"Katon:Goukyaku no jutsu!"

A medium-sized fireball erupted from the Uchiha as he exhaled into his hand. Naruto didn't even flinch as the flames hit him; they merely burst outwards, becoming a ring of charred earth encompassing the blonde.

'What?'

"Sorry, but a jutsu of that strength won't do a damn thing against me...Sasuke."

The comment made its mark as the ebony eyes of the genin narrowed in anger.

'He's insulting me me! But, how'd he block my katon technique? He didn't even move!'

Flipping through seals, Sasuke called out,"Katon:Hosenka no jutsu!"

Exhaling brought forth another round of flaming spheres, but this time, the Uzumaki barely moved, only clearing the attacks with a smirk on his face.

"Huh, you wouldn't happen to know any other moves, would you, if not I'll have to end this now."

The avenger answered in an agitated voice,"You keep insulting me...Fine, I was hoping to use this against the sannin in the finals, but seems like you'll have to do."

Naruto lazily threw a kunai in his opponent's direction, the latter of which ducked the projectile, yet his hair fell over his eyes casting his face in shadow. With a nod, the genin thought,'So, he does have it after all...This'll be good.'

Standing, the genin of the year rushed forward with a roar. His target fluidly dodged a roundhouse combination, ducking the following haymaker, and front flipping over the low spin kick that came in sequence. Turning around with an overhead swing, the 'gaki' calling aloud,"Katon:Ensho." From two fingers, a stream of fire erupted and whipped towards the crouched boy, forcing him into a one-handed cartwheel and back-handspring as he revealed his familial legacy to the world...

The Sharingan had awaken, and was spinning madly inside the raven-haired Uchiha's eyes.

Viewing Port

"Hmmmm, looks like things just got complicated."

Slightly looking to the girl, both Sakura and Hinata asked,"What do you mean?"

Sighing and shaking her head, the mahogany kunoichi replied,"With Sasuke's activation of the sharingan, Naruto now has to avoid getting his techniques copied by that annoying child."

Arena

'When'd he do the seals for that, there's no way the dobe did it without them.'

A laugh came from Naruto as he spoke.

"Ya know Sasuke, your more of an idiot than I thought!"

"What did you say?"

"Your 'secret weapon' has three major flaws.."

Stands

All people present were astounded, they couldn't believe that the fight had turned out to be so...entertaining. Those that believed the fight was going to be a swift one were practically choking on those thoughts as the blonde was effectively trouncing the Uchiha. Now, to hear that the Sharingan, the pride and joy of Konoha had flaws was truly something that had everyone's attention.

Kakashi's face was in a furious scowl; here his student was, about to expose not only his teammate but his own flaws wherein using their hidden ace, publicly... To say he was upset would be to say dishcloths get wet when used properly.

Arena

"Firstly, it's famous. Any and everyone can figure what it looks like and what it does if they ask an educated shinobi. That being the case, it's pretty much second nature that there are ways around it, this leading to my second point.. You, the user, has to see the handsigns in order to accurately copy the jutsu yet if it's not the full array you still can't copy it. Example A being just now, could you copy what I did?"

The growl emanating from the Uchiha made the blonde's smirk widened a bit as he continued," Finally, you and your all-powerful doujutsu have to be able to keep up with your target. If you can't keep pace, it's pretty safe to say, your eyes can't either. In which case, you lose to me in all aspects, so if I were you, I'd put those eyes away before I show you just how useless they are in this fight."

The raven genin stormed forward with an enraged roar, as he closed in on the boy he shouted, "Yarou! I'll let you see the power of the Uchiha and show you right where your place is!"

Circling around his opposing genin, he went through a few seals before yelling,"Beneath me! Katon: Ryūka no jutsu!"

Exhaling, the kekkei genkai user produced an enormous stream of flame that flew towards the young Uzumaki. Halfway there, the jutsu broke down into several small blazing dragons and attacked the boy from different angles. A malicious smile stretched the shinobi's lips as he saw his attack connect, yet it soon was replaced by a look of shock as he watched the flames waver and dissipate from the his target's form..and with not a single hair out of place.

"W-what the hell?"

A look of amusement was on Naruto's face as he gazed at his opponent, the smirk hadn't once faltered from his features.

Viewing Area

"I-I can't believe this; Naruto, of all people, is evenly matched with Sasuke." Ino stated with an expression of awe, to which Mei remarked,"It looks like he's beating Sasuke to me."

The pale blond was making to retort when Sakura shook her head and spoke,"He's toying with him. Testing him, he's seeing if he can even marginally get serious about this fight."

Hinata followed suit while nodding,"He always does that, unless he already knows that he is encountering a threat."

Choji interjected as he ate a single chip,"Is it just me, or is he using a bunch of jutsu that are new and unheard of? Come to think of it, he hasn't used a jutsu that I recognize yet."

Mei smirked as she responded,"Then pay attention, cause here one comes."

Arena

Placing his hands into a cross shape, the Namikaze child started up his signature jutsu with a bored voice,"Kage bunshin no jutsu."

Smoke erupted from his position as the jutsu was performed, yet when the smoke cleared, the boy was still standing in his original spot. Sasuke glared at his fellow nin before laughing aloud,"You dobe! You failed at the one thing you spam? How pathetic."

Kage's Booth

The hokage shook his head as a chuckle escaped his throat,"That Naruto is really something else."

Jiraiya nodded absent-mindedly as he asked,"Sensei, did he just do what I think he did?"

Smiling, the old kage said,"Wait and see, Jiraiya, we shall both find out momentarily."

Arena

Suddenly, Naruto was chin-level in the dirt as Sasuke stood over him muttering,"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu."

Glancing up, the blond cheerfully said,"Wow, Sasuke! Ya got me! Not."

In that instant the blond shinobi vanished in a small burst of smoke, and a green light shone from underneath the ebony-eyed ninja. Looking down, the Uchiha noticed that he was paralyzed, and then he saw that it was a seal array that encompassed him and prevented his movement.

'I-I can't move! What the hell is this, some kind of genjutsu?'

In the corner of his vision, he saw Naruto in a relaxed stance, with his hands in his pockets. Sweat broke out on the boy's brow as he struggled to fight off the apparent hold of whatever it was keeping him pinned.

"Oi, duckass. You're within my field of divination. Hakke Hyaku Nijuhachi Sho."

A yellow blur was all the last Uchiha saw before his body flared with pain, and all through it he heard the voice of his opposition counting,"2.4..8..16...32..64...128!"

The combo ended with a powerful open palm strike to the sternum, effectively removing the black-haired teen from the other's presence.

"Don't bother getting up, this fight is over. Without chakra your sharingan is useless, and without that you don't even come close to standing a chance against the jyuken..If you can't fight without those oh-so-precious eyes of yours, you have no right to even consider yourself strong."

The proctor appeared and proclaimed the winner of the match as said teen calmly walked back to his chair to recline.

Stands

The crowd was stunned. They had just witnessed the impossible, a non-Hyuga doing one of their techniques without a Byakugan in a perfect display of skill against an Uchiha. One shinobi muttered,"I never thought that was possible." A kunoichi with long black hair, deep red eyes with a ring in the iris, and a battle kimono thought out loud,"Amazing. To complete outclass the Uchiha using a Hyuga move without the use of a kekkei genkai...truly fascinating."

Kage booth

Jiraiya sat back with a nod and a smile on his face,"As I thought, kage bunshin."

Tsunade, her countenance that of calculation, spoke aloud her thoughts."Mei was right, he is strong, and it seems he was holding back still."

The professor chuckled once again as he responded to his students' queries,"Quite true, a master in the art of deception this one is. He will be a wildcard for whoever he faces, now to see who else will be joining him."

Viewing Area

As the genin proceeded to his chair, Hinata and Sakura waited by the steps for his arrival, as he closed in they glomped him with a cry of delight. Hinata, the first to calm down, gleefully spoke first,"That was an amazing match Naru-kun! I'm glad you used the Hyuga clan technique to put him in his place!"

Sakura, a little red in the cheeks, answered immediately after her fellow kunoichi.

"Naruto-sensei, that was very well fought on your part. I didn't know you could perform the jyuken without the Byakugan...truly an eye opening battle for all of us."

"Eto..arigato, but girls, your matches are gonna be up soon. Good luck, and I hope that you fight smart, not so much in the hard department."

"Now, will Meikakushi Kurama and Sakura Haruno proceed to the floor!"

The pinkette blinked before her visage donned a look that would make a Hyuga jealous as she proceeded to the arena floor.

"Sakura."

Turning, she looked directly into Naruto's cerulean orbs as he said humorlessly,"Be careful."

A nod was her answer as she walked away. The blunette spoke as she stood beside her partner,"You're worried about her, aren't you."

"Of course I am. Mei isn't going to go easy on her, and she expects Sakura to truly be a decent opponent. I taught her as much as I could within the grounds of what Muramasa-sensei taught me and then some, yet, I fear it won't be enough against the wielder of Tsukiyomi's bond."

"I..see. