Crimson and Golden Leaves

by Paridise

Years of suffering has led a young blond down the path of pain. Uzumaki Naruto, a citizen of Konoha, sadness and hate follows his every footstep. This changes however. A lost family member, Uzumaki Kotero, cousin to Naruto comes and unites with him. Becoming brothers and enduring each other's hardships together, they will furfill their destinies and become Legends. AU/CD Story.

20. Chapter 20 - Afternoon Nightmare

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto the anime or manga. This story is based off the world of Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 20 – Afternoon Nightmare

"This doesn't look good."

"Neji is swarmed by those kidaichū beetles. His whole body is covered from head to toe. What would you do Shikamaru?"

"I don't know Naruto. Shino would be a bad opponent for me. You know I only really have my shadow possesion jutsu. I wouldn't be able to hold the guy, there's way too many bugs to handle."

The second round was already underway. It was the match between Aburame Shino and Hyūga Neji. The fight had only just started. Both fighters tested the waters and were just warming up. Shino launched the first true attack by creating a swarm of kidaichū beetles to turn into a Tsunami of insects. It went over Neji in an instant.

The Genin, spectators and the Kage saw that Neji was in trouble. The main question on everyone's mind was how could Neji possibly escape this.

Naruto and Shikamaru were watching the match closely. For both of them, it held a potential opponent. More likely for Naruto though, he was hoping to go into the finals, so he had to defeat whoever is victorious here. Shikamaru wanted to ditch the whole event.

Suddenly, the kidaichū beetles blew off in an instant. Neji was covering himself with a large hemisphere of chakra. It was spinning in one direction. An amazing technique performed with perfect execution.

"What was that?" Shikamaru wondered. "I'm sure he shouted out something like 'Kaiten'… That looks like a dangerous move. How does it work?"

Naruto watched Neji slow down. The hemisphere of chakra dissipated once he stopped rotating. It was a unique technique, one he never saw before. "Shikamaru, there are special jutsu for every clan, right?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, even your clan has special techniques only known to the users."

Naruto bit on his thumb. "I think what Neji did was only used by the Hyūga, the move looked like something weird, like their fighting style," he said.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto before looking back to the fight. "If that's the case, then there should be a lot more in store for Shino. He has his bug ninjutsu, but I don't know if he can win, Neji was the strongest Genin of his class."

Naruto hummed in agreement. He then watched Neji enter a new stance. He spread his arms out, his left in front and his right aimed behind. He leaned forward and smirked at Shino.

Naruto and Shikamaru watched as Neji appeared in front of Shino and hit him with a series of chakra enhanced finger strikes. It started with two strikes, then four, eight, sixteen and then finally thirty-two. Sixty-four in total.

Shino skidded back from the attack and struggled to keep standing. He eventually collapsed onto the floor. His whole body couldn't move properly.

The two were awe-stricken from the move. They watched Neji dust off his clothes. Genma made the call, Neji was the winner. The crowd cheered for the victor, however they didn't cheer as loud as they did for Naruto. This made him happy to some extent. He was a bit saddened that Shino was humiliated in skill and power throughout the match.

Now Naruto knew two techniques of Neji's, which most likely belonged to the Hyūga clan. This was a great advantage to have. He could formulate some plan to hamper Neji, or even just pinpoint the right spot with the right attack. The choice was his.

As Shino was being pulled out of the arena by a gurney, Shikamaru looked between Naruto and the proctor, Shiranui Genma.

Genma coughed in his hand before looking at the sheet with the match tree. "Would Shikamaru and Temari come down now," he said loudly.

"Yep. This is too much of a hassle. I'm giving up," Shikamaru said while gripping on the rail hard.

Naruto hit his fist off the rail while laughing. "Haha, that's funny Shikamaru," he said.

Shikamaru shook his head violently, he then stared at Naruto. "I'm being serious. This is too much of a drag. I just want to stay home, maybe watch a cloud. Not fight some bothersome Suna woman in the afternoon. I have better things to do," he complained.

Naruto clicked his tongue. "No way. I'm sorry Shika. But I'm doing this for your own good. Kotero-Nii will dish out something worse compared to Yoshino-kaasan if he sees you forfeit now," he said.

Naruto grabbed Shikamaru by the collar and the waist strap of his pants. He then lifted him up and threw him off the balcony. There was no way he could survive the aftermath if he gave up. Shikaku wouldn't care too much but Naruto knew that his mother figure and his brother would kill Shikamaru if he didn't at least try. Naruto loved Shikamaru too much, he couldn't lose him. He was only saving his best friend.

"I'll get you back Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted from the ground.

Naruto laughed from the sight of a dirty Shikamaru. It wasn't something you see every day. Naruto's laughing stopped when the Suna kunoichi, Temari, jumped off the railing and flipped far into the distance. Landing across Shikamaru. It was an impressive display of finesse.

Naruto grinned. "This match is going to be a good one. I just know it," he said. He was excited for it, his blood was pumping hard.

PUFF!

A small cloud of smoke appeared on the rail. The smoke was cleared by amphibious red hands. Naruto saw it was a messenger toad. It had a brown satchel wrapped around its shoulders.

"Did Ero-sennin send you?" Naruto asked the toad quietly.

The toad nodded. "I've been sent by Jiraiya-sama to send a message to Naruto-sama. Here it is," the toad said. He hands a slip of paper to Naruto before it disappeared.

Naruto opened up the piece of paper. It read "Meet me outside. Love, Jiraiya."

Naruto groaned and crumbled up the piece of paper. Shoving it deep into his pocket, he went on his way to the exit. He was wondering what Jiraiya could possibly want at a moment like this.

Before leaving, Naruto grabbed a bottle of water off the refreshments table.

"I can't wait for our battle, Uzumaki Naruto. It will be a good chance to kill you," Gaara said with bloodlust.

Naruto narrowed his eyes on Gaara. He began to laugh. "Well, you will have to beat Sasuke, and let me tell you, Sasuke is strong," he warned.

Gaara looked around and then crossed his arms. "I don't see the Uchiha here, only you."

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Damn, you're right. Stupid Kakashi and Sasuke coming late, making us look like idiots," he said under his breath. Naruto passed by Gaara with quick feet, he didn't want to set off the ticking time bomb that Gaara seemed to be.

Entering the corridors, it didn't take long for Naruto to find Jiraiya. The man was massive after all, and his white hair was recognisable anywhere.

Naruto came to stand to Jiraiya's front, giving him a nod before speaking. "Ero-sennin," he said.

Jiraiya shook his head and clicked his tongue. The nickname annoyed him to no end. The worst part of it was that it was completely true. But was he going to change who he was to get rid of the nickname? Not on his life, Jiraiya was a proud super pervert and always will be.

"Naruto. Well done on winning your match. Gai's pupil was pretty impressive himself. Now you have his other one in your next round," Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded with a large grin. Confidence was present in his strong persona. "Yep. I know I can win this whole thing now! They're all going to be hard fights, but I know I can do this!" he said enthusiastically.

Jiraiya smiled, he could see the deep hunger within Naruto's eyes. It was something he hasn't seen in a long time.

"The crowd has seemed to really like you and that fight. I wonder how they will react to your next one," Jiraiya said.

Naruto grinned. "Seriously? Well, I aim to please." Rubbing his hands together, the all-important question popped into his head. "Have I done enough for a promotion?" he asked.

Jiraiya looked up to the ceiling before answering. "Possibly. You certainly showed a variety of skills and techniques. You escaped when Lee was applying too much pressure. And you defeated him after using the power of the Kyūbi. It's a close one," he said.

Naruto became downtrodden. "That's not good enough. I need to become a Chūnin."

"I heard you loud and clear. In your next fight against Neji, you could perhaps defeat him without using the Kyūbi's aid or your staff. If possible, try a different method of beating him. Sensei has the final say but I'm sure the other ninja, businessmen and Daimyō already have good things to say about you," Jiraiya said.

"Who would have the most sway in things?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya chuckled. "You're sounding more like a Chūnin now. The Fire Daimyō and the Jōnin commander. But I hear his opinion is nulled since he has close relations to two of the competitors."

Naruto groaned. "Shikaku-Ojisan. I forgot about that. So, he can't say anything about me or Shikamaru?"

"Well he can, but it would be for the best if Sensei didn't take them into account. Anyway, there's a reason on why I called you here."

Naruto focused his eyes onto Jiraiya. The man's whole expression turned serious. "Well? Will I ever find out?" Naruto asked with a condescending tone.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes on Naruto and gave him a quick slap to the head. "Don't be so damn cheeky boy!"

Naruto rubbed the spot where he was hit. "Ow! That really hurts!"

Jiraiya shook his head in disappointment. "Naruto. Let me warn you. Be careful, not of your fight, but of everything else."

"What do ya mean with that?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya moved from his spot off the wall and started to walk away. "Like I said. Be careful of everything else."

Naruto watched Jiraiya walk away. "Will you watch my next match?" he asked, just before Jiraiya disappeared from his sights.

Jiraiya stopped. He turned his head. "I might," he said. He then walked further and left Naruto to himself in the corridor.

