the elderly Hokage made his way towards the railing before giving his announcements. "Thank you all for coming to Konoha's Chuunin Selection Exam! We will now start the main tournament between the ten participants who made it through the preliminaries! So please stay and watch until the end!"

The crowd cheered happily as the Hokage finished their announcement while some were staring intently at the arena. Among those, was the supposed Raikage, who was now staring at Sarutobi with a raised eyebrow.

"Did ya leave yer glasses at home old man? I only counted eight," stated the man while ignoring the stare the Kazekage was giving him.

Sarutobi only ignored the question as he returned to his seat and waited for the match to start; all the while praying that Naruto can make it for his match in time.

On the ground, Haku let out a sigh before looking over at the line of Genin. She knew she saw Naruto leave this morning, and yet it bugged her that he wasn't here yet. She also noticed that Sasuke had yet to arrive as well and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Two people late was not a good sign, and with all the corrupt daimyos aiming to win big bets, she could only assume that someone had sent assassins to try and kill off the two opponents. The likelihood of that was low, but in the Shinobi world, almost anything was possible.

"Alright everyone please pay attention. The arena is different but the rules are still the same as before. Which means there are none, you simply need to fight until one of you has died or acknowledges defeat. However, if I deem that the fight is over I'll step in and end the match, understood?"

All nodded their heads and with another sigh she called up the first two contestants.

"Will Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji please step forward. Everyone else please go to the waiting room."

Neji glanced around in confusion when everyone left and he was the only one in the arena. He could already hear some of the people in the stands beginning to yell for the other person to enter the ring and fight. He was tempted to activate his Byakugan to search for the blonde, but thought better of it as he didn't want to waist chakra.

Meanwhile, from their spot in the stands, Hiashi was staring down at the arena with a serious look on his face. He had been waiting for the longest time to see what his nephew could really do and the fact that Naruto had yet to arrive irked him slightly. Beside him, his two daughters, Hanabi and Hinata, were sitting on both sides of him.

"This Uzumaki Naruto seems like a coward if he's not here yet." stated Hanabi with a disappointed look on her face.

He had to hold back a frown at his youngest daughter's attitude for this situation. Sure, he might have thought the same thing at one time, but he had always kept those thoughts inside since in some cases, he could have been dead wrong and feel humiliated about it. He was about to tell her this when someone else decided to speak in his place.

"Naruto-nii-san is not a coward you jerk!" yelled a violet eyed little girl who looked roughly around Hanabi's age whom was sitting behind Hanabi's seat.

Almost instantly, Hitomi's mouth was covered by Yuma's hand as he pulled her away from Hanabi.

"S-sorry about that Hyuuga-sama," apologized the old man sheepishly.

Hiashi couldn't help but sneer at the homeless man's attire before turning his attention back to the arena. Inside though, he was happy that someone as little as that girl had the backbone to say something like that to his own daughter.

His said daughter looked back at the violet eyed girl with a smug expression before turning her attention back at the arena like father did.

Back with Neji, he was now growing irritated and angry by each passing second. He didn't want to win this way, he wanted a challenge, and he was dying to see what skills Naruto had been holding back. Haku too was growing irritated and knew that if Naruto didn't arrive soon, she would have to call the match to Neji.

"Get on with the fight!"

"I didn't pay money to sit around for nothing!"

"Do something you stupid bitch!"

She sighed before looking up at the Hokage for some instructions. She had to do everything in her power to keep her emotions under control when she saw the Hokage nod his head, despite how much he didn't want to do it.

"Seeing as how Uzumaki Naruto is not present, by default, the winner is-"

"Wait a minute!" yelled a familiar voice coming from the entrance.

Not five seconds after hearing the shout, Naruto shot out of the corridor leading to the arena in a flash of red and yellow before to a stop at the center of the arena. Once stopped, he placed his hands on his knees and started panting heavily.

After catching his breath, Naruto straightened himself up before grinning sheepishly at Haku and Neji. "Sorry I'm late I, uh, got lost on the road of life."

Almost immediately a bunch of boos and curses came from the crowd as they started tossing trash at him for his stupidity. Sarutobi had to bite back the urge to smack himself in the forehead and was now mentally cursing Kakashi for letting his student pick up on his bad habits.

"That jackass," muttered Yugito to herself as she glared at Naruto's form as cans and other articles of trash were thrown at him.

'Wait till this is over, Naruto,' thought Tenten as her eyes twinkled with evil intent. 'I'll be sure to teach you to never be late again.'

After a few moments of continuous tossing of junk and other things, the crowd finally calmed down enough to sit back and wait for the match to start.

"See! Naruto-nii-san isn't a coward," stated Hitomi smugly. "He's never missed out on anything awesome like this."

"Please," snorted Hanabi which earned her a harsh glare from her father but didn't seem to notice. "He won't last two minutes against Neji. I bet he can't even us that sword carries."

"Ya huh! I've seen him use it plenty of times when he came to visit us!"

"Where was this at, the slums where he and the rest of the other filth live?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BRAT!"

Hanabi, Hitomi, Hinata, and even Hiashi stared at Yuma wide eyed as he glared heatedly at the young Hyuuga from his seat. Never had anyone dared to insult or order around a Hyuuga and lived to tell about it.

"I don't care if you're Hyuuga or not, you had best watch what you say. Otherwise, you just might have every single orphan and homeless person after your little spoiled ass. Now turn around and shut your mouth."

A few of the people who heard this, backed a few seats away as killing intent began to steadily leak out of the Hyuuga clan head. Part of him understood why the man was upset, seeing as how this was the main reason Hyuuga had gained a rather… unpleasant reputation among the village since most of his fellow clan members had flaunted their superiority and high clan status. However, that was no excuse to threaten his daughter, even if was to only keep her quiet, it still wasn't forgivable.

So, when he turned to face the elderly man who had yelled at his daughter, he was quite surprised when he saw no flicker of fear or worry, only an even and steady look that made even him slightly wary of the man.

"Watch your tongue, old man," growled out Hiashi. "Because if you don't I'll be sure to cut it off."

"Had you taught her some manners, I wouldn't need to be using this tongue now would I?" responded Yuma while not once breaking eye contact with the Hyuuga.

Yet before the bloodbath could begin, their attention was brought back to the arena when Haku finally spoke. "W-well, seeing as how Uzumaki Naruto is here, the match can now begin."

Soon as that was said, Neji slid into his Juuken stance while activating his Byakugan. Naruto simply smirked before entering his own stance with his hand on the hilt of his sword. The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments while the crowd around them began to hush and watch with looks of excitement and curiosity.

"This is gunna be good," said the Raikage as he relaxed a bit in his chair.

"Indeed," replied the Kazekage with a hint of amusement in his voice.

'Naruto,' thought Sarutobi with a bit of worry. 'Be careful.'

Yet unnoticed to all, a lone figure stood atop of the roof of the bleachers for stadium while garbed in a simple black ANBU style cloak and hood along with a white Hunter Nin mask stared down at the arena floor. The figure smiled behind their mask as they stared down at the two fighters below or, to be more specific, the one garbed in red.

'Lets see what you've become Naruto,' thought the figure as the person awaited for the battle to begin.

Well, there you have it. Chapter finally done. Now, R&R before dig your eyes out with a spoon and eat them...ok never mind the eating them, I'll just make them into a freaky necklace or something. Now that I think about it that's actually not a bad idea. Well my readers take care, I have...things to do.