Enjoy!

Naruto didn't pay much attention to the first two battles. He knew that he should of but he was too nervous for his own. He looked on but the only things that stuck were the results of the battles. Miyu and Atsuo had won, both of the wolf clan. Naruto didn't look at the other clans. He already knew that they weren't going to be happy that the wolf clan already had two members in the next round. It gave them an advantage over the other clans.

One thing that Naruto did manage to pick up on was that the battles were brutal. There was only one situation where the referees would step in—when a contestant faced death. However, that limitation didn't prevent Atsuo from forcing his opponent to be carried from the arena.

Yuri's battle was third. Naruto still couldn't figure out her opponent, the girl named Saya. He was positive that he had seen her before but he couldn't figure out where. He hadn't heard much about the snake clan, just that they kept mostly to themselves. According to Yuri, they used to be one of the top clans in the village but a disease had wiped out nearly three-fourths of their clan. It had been untreatable, according to her but a sour look on Akahana's face told Naruto that may not have exactly been the case.

Yuri faced Saya in the arena, mentally taking a note of all she knew about the snake clan member. She was obviously strong, judging by her confident entrance in the competition. She was venomous and, if Akahana was to be trusted, slightly on the sadistic side. She preferred to break her opponents down slowly and to watch the hope fade from their eyes. She also used snakes as her main line of attack.

Saya was smirking in an unnerving manner, already confident in her win. Yuri's eyes narrowed. She may lose but she wasn't going to lose without putting up a decent fight. She had to prove to Akahana and Izo that she was up to their standards.

When the signal was given, Yuri attacked first. Starting on the defense would be the quickest way to lose this battle.

Yuri had summoned three of her cats—Tatsu, the largest of her summons; Hinako, the quickest and Takahiro, the first she had summoned when she had become a shinobi. Before the battle, they had twined around her legs, spitting and hissing as they looked at Saya. Now they leapt into action.

Tatsu took a frontal approach, knowing that he would be too noticeable if he tried a stealth approach. Hinako slipped off to the side, hoping to sneak around to the back of Saya at the first opportunity. Takahiro stayed next to Yuri, claws unsheathed.

Saya hadn't been predicting Yuri to go on the offensive right away. She had sent all of her snakes out as an offensive attack, not keeping any back to defend herself.

Tatsu used his size and weight to his advantage. Snakes couldn't bite when their heads had been crushed. The spines that didn't crush under his pounces were snapped by some sharp nips. Yuri had yarned Tatsu before they entered the arena that the snakes wouldn't be able to attack him easily if he stayed just behind their heads.

Saya screeched as she felt her snakes weaken and falter. It seemed like she would have to take a more direct approach if her snakes couldn't get through.

Yuri's eyes widened as Saya charged. The kunoichi was faster than she had imagined, though Yuri should have expected it. Saya used snakes that struck their opponents quickly.

The cat kunoichi pulled two shuriken out of her pouch and threw them, hoping to knock Saya off her course. As soon as the kunai left her hand, Yuri grabbed a kunai in case she needed it.

She did. The shuriken made contact with Saya's torso but they weren't kill shots. They didn't even go as deep as Yuri expected.

As Yuri raised her kunai in defense, she narrowed her eyes and examined Saya's skin. Now that she was closer, she noticed fine lines under Saya's skin. It looked almost like...

Yuri flung herself back, trying to put some distance between her and Saya. Scales. The kunoichi had scales under her skin. Kunai and shuriken wouldn't penetrate the arteries. Neither would teeth, claws, or syringes. Ninety-five percent of Yuri's arsenal was unusable.

Saya knew she had the advantage now. Her snakes had failed but Yuri didn't have her hidden armor. A happy hiss escape her mouth as Saya withdrew a kunai. Close in attacks would work to her advantage.'

When kunai met kunai, there was a large clang. Yuri felt herself being forced down to the ground but was unable to break away. Her eyes widened as she saw the malicious glint in Saya's eyes. She knew that the snake kunoichi would kill her if she got the chance.

Fortunately for Yuri, as a second kunai was aimed for her neck, the proctors intervened. One grabbed Saya's wrist that held the second kunai and the other pulled Saya away.

"She's done," the second proctor told Saya. "No more."

Saya hissed furiously and she looked like she was considering shoving the proctors away and continuing the battle—an instant disqualification—but she stormed the other way. Yuri let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding in. She slowly got to her feet and tried not to react as Saya was announced as the winner.

Her battle had lasted less than five minutes. It was humiliating how easy she had been defeated. It was like she was a first year shinobi all over again.

Izo's battle followed Yuri's. As the two passed, Yuri couldn't bring herself to meet his cold eyes. She wished she could leave the Day of Trials and lose herself in training but the rules were absolute. She couldn't leave until the Day of Trials had finished. If she did, there was a high chance that her shinobi headband would be taken away, the ultimate humiliation.

Izo's battle last a grand total of two minutes. His opponent, Shiyo, may have been the strongest in his clan but for Izo, he wasn't a challenge. After all, cats hunted frogs for fun.

Naruto wished Izo's battle had gone on longer but he was beginning to realize that he rarely got what he wished for.

"Naruto of the fox clan and Fukuyo of the wolf clan are called to the arena!"

Naruto forced himself to look calm. This was it. He had managed pretty well in the Chuunin exams but the shinobi here fought on a completely different level. If Naruto made it past stage one, it would be a miracle.

Reviews are always greatly appreciated!