Naruto huffed depressingly.

Grumble!

Naruto rubbed his stomach. It was aching in discomfort. He was hungry, has been since the aftermath of his fight with Lee. Naruto took out a storage scroll from his pouch and opened it up. Flowing chakra into a seal, he grabbed himself two of his brothers energy bars.

As he walked back to the Genin waiting room, he scoffed down the two bars and jugged down his refreshing bottle of cold water.

"Ah, that hit the sweet spot."

Naruto walked his way to the rails, where Neji and Gaara were also. They all began to watch the match below.

The match seemed to reach its climax. Naruto saw Shikamaru using his shadow jutsu on Temari, putting both their hands up.

"Oh, smart move Shikamaru. Making her give up, of course you would think of that," Naruto said. A grin appeared on his face. His friend was just about to win.

Naruto listened closely. He wanted to hear those three words to leave Temari's mouth.

Naruto saw Shikamaru smile. "I give up," he said.

All were shocked once they heard Shikamaru say this. Naruto the most, the victory was close at hand.

Genma focused his eyes on Shikamaru. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Naruto listened closely, he wanted a damn good reason on why Shikamaru decided to jump off the boat, he was so close to winning.

Shikamaru released his shadow passion jutsu and chuckled. "Even though I could have won. I have little to no chakra left. My next opponent would have been either Uchiha Sasuke or Sabaku no Gaara. Both who can easily overwhelm me, even if I had my full chakra. I rather retreat now rather than leave it to then," he said. "I thought of hundreds of different scenarios, and none of them lead to my victory."

Naruto thought about the words he said. He then laughed to himself. "That lazy bastard, he's just spinning a good story ttebayo. Low on chakra? Yeah right. Shikamaru just didn't want to try. I can't believe he's covering it up with fancy words."

"How pathetic," Naruto heard Neji say his piece on the matter. Even though his own opinion isn't far off it, Neji's statement pissed Naruto off.

Naruto watched Genma sigh, raising his hand and pointing it towards Temari. "Temari wins by forfeit."

The crowd booed from the announcement. They wanted a fierce battle again. One to get their blood pumping. However, there were a few that truly enjoyed that particular match. Slow and calculated, true planning. It was like a game of Shogi.

Naruto saw Shikamaru go towards the main stands, no doubt to go to Asuma. Naruto cracked his knuckles and made his way back to the main stand, Shikamaru was going to receive Naruto's complaints and Naruto is going to make sure he listened to every single one.

Naruto arrived at the main stand and went down the stairs. He saw Shikamaru talking to his brother and the group sitting down. He saw Ino giving him an earful already, Naruto decided that it would be best to postpone it. Most of the reasons she said were his in the first place.

Eventually, Ino cooled down, this was Naruto's chance to swoop in. "Low on chakra? My ass," Naruto said as he stood beside Shikamaru.

Shikamaru groaned. "Would everyone just leave it. I knew this was a pain from the very beginning. And… I don't care," he said.

Naruto gnashed his teeth. "Well you should care. Imagine how cool it would be if we did missions together," he said.

Shikamaru laughed at him. "If I went on a mission with you, I'll most likely get killed. No thank you," he yawned out.

The Genin with Haku and the Jōnin conversed between themselves. It was clear that everyone in the whole arena were getting restless. Some even resorted to shouting their dissatisfactions with crude words.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said with a worried voice.

Asuma sighed. "If Sasuke doesn't come soon, he'll get disqualified. That Gaara would pass to the final without fighting once. That'll be bad news for whoever wins between Naruto and Neji," he said.

"How do you know that?" Ino asked.

Asuma was about to answer but was cut off by Anko. "You can tell. I could from the first moment I laid eyes on that Suna team before the second exam. That Temari girl will forfeit the match, leaving Gaara to go to the final round without lifting a finger," she said. "He's the leader of their pack."

Kurenai hummed to herself. "The best thing for us to do would be to somehow postpone the match," she said.

"Sasuke will come. He wouldn't ditch this, he's wanted to fight the strongest in a long time," Naruto said to the group.

"If he doesn't come, what can we do Naruto?" Asuma asked.

Nico, listening to all this, was surprised that Sasuke hadn't arrived yet. It was a match she was also looking forward to. The Chūnin exams were giving her ideas to implant into the Underworld. She needed to watch more to help with her future plans.

Her eyes turned to Kotero, who was thinking hard. "What're you thinking up there?" she asked, poking her finger against his temple.

Kotero exhaled through his nose. "I think I have an idea," he said. "It should work, after all he's loves me with all heis heart."

"Oh? Don't keep us waiting," Nico said.

Kotero stood from his seat, ignoring Nico's question and looked at Naruto with a passive expression. "Naruto, how're you feeling? Do you think you could fight right now?" he asked.

Naruto nodded with a big smile, giving Kotero a thumbs up. "I can fight whenever! But what about Sasuke?"

Kotero grinned at Naruto. "Don't worry about him. We got this."

---

Kage's Balcony

Hiruzen groaned as he heard more and more of the uproars of the audience. They were acting like children, they didn't get what they wanted, so now they're throwing a tantrum. The only difference was that the vast majority paid good money for these fights, and they weren't delivering the goods.

Hiruzen put up his right hand, making Raidō bow down to him. "Is there any update?" he asked.

Raidō shook his head. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama. But there has been no update. And the five-minute extension period you gave for the fight is already up."

Hiruzen gritted his teeth. This day was supposed to go smoothly, yet they hit quite the road bump. "I have no choice, but I must disqualify Uchiha Sasuke," he said.

Terumī Mei sighed heavily from the words. "That is a great shame. I was quite excited about that fight," she said. "Hopefully I will see him fight soon enough."

"Hokage-sama, could you hold off on disqualifying Uchiha Sasuke?" the Kazekage asked.

Raidō, Mei, Zabuza and Ao turned their heads with the Hokage to look at the Kazekage.

Ao scoffed at the words. "Any ninja who shows up late to an examination is pitiful. He shouldn't be promoted to Chūnin whatsoever. It doesn't matter on status or skill, this is disrespect in the highest regard."

Mei patted Ao's arm to calm him down. "Despite what Ao said, I must agree. He had the benefit of being the last of the first rounds and a five-minute extension. This has gone on long enough," she said. "We're all saddened but we must move on."

The Kazekage chuckled to himself. "Try explaining that to the ninja and the various Daimyō. They're spending their time here to see that match. As well as am I. It would be bad if they were to be disappointed. Right, Hokage-sama? It would certainly put a damper on your economy," he said.

Hiruzen grunted with a hint of anger. Rasa, the Kazekage, was truly getting on his nerves. "It would be unfair to the other competitors. Neji has only just finished his fight, and Naruto is recovering from his intense bout with Lee. I'm sorry Kazekage-dono, I have my hands tied," he said.

WHISH!

A flash appeared in front of all three Kage. It was a ninja. Crimson hair, deep purple eyes.

"Kotero, what are you doing up here?" Hiruzen asked with surprise. He didn't expect to see his favourite redhead come up here at all.

Kotero was kneeling in front of the Kage with respect. His head popped up and he looked at Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama," he said, "The audience have grown overwhelmingly frustrated with the lack of Sasuke. I know it's not my place to ask this, but could you postpone his fight and let Naruto fight now," Kotero asked.

Hiruzen chewed on his pipe. It would solve two problems with one stone. "Is Naruto fine with this? Neji seemed unfazed and in near perfect condition after his fight with Shino. This could be a disadvantage for Naruto."

Kotero nodded a yes. "Naruto is more than willing to go forward with this. He and his fellow Genin want it to happen, I am just the messenger in this," he said. His words were crisp and polite. Kotero shuddered to think on what would happen if Sasuke wasn't allowed fight. Not just from the angry crowds, but also from Naruto and the other Genin.

Hiruzen nodded. "You know this is asking for a lot. What do you think standard procedure is?" he asked.

Kotero wryly smiled at Hiruzen. "Sasuke should have been disqualified already. But there is clearly more benefits for Konoha if we wait it out. Also, whoever wins this fight will have two fights to watch and recuperate. As with everything Hokage-sama, the final decision is with you and I will support it, no matter the consequences."

Mei smiled. "You have a fine shinobi here, Hokage-sama. I wouldn't mind taking him off your hands if it's not too much trouble," she said with a laugh.

Hiruzen chuckled, despite the tense atmosphere of the arena, he was in a calm mood. "I would never get rid of this fine gentlemen. He is Konoha's and that's final. Now, do you agree with this Kazekage-dono?" Hiruzen asked.

Rasa nodded his head. "I do."

"And what about you Mizukage-dono?" Hiruzen asked.

Mei nodded as well. "I do as well. And to watch Naruto-kun again will be a treat of itself. However, myself and my lovely guards here would be dissatisfied if Uchiha Sasuke did not receive some punishment or penalty because of this absurd lateness," she said seriously.

Hiruzen nodded. "I am well aware of that. Both Kakashi and Sasuke will receive some punishment. Kakashi promised me that he and Sasuke will be here on time when I last spoke to him. I hate it when he lies," he said. "Kotero."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kotero said.

"Go down to Genma and tell him to announce that there will be another five-minute period and then we will go to round five. Can you do that for me?" he asked.

Kotero nodded. "Of course, Hokage-sama. I will take my leave now."

Kotero disappeared via a body-flicker. The tension between the major leaders grew once again.

"That ninja supposed to have two swords on him? That was in his profile information in the Iwa bingo book," Rasa asked.

Mei focused her eyes on the Kazekage. "Why would Kotero-kun need to bring his weapons to a spectacle such as this?" she asked. The Kazekage has been saying strange things all day, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

The Kazekage shook his head. "A ninja must always be aware and ready for any situation. That is a sacred rule to all of us," he said. "Maybe the 'Crimson Leaf' is too big-headed? A fool of sorts?" he asked.

Hiruzen shook his head. "Kotero doesn't need his swords. He's dangerous enough without weapons," he said.

The Kazekage laughed. "Just like younger in the fight before. These Uzumaki, these are the 'Children of Storm' that survived. Fascinating, isn't it?" he said.

"Are you trying to insinuate something Kazekage-sama?" Mei asked. The man has been making her uneasy.

"No. Nothing at all."

---

Konoha Arena Stands

"Look. Kotero-san is talking to him," Sakura said energetically.

The others watched as Kotero whispered into Genma's ear. They nodded to each other afterwards, then Kotero disappeared and left Genma to himself.

Kotero reappeared to the group and retook his seat beside Nico and Haku. He yawned once he got comfortable.

Genma coughed into his hand before speaking. "An announcement to be made. Round four will be postponed," he said to the crowds.

"BOO!" the crowds shouted. They were angry, they wanted to watch that match now.

"Jeez," Genma said to himself, muttering under his breath. "Because of this, round five will proceed ahead of schedule. The match will take place in five minutes."

The crowds calmed down. It seemed that some were going off to make new bets on Naruto's next match.

"Looks like Kakashi-sensei owes you big time now Nii-chan," Naruto said. "You really saved him and Sasuke."

Kotero nodded. "That's one of the reasons why I did it. Also, Sasuke is your friend. You wanted him to fight, so I had to help you out there my sweet little brother," he said. "That's my job as your Nii-chan."

Asuma blew out some of his smoke. "Now let's hope that they come. Kotero would look like a right fool if they didn't after going to the Kage," he said.

Anko laughed. "He looks like a fool all the time anyway. He can't help it with that face of his," she said.

Kotero shook his head and decided to ignore the woman. He will get his sweet revenge but not now.

Shikamaru whistled and placed his hands behind his head. "The guy is about to lose his chance of promotion."

"I'll fight in his place if he doesn't come!" Kiba said loudly.

Kurenai shook her head and sighed. "Kiba, that's not how things work."

Kiba growled. "But it's not fair, he's not here and I want to be a Chūnin. They should just give me the chance."

"But Kiba-kun. You would have to fight Gaara then… I don't want you to die," Hinata said. "Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun are probably the only ones who could fight him evenly," she said.

Kiba bared his teeth. She was right. He knew he couldn't fight regardless, but to go against Gaara would be suicide.

Kiba went back to his seat and sat down with a mighty huff.

"What's your plan to defeat Hyūga Neji, Naruto-kun," Haku asked.

Nico turned her head to the blond. "Yeah, I was wondering that as well," she said. "A smart kid like you should have plenty up his sleeve."

Naruto stuck out his tongue to them before grinning. "As if I'll tell you guys. Just watch me and you'll find out," he said.

"Naruto don't be so cheeky," Kotero said. "Now go, five minutes is not a long time. The crowd is waiting for this match to start. I had to pull a lot of strings for this to happen, so you better be thankful."

"I am Nii-chan. I'm so thankful!" Naruto said before disappearing away by running to the corridor.

Asuma turned his head with a pinched nose and narrowed eyes. "You had to pull lots of strings?" he asked with confusion.

Kotero shook his head and laughed. "No, but he doesn't know that," he said. "But if it means I can get him to do more chores around the house, then I'll take any opportunity that comes my way."

"That's not very nice Kotero-san," Haku said.

Kotero pouted his lips at her. "It's fun though."

Kotero heard the murmurs of words to his right. He turned his head to see Nico with her arms crossed, staring between himself and Naruto. She was focusing on the interactions they had with the others around them.

"This would have been nice," Nico mumbled under her breath.

"What would have been nice?" Kotero asked. He saw that she looked depressed. She hid most of it well but her facial expressions revealed it all. She was remembering something from her past. Kotero has never met someone strong in his life who has never had a tough and hard past. Nico was no different.

Nico shook her head. "If I had this in my village. Before we split ways. The connections, the fun. A place to belong to. I always felt lost, not wanted," she said with a saddened expression. Her eyes instantly turned tough. "You will keep that between you and me."

Kotero put his hands up in a surrender gesture. "Of course. We're friends. I won't say that to anyone," he said.

"Promise?" she asked.

He nodded his head. "I promise," Kotero said. "You can tell me anything and I'll keep my mouth shut. I don't want you to hurt me."

Nico stayed quiet before she started to laugh. It was a good laugh, Kotero saw her smile with it. "If I told you everything, I would have to kill you," she said. Her laughter suddenly died, and she stared into his eyes. "I'm dead serious."

Kotero gulped and slowly looked away to the battlegrounds. "Let's drop this for now and enjoy Naruto's next fight, yeah?"

---

Konoha Arena Battleground

Naruto walks down to the Arena battlegrounds. In the distance, he sees Genma and Hyūga Neji waiting for him. Once his foot touched the dirt ground, the crowds started to roar.

NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO!

Naruto heard them all call out his name in synch. It was crazy, it made his heart beat faster, the adrenaline in him pumped harder. This was already a day to remember, it didn't need to be more eventful, but it certainly got to be.

Naruto made his way to his spot for battle. The tension was growing. The crowd were cheering. Naruto focused on Neji, who seemed to be staring right at him.

"If ya got something to say, say it," Naruto said. "Better to get it off your chest then leave it inside."

Neji narrowed his eyes, his arms were crossed. "It's pitiful. It is your fate to lose."

Naruto tilted his head. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, you were pitted against me. You and Lee were destined to lose. I will win this, you must be fatigued to the core, my eyes can see that. And I know my Byakugan's power, with it I can't be defeated," Neji said. "You're in the shadow of your clan's past and brother's feats."

Naruto clenched his fist and pointed it at Neji. His eyes were determined and showed that he held back his irritation. "I'm telling you, right here and right now, Kotero-Nii and my clan have nothing to do with this. This is about just you and me, Hyūga Neji. So, let me show you your defeat by my hands. I will win!" Naruto said.

Neji smirked. "Oh? That statement just makes all of this even better. When I show you true reality, I will enjoy seeing it. Your whimpering spirit, your discouraged eyes."

---

Konoha Arena Stands

"Hm. That older boy sure has a loud mouth," Nico said, resting her chin her palm. "He seems unfazed despite that Naruto is the favourite of the crowd. Though I'm not surprised about Naruto, he is my favourite out of the Genin shown. Makes sense that everyone has a similar opinion."

Anko laughed. She stretched back her arms and pushed her fingers up towards the ceiling. A wicked smile was on her face.

Nico narrowed her eyes at Anko. "What's so funny Dango girl?" she asked with a growl.

Anko shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing too funny. Just love seeing people who think they're all high and mighty when they're really not," she said while ending her words with a sly grin.

Nico's eyes darkened, the air around her chilled. She started to stand up slowly, while clenching her fists.

Kotero grabbed her wrist and made her sit back down. "Calm down. Just ignore her and let's enjoy the match together, ok?" he said, hoping she doesn't go any further. He had no idea if he could hold down an outraged kunoichi such as herself.

Nico pulled her wrist away and crossed her arms under her chest. She slumped back to the chair with a huff.

"Women," Asuma said under his breath. Asuma gulped and looked to his left to see Kurenai glaring at him. He shook his head and turned back to the match.

"Who do you think is going to win Shikamaru?" Chōji asked. Chōji was excited for this match, just like the last. He opened another bag of crisps and started eating it. His body shivered from the amazing flavour, Barbeque Pork. This was the perfect combination, a tasty snack and great entertainment. He couldn't ask for anything better.

Shikamaru looked between Naruto and Neji. "Naruto. Naruto will win this," he said. His words were filled with confidence.

"How are you so sure Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru yawned, his last match had made him tired. "I don't know too much about the Hyūga's Gentle Fist,but I know that Neji has to physically hit Naruto. Naruto has jutsu and his staff, he can attack from mid to long ranges. That's a huge advantage."

"So, as long as Naruto doesn't get too close, he should win, yes?" Sakura asked.

"It's not that simple," Haku said. All the Genin looked at the older girl with curious eyes. "From what I know, the Gentle Fist is all about closing tenketsu points to immobilise your opponent. From Rock Lee-san's Eight Inner Gates, it was him opening specific tenketsu points to boost all of his abilities. Naruto-kun is now fighting the total opposite of his last match."

"You got all of that from just observing those two matches?" Kurenai asked her. Herself and the rest of the group bar one person, were surprised that Haku could anaylise so well to such an extent.

Kotero wrapped his arm around Haku and smiled. "See!? Didn't I tell you that Haku-chan was someone really smart and strong. She's going to be a Jōnin in no time back in Kiri. I just know it."

Haku blushed from the compliment. "Thank you, Kotero-san, that means a lot," she said.

Kotero pulled himself off and got himself comfortable back in his chair. "No bother. Only stating the truth. Now, let us finally watch this match and enjoy it together."

---

Konoha Arena Battleground

'Let's test the waters before I do anything… crazy,' Naruto thought. His eyes were completely focused on Neji. Both Genin were in their taijutsu stances. The match was about to start.

Genma chews on his senbon. He looks at Neji and then Naruto. "Looks like you're both ready. Begin!" he called.

The audience cheered loudly once the word was said. However, it quickly died down and silence took over. Neither Naruto or Neji made a move yet.

Naruto felt sweat drip down his forehead. The hot sun was directly above him. He knew it as soon as he set foot onto the ground, this fight was going to be astronomically different from his last.

'Neji didn't show too much in his fight with Shino. He was never pressured. All I know is that Kaiten move and his series of attacks that make up with sixty-four hits in total. Does Neji have any jutsu? His Byakugan can clearly see me and my chakra. I can't trick him like I did with Kiba in the preliminaries. If I get too close, he has the chance of stopping all my movements ttebayo. This is tough,' Naruto thought.

Naruto inhaled through his nose and then closed his eyes. He opened them and locked onto Neji. Crouching forward, Naruto sent chakra to his legs, mainly his quads, hamstrings and calves. He felt the pressure build of chakra grow in each muscle group.

At that moment, he launched from his position and appeared in front of Neji with a right fist ready to punch him straight in the face.

Neji moved to his left and pushed away Naruto's arm. Naruto, seeing that the punch missed, kept his punch going forward. Opening his fist, Naruto placed it on the ground. Naruto placed his other hand on the ground as well, he then let his feet go into the air. Naruto rotated his body and launched a spin kick onto Neji.

The crowd cheered after witnessing the acrobatic display. The match has now truly begun.

Neji jumped back to gain some distance. Naruto slowed down his spinning and used his arms to spring back to his feet, landing on the spot where he was just at.

The two Genin stared down at each other. Since Naruto launched the attack, he lost this battle. But Naruto knew he would win the war.

Naruto ran towards Neji again, getting ready to strike him once more. Naruto came to Neji and spun with pace on his right foot, aiming for a left back heel kick to hit Neji's head. It carried a lot of speed and strength. A clean contact would most likely ensure a knockout.

Naruto was realising how great Neji's eyes really were. Neji leaned back, just enough that his chin was mere millimetres away from the sole of Naruto's blue shinobi sandals.

Naruto ended his spin kick and landed his foot flat. His body was facing Neji's. Naruto's eyes widened once Neji was in his personal space. Thinking fast, Naruto dug his hand into his holster.

Neji flattened his hand and aimed it for Naruto's chest. He released a chakra blast just before Naruto's sternum. Naruto felt it and grunted. It seemed that the padding on his chest took the brunt of the damage as the connection wasn't accurate. He'll worry about the damage to it later, right now he had to get rid of Neji.

Neji formed a clawed left hand and arched it to Naruto's right upper trapezius muscle. Neji was aiming for Naruto's tenketsu point there.

Naruto spun a kunai in his right hand and launched it up towards Neji's face. It was a killing move, but the Gentle fist was just as dangerous. An eye for an eye in these cases.

Neji saw Naruto spin the kunai before he even launched it. Neji, knowing that death would do him no good, pulled back his head and left arm. He narrowly dodged the kunai, this time not on purpose, Naruto truly could have killed him there. A short-range throw gives you very little time to react. Neji was a cut above the hide however, he saw through the quick reaction plan.

Neji somersaulted back once and was a close distance to the wall now. He didn't know if this was Naruto's plan. He hasn't seen anything yet to suggest that Naruto could trap him with the use of the wall. Neji cooled down and breathed slowly. He believed he would be the victor and fate will serve its justice. All he had to do was stay calm and keep his beliefs strong.

Naruto chewed on his lower lip. Fighting Lee was a lot easier in the thinking department. It was more of a punch here and a kick somewhere there. With Neji, Naruto had to remember that every spot on his body was vulnerable with Neji's use of the Gentle Fist.

Naruto didn't want to rely on the Kyūbi again if he really had to. Although the strongest of the nine bijū gave Naruto such amazing power, Naruto knew that there must be some price. He didn't feel any pain after the chakra dissipated in his fight with Lee. And the pain he felt while using it was only because of the incredible rush it had flowing inside his chakra coils, it was quite soothing once Naruto had it all in control. The chakra gave Naruto a great exhilarating feeling in his fight with Lee. He did want to use it again, to feel that rush once more.

'It must affect my seal…' Naruto thought. It was the only conclusion that made sense to him. It also explained why the Kyūbi was so eager to let Naruto use its chakra the second time Naruto asked to use it. 'That sly fox!'

Naruto felt a warm and sark sensation deep within him. Identical to the one he felt in the hospital a month prior.

The only way to defeat Neji now was to make him move around and screw up. A big explosive attack right now could defeat the famed Hyūga prodigy, however it wouldn't score any style points for Naruto.

Naruto made the cross hand seal and moulded his chakra. Performing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, five clones appeared. Naruto saw Neji's eyes widened. He knew how the shadow clones worked.

Large portions of chakra in six separate bodies would confuse any ninja. Neji, having never encountered this, was looking between each Naruto, to see which one was the real one. The large puff of chakra smoke that appeared in front of the original Naruto could have allowed the original and the clones to switch places.

Neji stared at the new bodies, his face showed his surprise from the technique. He then closed his eyes and shook his head. "No matter. It won't change the result."

Neji moved his body to a more defensive fighting stance. He was ready for all of them.

Two of the Naruto clones ran from their spot and closed down the distance between Neji in quick timing. One Naruto performed a leg sweep while the other aimed a back-heel kick to Neji's ribs.

Having trained in the art of taijutsu for his whole life, Neji on instinct jumped low from the leg sweep, stretching his shoulders back towards the ground, the heel kick missed him. He then landed on his hands. Swinging his two legs in separate directions he quickly took care of the two shadow clones.

Neji returned to his feet and saw the three other Naruto clones in a triangle formation around him. The numbers seemed to give him a disadvantage.

Neji decided to take things into his own hands. He changed his defensive fighting stance to his offensive stance and focused to the Naruto in front of him. Neji dashed to the Naruto and started his attack.

The shadow clone Naruto saw Neji's hands and arms move with speed. His index and middle fingers stayed together in a straight while his other fingers were bent and folded. Naruto deduced this was the proper technique for the Gentle fist.

The shadow clone Naruto tried his best to escape Neji's barrage of attacks. He needed help.

The two other shadow clones took out shuriken, they both had six in their hands. Not taking a second longer, both shadow clones threw their shurikens at Neji in sync.

Neji's byakugan allowed him to see the twelve projectiles come his way. Thinking quick, he jumped back from the Naruto he was fighting and started to spin hard to his left. Pouring out chakra, he formed a hemisphere of chakra.

"Kaiten!" Neji shouted as his technique formed to its full size. The Kaiten destroyed the Naruto he was fighting just before. All the shuriken that were thrown had hit the Kaiten. Neji used his skill with the technique to spray the shuriken back at the Naruto shadow clones.

The two Naruto shadow clones looked at each other before the shuriken came their way. They shared eye contact, then they nodded to each other.

The two Naruto shadow clones were pierced from head to toe with shuriken. Their bodies disappeared since they were killing blows.

Neji looked around the battleground. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. He refocused his byakugan and searched the area.

There were traces of chakra everywhere. Neji noticed that the surface of the ground has been covered with his, Lee's, Naruto's, Shikamaru's, Shino's and Temari's. A rock on the far side practically was coated in Naruto's chakra. There was however one large pocket of chakra identical to Naruto's ten metres away from him. The large body of chakra was just an inch underground.

Neji appeared just a metre away from the body of chakra. He assumed that it was more likely than not Naruto, but he wasn't naïve not to do some research on his potential opponent. Uzumaki Naruto, the "Prankster King" and "Prankster from Hell" was well known for his devious tricks around Konoha. A good skill to have in the Ninja world.

Neji was cautious of the chakra in front of him, it looked like Naruto and it was his chakra. However, since the shadow clones have entered the battle, he has been vigilant of any blond ninja he saw.

Neji placed his hand on the ground. A large blast came from his palm. A dust cloud formed and hovered above the battleground.

CRACK! PUFF!

"What the!?" Neji said as his eye's widened.

Naruto appeared and jumped through the ground in front of him, breaking through the crust of the ground, going towards the wall away from Neji. With his three-sixty degree vision, Neji's byakugan saw the rock that only just caught his interest was in fact a transformation. A puff of smoke appeared there with Naruto in tow.

Both Naruto's threw a shuriken each once they were a lengthy distance away from Neji. Both of them started to weave through eight hand seals, starting with Ox and ending it with Tiger.

A hundred shuriken appeared out of thin air all around the two shuriken thrown. Two hundred shuriken were aimed at Neji in total. Naruto performed the Shadow Shuriken Replication Jutsu to overwhelm Neji.

The two large groups of shuriken made their way to Neji. There was no conceivable way for Neji to take them all down with the conventional methods.

Spinning hard to the left once more, Neji released his chakra through every tenketsu point on his body to perform the Kaiten. Neji had to keep up his technique as the shuriken were flying at him from different distances.

As the shuriken had hit the hemisphere of chakra, they deflected and hit the ground, eventually puffing into smoke.

Neji could feel that the shuriken barrage was over. He slowed down his Kaiten, moving slower and slower. His eyes eventually laid onto what must be the original Naruto, who was weaving quickly through hand seals. His final one was Dog. Neji saw Naruto's chest expand greatly.

Neji freaked as he was deceived from Naruto. The shuriken were only a distraction from the real attack. Neji saw the jutsu before, in Lee's match, it was Naruto's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

Seeing that Naruto started to blow out a fierce stream of dense wind, Neji decided there was only one way to protect himself. He started to spin fast once again.

Naruto, as in his last fight, leaned forward and pulled back his left arm to focus his attack. It was powerful.

His eyes widened when he saw his wind warp with Neji's technique again. He was using his. Kaiten to negate Naruto's jutsu.

'What the hell!? He should be out of chakra! That's the third time he used it today, how much chakra does Neji have!?' Naruto thought as his jutsu dissipated.

Naruto watched as Neji slowed down once again. Naruto's eyes saw Neji breathe hard, the technique he used must have used a lot of chakra. Naruto didn't want to use much more in this match. He didn't know how much he will need for his final fight. However, his gut knew that either opponent would be tougher than Neji, he would need as much chakra as possible.

"This farce has been going on for far too long. I will end this now," Neji said. "You are in range of my divination."

"Huh? Range of your divination?" Naruto said. His face then grew a wild grin. His right hand did a 'Come here' gesture. "Bring it on already!"

'I'll take the hit. And I'll give 'im something stronger.'

Neji moved his body to a new stance. Naruto knew it was the same one that Neji used in his match against Shino. "Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four strikes," Neji said.

Naruto calmed his breathing and waited for Neji to come to him. Pulling his sleeves up to reveal all the skin on his arms, his plan was nearly ready to go, he saw Neji preparing himself. Naruto only had a few moments left before the other attacks.

Naruto took out his Wakizashi blade, Silver, with his right hand and sliced open his left palm. The whole audience as well as Neji wondered why Naruto did such a thing.

Naruto threw Silver up to the air, so it just hung above his head. He then covered all his finger tips with his fresh leaking blood. In a flash, he drew intricate symbols all over his arms. As Naruto finished with his left arm after starting with his right, he nabbed Silver from the air and watched Neji dash towards him. Neji was now on the assault. For both of them, this was the deciding moment of their fight.

"Two strikes!" Neji called out as he hit two of Naruto's tenketsu points.

Naruto grunted but still felt good. 'I thought it would be more of a tickle, hehe guess not,' he thought quickly.

"Four strikes!" Neji called out as hit four of Naruto's tenketsu points. A total of six were now closed.

Naruto felt the pain. It was a strange feeling, like a hot needle stabbing you but quickly becoming a numbing sensation.

'Now is the time to begin. Neji is in his groove. It's now time to end this,' Naruto thought, his wild grin still present, showing everyone that he was in control of the battle. Enjoying the hard battle that he was in.

Naruto moved as Neji moved, the latter was surprised. Neji thought that Naruto would already be immobilised from his special strikes. Naruto came into Neji's personal space with speed. Neji's eyes widened when Naruto arrived, he was so close to him and in such a short time. He had completely forgot in the moment of the Uzumaki's tricky fighting style of tricking your oppenents. Naruto unleashed his maximum speed for the perfect moment to end things.

Naruto knew during one's ultimate attack leaves them with their ultimate defence.

Naruto swung Silver up and hit Neji's forehead protector. The forehead protector came off easily. It flew high into the air.

Neji gritted his teeth, his attack has lost form as his focus as changed drastically. "No! My cursed seal!" he said.

Naruto reversed gripped Silver, he then threw his short sword towards Neji's left foot. The short sword went straight through Neji's shinobi sandal and flesh, it eventually stopped when it wedged itself into the ground.

Neji groaned in terrible pain. He jerked back and gritted his teeth hard, to distract himself from the aching agony.

Neji felt both his hands become interlaced with another pair. He looked and saw Naruto gripping both of his hands hard. To most of the audience, their position was similar to the game of Mercy.

"What are you doing?" Neji had to ask. This was not the fight he expected at all.

Naruto sighed. "This fight is over. I have you now, I'm going to beat you," he said.

Neji became frustrated. "This is not how it's supposed to go. Only those who can succeed have talent when they're born. You were the norm. The average. I was born in the Hyūga clan, I was the top of my class," he said.

Naruto laughed lightly. "Yeah, many would think that. But there's a fine line between the prodigies and the hard workers. I think you know that better than anyone. Fuzzy Eyebrows proves that!" he said.

"It was his fate to lose," Neji countered.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm no wise kid but let me tell you something straight, fate is nothing. It has no meaning in this world, the world of shinobi we live in. If it was, you would only be fighting against it, wouldn't ya?" he asked.

Neji scoffed at Naruto. "Fighting against it!? You don't know what is like to be branded with a seal. You don't know how it feels to be worthless," Neji said.

Naruto laughed, making Neji stare at him. "Branded with a seal? You and I are similar there Neji. I learnt about your clan's seal a long time ago. That Bird Cage seal. Trapping your free will, yeah… I know that feeling.

You know, my power, that deadly power I know you saw me use against Fuzzy Eyebrows, the people are scared of it. They fear me. Do you know how that feels? No. You don't know. But, we both felt worthless, that's why we're strong. We fought through our demons to become the ninja we are today."

Naruto gripped harder on Neji's hands and turned both of their arms. He then spat out some blood to his side, Neji's previous strikes didn't go out without some effect.

"I'm not going to be your Sensei. Fuzzier Brows avoided your problems, let them go out of control ttebayo. You are only holding yourself back. Look at me now, I was a dumb numbskull idiot who didn't know my right from my left only a few years back. It changed. Someone came and gave me guidance, showed me the way on how to be a better person. My bestest friend. You need that now. A friend, a new light. Let me be your friend, let me help you," Naruto said.

Naruto exhaled heavily and refocused his eyes on Neji. "Your darkness will only end your life, but it could hurt the ones that love you. Like your cousin Hinata," Naruto said. He saw Neji's eyes widen, all his beliefs were being questioned. He was reforming.

"Hinata-sama…" Neji stuttered.

Naruto sighed. "You're one tough bastard. But, like you said, this match was over once I saw your whimpering spirit, your discouraged eyes. I'm ending this now," he said.

Naruto flowed chakra through his arms. The blood patterns started to glow and move their way to Neji's arms, slowly but surely. The end has finally come.

"What is this?" Neji asked. He has never seen this before.

Naruto grinned. "This is your end. A short-time immobilising seal. The seals will enter your chakra network and shut you completely off for ten minutes. The way I did it wasn't supposed to be done in battle like this, but who cares?" he said with some enjoyment. "Prepare to go to sleep soon Neji."

As soon as all the blood markings left Naruto's arms and entered Neji's system, Neji spasmed around, only keeping in his place due to Naruto and him locking hands and the blade through his left foot keeping him to the ground.

In an act of last second resistance, Neji started to kick Naruto's body with his right leg and knee. Hitting everywhere from the rips to the sides of the legs. However, every strike became weaker and weaker. Naruto didn't move from his spot, this was the end.

Neji's byakugan deactivated by itself. He was losing control of his body. Everything seemed to become fuzzier, hollow and far away to him now. The immobilising seal was truly working to haywire his senses and chakra.

"After all this. After this Chūnin exam. Come to the Uzumaki residence and we can talk about all this," Neji heard before his vision disappeared and darkness took over.

Neji collapsed to the floor with Naruto standing over his. Naruto's left palm was bleeding still, as well as Neji's left foot. Naruto took out Silver from the left foot and put the blade back in its holster.

Naruto looked at his left palm and watched it slowly stich itself back together. The reason it was healing so quickly was most likely due to the Kyūbi's chakra residue in Naruto's chakra system. The healing factor from the Kyūbi was simply incredible.

Genma knelt on the ground to inspect Neji. Sighing heavily Genma stood up after he saw that he was out for the count. He raised his hand and then pointed it to Naruto.

"Winner of round five, Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma said, loud enough so the whole crowd could hear.

NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO!

The crowd cheered out his name once again. Naruto smiled and waved at the crowds. He blew kisses at everyone he could see. The crowds were going wild for the blond ninja.

Two medical nin came with a gurney. Naruto saw them take off Neji's sandal and apply first aid to his left foot. Once it was in satisfactory condition, Naruto saw them place Neji on the gurney and move towards the infirmary.

Naruto eyes grew worried. Did he go too far with that sealing technique? He didn't know, but he had to leave it in the past now. The crowds were cheering for him, Naruto shouldn't be disrespectful and ignore them.

Naruto gave Genma a nod before leaving the battlegrounds and heading towards the main stands. As he walked he waved to the crowds with a bright smile.

---

Konoha Arena Stands

'I'm sure they have plenty of stuff to say,' Naruto thought with a sigh. Despite winning two of his matches, he could foresee either Kotero or Shikamaru talking nonsense about his strategies used in that match. The two loved to badmouth Naruto whenever they had the chance. It was all in good fun, but Naruto couldn't say that it didn't annoy him from time to time.

Naruto eventually made his way towards the main stands. He walked down the steps to where the group was. Seeing them, Naruto made himself known to the group. Smiling faces were made when they all saw him.

"What'd you guys think of that?" Naruto asked as he showed off a happy grin.

"What was that!?" Sakura said in wonder. "You never did anything like that before!"

Ino agreed by nodding quickly.

Kotero sighed and patted both girl's heads, annoying them."You two young ladies should shut your little mouths. A shinobi must keep some secrets to themselves. Besides that Naruto, it was very entertaining to say the least," he said smiling. He then removed his hands and went back to his seat. "I wonder what you said to Neji there. You broke his spirit. His eyes said as much."

Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. His eyes focused on his brother. "Yeah, I did. I had to destroy it to win."

"Yes, you did. And I'm sure Gai is happy that you did that. Isn't that right… Gai?" Kotero said as his head turned more to the stairs, seeing Maito Gai walk down them slowly. Kotero stood up from the seat to look at the man.

Naruto and the others turned their heads to see Gai appear. The man looked depressed, not only did both of his students lose, but one showed that he was not fulfilling his duty as a good Sensei.

Gai turned his head and stared at Naruto with questioning eyes. Almost as if he was trying to find some great answer within Naruto's aura.

Gai exhaled heavily through his nose, and then shook his head side to side. His eyes turned kind. "Yes Kotero-san. Where did things go wrong?" he asked himself.

"Did things go wrong though? This could be the new start of your team's future. All three have potential," Kotero said. "Two of them have already impressed many. What will be, will be. You can't change the past. Focus on the future, make all three of your relationships grow stronger."

Gai listened to the words and nodded slowly. "Thank you for the words."

Kotero shook his head. "I only stated the truth. It's what you do with it that'll matter in the long run. The others agree here, Gai, you're a great Sensei and a wonderful Jōnin. Just be you, and deal with these problems head on. The Hyūga clan might get mad with you interfering but it'll be better for Neji."

Gai sighed depressingly, something that did not fit his usual character at all. "What would you do Asuma?" Gai asked.

Asuma tapped the end of his cigarette and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I'd just talk to my students about their problems. I never had to deal with what you're dealing with now," he said.

Gai nodded. "I just wanted to make everything joyful, fun and youthful. To raise his spirits because of his gloomy past," he said.

Kotero rested his hands on his hips. "There's still time. You saw it with your own two eyes today, Neji is questioning his past views."

"Don't worry!" Naruto interrupted. Everyone turned their eyes to the short blond. "Neji and me are friends now. I'll help him out!" he said.

Gai smiled at Naruto. "I now see why Lee was so excited to fight you Naruto-kun. Those eyes, that spirit… You're strong, physically and mentally. The power of Youth is strong within you," he said.

"To see your two students be beaten by the same Genin, when they are older and more experienced as well. That must hurt though," Nico said to Gai. She had only joined the conversation. "Losing like that, it says a lot of their Sensei."

Kotero groaned at her words. He wondered if she was trying to stir up some trouble.

"Gai, this is my friend Nico. She's from the Capital. Don't pay too much mind, she can be a huge pain in the ass a lot of the times," Kotero said. His head moved to the woman to see she was giving him a frightful glare. Kotero shook his head at her and lightly laughed, it was all fun and games, wasn't it?

Gai looked at the white-haired woman with a sad smile. "No, Nico-san is right. But, I'm glad that Lee and Neji lost to Naruto-kun. He was the perfect opponent for both. He is clearly the superior shinobi in these exams. Despite his lack of experience and his short career, Naruto-kun is an exceptional Genin. It shouldn't surprise me though, his brother and Kakashi were his mentors," he said. "The youth in him gives me hope."

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, Fuzzier Brows Sensei, I did all the hard work. All they did was relax and pamper themselves," he said cheekily.

The group laughed apart from one. Naruto could feel two purple eyes bore into the side of his head.

Anko yawned and stretched her back. "Now the only match we have to wait for is that kid's match, Sasuke's match," she said, cracking her neck.

Chatter grew among Sakura and Ino, worrying over the hidden Sasuke.

Naruto growled under his breath. "I've done everything I could, and he still hasn't come."

"Calm down Naruto-kun," Haku said. "You need to relax before your final match."

Naruto sighed. "You don't say. I know that already, I just don't want him to get kicked out ttebayo. It'll be annoying if he doesn't fight. I'm sure I have to hear him whine about it later," he said.

"Maybe so, maybe not," Shikamaru said. "You could get promoted and change teams."

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "I almost forgot about that. But, I'm sure Kakashi-sensei would want me to still go on missions with him and Sakura."

"No. You will put to work on harder missions," Asuma said, butting in. "That only happens under special circumstances. They'll just replace you with another Genin. Or we might have to change teams up."

Kotero sat back down and grunted. Looking at Naruto, he gave him a slight smile. "You want that, right? Hopefully we'll get to do a mission together. Just you and I," he said. "I think it'll be nice."

Naruto smiled at the future prospect. It was one of his short term goals.

The audience grew sick of waiting. Their patience was wearing thin. There could be a serious brawl soon between the more drunk attenders. The general consensus was that it's a disgrace that the match has been put off for so long.

Kurenai shook her head in disappointment. "It is just like Kakashi to be this late," she said.

"Something could have happened to him or his student," Anko said. "And we are just kept in the dark."

"Nah," Kotero blurted out. "Kakashi is strong, and Sasuke is not shabby at all. They should be here. They have to be."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "If they should be here, then why aren't they here? If something happened to them, then it would explain why they haven't arrived."

Kotero rolled his eyes. "I thought you had faith in your Sensei and friend, Naruto, isn't that what you always say?" he asked.

Naruto scoffed at his brother's words. "Shut up Nii-chan!" he yelled out.

Kotero erupted into a state of laugher and started to slap his knee. He calmed down quickly and smiled at Naruto.

"If he doesn't come in the next few seconds, he'll be disqualified," Asuma said.

The rest nodded in agreement. Both Ino and Sakura's worry grew tenfold. "Sasuke-kun…" they both whispered to themselves.

WHOOSH!

A storm of leaves appeared beside Genma on the battlegrounds. Two figures shrouded by shadows were in the centre of the whirlwind.

Genma saw the action from the corner of his eyes. A grin appeared once he saw who it was.

The leaves and wind died down. Once the crowd laid their eyes on the mystery pair, they up roared in arms, not in anger but joy and excitement.

Sakura and Ino both went into awe. "He's here! Sasuke-kun made it!" Sakura said joyfully, and loudly.

The crowd did see both Kakashi and Sasuke standing in the middle of the battlegrounds, back to back.

Kakashi looked the same as ever, however Sasuke was in a new outfit. Naruto saw Sasuke wear a black, one-pieced Uchiha outfit. New details covered his body, Naruto saw that Sasuke's limbs were wrapped with many small belts. There were similar bands around his legs.

The outfit spelt out one thing. He was ready to fight.

The group watched as Kakashi and Genma talk, with Sasuke staying quiet, keeping his eyes focused on Gaara in the Genin balcony. The Jōnin groaned when they saw Kakashi apologise profusely to Genma for his and Sasuke's tardiness.

Sand blew into the wind and the figure of Gaara grew from the ground up. He was also eager for this match. His bloodlust was oozing out of him, his aura was a deadly cold one as well. A grin fit for fanatics was plastered on his face.

Promptly after Gaara appeared, Kakashi disappeared from the battlegrounds. The fight was going to start very soon.

Moments later, some of the group heard footsteps.

"Yo Gai, and the others. How are all you doing?" the voice of Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi!" Gai said with his trademark smile.

"Kakashi, where were you? Did you know what I had to do for you so Sasuke didn't get disqualified?" Kotero asked.

Kakashi shook his head slowly. "No… We were late because Sasuke was just doing some last-minute polishing. What did you have to do?" he asked.

Kotero groaned and sighed heavily, putting on a show. "I had to beg. I was on my hands and feet, begging my heart out to make Hokage-sama postpone Sasuke's match. The things I do for my friends," Kotero said with exaggerated and fake emotions.

Kakashi slumped. "Did you actually? Now I feel bad for you," he said.

Asuma laughed and shook his head. "No. He didn't. He's only pulling your leg Kakashi. But Sasuke's match was postponed. Tou-san was considering disqualifying him earlier on."

"So, who fought instead?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto stuck his hand up. "I had my second match with Neji. I'm already in the finals Sensei!" he said excitedly.

Kakashi's eye widened. He smiled under his mask and then ruffled Naruto's hair. "Wow. Well done Naruto. I'm proud of you. Following your Sensei's footsteps, I got to the finals on my first go and won the whole thing," he said.

"You won it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded to him. "Yeah. That was some twenty years ago. A long time ago."

"You don't say," Kotero said. "I wasn't even born then."

Kotero saw Sakura talk to Kakashi, she brought up the bruise that Sasuke had received during the forest of Death. Kotero began to look around the stadium. There were many figures in cloaks and masks.

'Eight of them here… That's two platoons. That's not enough to cover the main stand, and with all these high-figure heads, it's risky. Jiji must have stationed more all around the village. This is going to be the epicentre. I just hope the old man doesn't get a heart attack over this,' Kotero thought.

Kotero's eyes glanced over to Kakashi and Gai, the two were talking quietly. He assumed they're were discussing the same thing as he was thinking.

'That Gaara kid, he's an important person. He might be the trigger for them… What have they all cooked up for us I wonder?' Kotero thought further.

"Nii-chan."

Kotero broke out of his thoughts and looked at Naruto. "Wha?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Are you okay? You looked all serious," he said. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

'I was told not to say anything to Naruto… Ah fuck it,' Kotero thought.

Kotero stood up and moved past Nico. "Where are you going?" she asked him.

Kotero looked down to her. "I need to have a chat with Naruto now. Can you not stay here without me? Ah, that's cute," he said with a condescending tone.

Nico growled. "Alright. Go away. I didn't want to talk to you anyway," she said before crossing her arms under her chest.

Naruto watched his brother and Nico stare at each other. He had no idea how to describe it. It was strange. A peculiar feeling. Cold yet hot. It made no sense to him. Shaking his head, Naruto focused on his brother who set foot onto the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked.

Kotero went up the steps after patting both Gai and Kakashi's shoulders. "Just to the start of the stairs, come on," he said.

The two Uzumaki brothers left the ground and went to the top of the stands. They stopped before the stairs. Kotero rested against the wall and Naruto stood in front of him.

Kotero saw Naruto look up to him with questioning eyes. "I suppose I should tell you since you are basically a Chūnin at this point."

"What is going on?" Naruto asked. "With Sasuke's match being postponed, I sorta got suspicious."

Kotero smiled at Naruto. "Oh? That's good. But that's not the problem. Orochimaru is."

Naruto frowned. "Orochimaru is? How so Nii-chan?"

Kotero scratched his cheek. "I don't know what he wants. But, we're expecting an attack from him today. It could be either an assassination or a full-on assault from him. We don't know. But if he's going to do it, it'll be today. If there is an attack, it'll either be from him or him with his Oto ninja," Kotero said.

Naruto crossed his arms. "With all the different nations and people, Konoha had to focus on the higher ranks, so he could slip in with a few men. This could be really bad."

Kotero nodded. "Exactly. Very good Naruto. And we don't know his true objections. All we know is that he has a vendetta against Konoha and Jiji. It doesn't help that he marked Sasuke. He could also be an objective of his," he said.

Naruto grunted. "Sasuke… He just can't catch a break. I won't let the snake touch him."

"Ha. You and me both on that one. If something does go awry, be careful and help protect everyone. Haku, Sakura and Ino should be able to take of themselves, they're kunoichi, not damsels in distress. The Daimyō and their wives, if they're here, would be the most important," Kotero said.

Naruto nodded. "Okay. What about Nico-neechan?" he asked.

Kotero titled his head to the side. "Nico? Why her? Naruto, she's really, really strong. Don't worry about her," he said.

"Why aren't you telling Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

Kotero pursed his lips. "Eh… I didn't think about it. Anyway, Shikamaru is tired at the moment. Or at least he says so. And, I trust you will help out immensely if something does go wrong."

Naruto nodded. "Ero-sennin said something similar to me after my win against Lee."

"Jiraiya did!?" Kotero said with wide eyes. Surprise was evident. "Did he give any details?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, nothing at all. He's a very secretive man."

Kotero sighed at the words. "I find it annoying as well. But, it is his job I suppose. And despite his lewdness, he's alright to talk with."

As soon as Kotero finished his words, there was a chirping noise. Some would even have said it was cackling loudly. A fierce source of power was sensed by both brothers. It was coming from the battlegrounds.

Naruto felt a shiver go down his back. "This noise… It's like the bridge. That attack from Sensei to try and kill Zabuza. But Kakashi-sensei isn't fighting," Naruto said.

Kotero gasped. "Sasuke! He learnt that jutsu and is able to perform it already… Seriously, that kid is something else. Naruto, we should go back and watch. We're missing out," Kotero said.

"But what about the stuff you just said?" Naruto asked.

Kotero moved and smiled at Naruto. "It's alright. With you and I here, there should be nothing to worry about. We brothers are the best team. Ain't that right?" he said with a grin.

Naruto smiled widely and nodded excitedly. "YES! Now, let's go," he said loudly.

The two brothers went onto the steps. Kotero saw that his seat was taken by Kakashi. It made him unhappy, he had a really good view on the fights.

The two brothers arrived at the bottom of the main stands. Naruto was standing in front of Kotero, the latter's hands were resting on Naruto's shoulders.

The two saw a sand ball close to the centre of the battleground. They looked and found Sasuke, on the wall with lightning being generated out of his hand. The power of the attack was unreal.

"That jutsu is too flashy," Kotero commented. "Way too over the top."

Kakashi chuckled. "Don't say that Kotero. Just because you can't do it doesn't mean it's too 'flashy'. It is my own creation after all, you should praise it," he said.

"Sensei, what is it? I can see Sasuke's chakra," Sakura asked.

Kakashi turned his eyes to Sakura. "That is the fruit of his labours. This is the reason on why we were late. Sasuke and I are the same. Watch him now and be prepared to be blown away!"

"Blown away?" Naruto muttered under his breath. "What is Sasuke going to do?"

"Naruto-kun, Kakashi is a specialist in copying other's techniques but this is his only original move. A single thrust. All your chakra transformed into lightning and focused in the palm of your hand. The ultimate assassination move," Gai said. "No wonder you made him only train in his speed and taijutsu."

Kakashi nodded. "I see that you get it."

"But you have taught him a reckless move," Gai lamented. "That move is dangerous. Remember?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "I don't want to hear that from you. I already heard about Lee-kun and his ability to open the first five gates."

"What's that move called?" Ino asked.

Gai smiled. "It's named after the sound it creates. Chidori, as it makes the sound for a thousand chirping birds. It can also be more focused to become be Raikiri. It is called that because Kakashi used it to cut a bolt of lightning," he said.

Kotero heard a whisper enter his right ear. "That has to be nonsense, right?" Nico asked him.

Kotero turned his head, he saw the obvious doubt in her blue eyes. Kotero then laughed at her. "Why don't you ask to find out? Kakashi won't bite, he has his mask on," he said with a gleeful smile.

Nico's face turned sour, she then huffed and watched the match once again.

"That thing, Chidori, is really powerful," Naruto said. "No wonder it's the ultimate assassination technique. It would be better though if he could attack from a good range."

"Why?" Kotero asked him. He was interested in what Naruto was thinking.

Naruto watched as Sasuke ran down the wall, coming close to the ground. The attack was soon going to happen. "I don't know. Short range attacks seem dangerous with Gaara. If he could attack from far away, then there's no risk… Did I say something stupid?" Naruto asked at the end.

Kotero shook his head. "Not at all. It's actually… given me a good idea for a future attack. Thanks Naruto," he said.

BANG!

A huge dust cloud formed at the point of where the wall and ground meets. Sasuke flew out of it with his Chidori, aiming to hit the ball of sand with all his might.

The whole audience watched as Sasuke's arm entered the supposedly impenetrable ball of sand. He was nearly skewered alive with the sand spikes truncating outwards. However, Sasuke's sharingan allowed him to position his body to avoid the threats.

"Blood… MY BLOOD!" the scream of a terrified Gaara shouted from his sand sphere.

"What is he on about?" Asuma said. "A ninja is supposed to get hurt once in a while."

"Yes, you're absolutely right. But Asuma, Gaara has been reported never to have been wounded once. His sand shield protects him from all threats. This might be the first time someone broke through it," Kotero said.

"AAAHHH!" the pained scream of Sasuke was heard. Lighting came out of his hand from where his left hand was. He pulled out his arm from the sand sphere, however there was a large sand arm with blue lines latching onto it.

The audience gasped at the sight of the monstrous limb. They were wondering where it came from, and if it belonged to Gaara.

A shiver ran down Kotero's back. This feeling was all too familiar. "This match has gone too far," he said. 'This feeling... Yagura's Sanbi… Naruto's Kyūbi…'

Kotero was about to stand up but stopped. The monstrous arm pulled itself back. There was the noise of rummaging inside.

Sasuke knelt to the ground and looked at his arm, thankfully it was fine.

The audience watched as sphere started to shake slightly. Everyone wondered if there was something growing inside.

"ROAR!" the full, deep, prolonged cry uttered by the now ominous creature inside the sand sphere was heard by all around. The force of its cry blew back Sasuke's hair and body. Sasuke could only kneel and watch in horror. There is nothing in his past that could've prepared him for this.

The sand sphere collapsed and revealed Gaara, bleeding blood with shocked eyes. Sasuke was still recuperating from the horror show that happened in front of his eyes.

Naruto watched the match with keen eyes, he turned his head for his brother's input.

"Nii-chan, what is-"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Huge and devasting explosions were heard all around Konoha. Everyone turned their heads in every single direction, there were so many of them. Everyone was confused.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Another set of explosions occurred all around Konoha. The ground shook violently. the people lost their balance and fell to the floor.

The audience inside the arena started to scream and get out of their chairs. Running for the closest exit was their first and only priority. The act of terrorism was causing a mass panic.

Kotero focused his eyes and ears on his surroundings.

"This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't the signal!"

"We have to ditch the mass Genjutsu and go ahead."

"All these people are going to make things harder!"

"Don't mind them. Kill them if they're in the way. We have to fight now! We have to give Orochimaru-sama as much time as possible!"

The voices of four different people were heard. Kotero was already on his feet as well as the others. He calmed his chakra and tried to sense what was going on. He needed to have some clue for these mysterious explosions.

Kotero's eyes widened and a gasp escaped his lips. "What the hell!? There are so many here!" he said.

"Kotero-san, what do you mean?" Gai asked.

Kotero's eyes turned deadly serious. "Gai, everyone else, this is really bad. I'm sensing so many new different chakra signatures all around Konoha. Inside and out. They're all flared up to the max."

"We're under attack. That much is obvious," Kakashi stated. "What should we do with Hokage-sama?" he asked.

"An ANBU platoon should already made its way to the Kage balcony. I'm worried for Mei, Zabuza and Ao. We're under attack by Oto and Orochimaru. We have to make sure that they're safe," Kotero said. "Haku, go to Mei right now and make sure she leaves Konoha territory. If she dies here, both Konoha and Kirigakure will suffer. She is a top priority."

Haku walked towards Kotero with worried eyes. "But Kotero-san-" Haku looked to her chest and saw Naruto blocking her path. She was astounded on how his low-key goofy persona vanished and his serious side came out.

"Listen to Kotero-Nii. Let's not waste time and get to work!" Naruto said with bite. He was being very stern at that moment.

Kotero tightened the knot of his forehead protector. "Alright! Listen up here cause I'm only going to say this once. We're under attack. We have to spread out and kill the threat. But first, we must evacuate the citizens and protect the Daimyō. Once they're safe, we can finally end the threat.

Haku, you will go and find the Mizukage and her guards. I changed my mind, you four will need to either escape Konoha grounds or go to the bunkers. I don't care, just as long as you four are safe.

Asuma and Kurenai, you guys will help protect the Daimyō.

Kakashi and Gai will cover the main stands and others.

Anko, I need you to go and find Ibiki. You two need to help coordinate with the ANBU and we need to find out why the other ANBU aren't here right now!

Ino, Kiba, Hinata and Chōji. You will form a four-man cell and help the Chūnin and other ninja protect and evacuate the citizens to the emergency bunkers. If there any people too injured send them to the Konoha hospital. That is already a base of operations in times of emergency. You guys will cover the Northern half.

Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru will form a three-man cell and will have the same objective. However, you will cover the Southern half.

This is an order where you can't defy. Avoid conflict as much as possible. If there is too many, call for back up, otherwise run away!

Do you understand!?" Kotero yelled out.

"Understood!" they all said.

An Oto ninja came flying into the group of Konoha ninja. His tantō aimed for the throat of Kotero. Coming to his right side, there was no one blocking him. The group were shocked to see him coming out of nowhere. The masses of random citizens and foreign ninja running away made him invisible to their distracted eyes.

"Kotero!" Anko shouted as she took out a kunai. Her eyes locked onto the Oto ninja incoming, she was already prepared to skin him inside out.

GRAB!

The Oto ninja was held up off his feet. A feminine hand was wrapped around his throat, squeezing hard. The man was struggling to breathe and was moving like a wild animal.

"Nico," Kotero stuttered out. He completely forgot about her at that moment. He couldn't blame himself though, he was focused on all the ninja in the village. Nico wasn't a ninja of any village.

The whole group looked at the woman hold up the man. She tightened her grip on the Oto ninja, making him squirm.

"You know, you really pissed me off," Nico said, squeezing harder. "I was enjoying myself here. I was spending time with someone who I don't hate at all. Do you know how rare that is?" she asked.

The Oto ninja shook his head. Nico smiled. It was sweet, yet it held terrifying coldness behind it.

"Of course, you don't. Now, you're going to tell me, Kotero, Naruto and their friends what is going on. Isn't that right?" she demanded.

The Oto ninja didn't do anything at all. Nico grunted from her impatience. Flickers of blue emitted from her palm. Smoke raised from the Oto ninja's face mask. He started to scream from the searing hot pain.

"How about now?" Nico asked.

The Oto ninja nodded. Nico loosened her grip but still held his throat. The Genin were all amazed by her strength.

"Orochimaru-sama is planning on destroying Konoha. He has the aid of Sunagakure. He wishes to kill the Sandaime Hokage himself. There are also three objectives that we, the Oto and Suna ninja, had to complete.

First, is to capture Uzumaki Naruto. Second is to capture Uchiha Sasuke. Third was to either kill or capture Uzumaki Kotero," the Oto ninja said.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

More explosions were happening around Konoha. The group had to split up as soon as possible.

"What about these explosions? There's a lot of them," Nico asked.

The Oto ninja shook his head violently. "We have no knowledge of the planted bombs. It was supposed to be a high-level mass genjutsu to put everyone to sleep. This was not part of any divisions' plans," he said.

Nico nodded and then gritted her teeth. "Why do you want the two Uzumaki?" she asked.

"What does it matter to you?" the Oto ninja asked.

Nico choked the Oto ninja harder, her eyes became tougher, her aura colder. "It doesn't matter how it matters to me. Don't avoid the question."

The Oto ninja coughed hard once Nico loosened her grip. "We were not given explicit details. But Uzumaki Naruto is for bribery or protection. Uzumaki Kotero is for experimentation, something about Uzumaki genes," he said. "Orochimaru-sama has had his interest peeked in him since his return a month ago."

Nico's eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes narrowed onto the Oto ninja. Both Naruto and Kotero felt uneasy around the woman right at that moment. They could sense that she was very angry, despite not saying much, Nico was radiating her fury.

Nico growled. "I could've guessed as much. Though, I can't let that happen. I like these two Uzumaki. And there's more people I don't like than I do like. So, I don't want these two out of my sight or dying anytime soon," she said.

"Wha… What are you going to do!?" the Oto ninja shouted.

Nico moved her right hand and gripped the top of his head. Stealing a kunai from Kotero's leg holster, she sliced through the Oto ninja's throat. The kunai went through the ninja's carotid artery like butter.

The blood sprayed out in red jet streams. Some of the blood went onto Kotero's face, completely covered him from the tip of his chin to the top of his forehead.

The noise of gurgled screams was heard. A terrifying scream for all those to hear, even worse for those who witnissed it.

"What the hell is she?" the whisper of Kiba was heard. His eyes were wide from the spectacle. He was ignored

Nico dropped the limp body and looked at Kotero. "Weak and useless subordinates, he must have been a higher-up to know that much information. Kotero, are you okay? You got blood all over your face," Nico said, wiping some off his cheek with her thumb.

Kotero slapped her hand away softly before he wiped the blood off his face, he then spat some out. "Yuck… Oto blood, I never want to taste that again. Yeah, don't worry Nico, I'm… just fine. Okay, now we know Suna are a part of this. This is now a declaration of war from both Sunagakure and Otogakure. Everyone knows their orders. Let's go!" Kotero ordered.

Everyone formed into their pairs and groups and rolled out.

Naruto clapped his hands to gather the attention of Sakura and Shikamaru. "Come on! We better go and help everyone. Sakura, Shikamaru, on me! Let's go!" Naruto shouted as he ran out towards the exit of the stadium.

It was a surprise that nether Shikamaru or Sakura complained about the order. They followed Naruto without hesistation.

"Who could be the other enemy attacking Konoha that's neither Suna or Oto?" Nico asked Kotero.

Kotero shrugged his shoulders. He made his way to the top of the stairs. He clenched his fist and pulled back his hand. It was ready to unleash a mighty strike.

CRACK!

Kotero punched a hole into the wall. He looked back and saw that Nico followed him up. "I don't know who else could be attacking us right now. But I swear to god I'm going to make them regret it. Nico get out of here. I would really hate it if you got killed here."

Kotero didn't wait for her reply and leapt out of the arena. He was thinking at a mile a minute. This was ten times worse than his own worst-case scenario. Konoha had the worst luck of late.

'Who the hell could be attacking us right now!? Ah! All that matters is making sure that everyone is safe. Naruto… keep yourself alive, I know you can do this!'

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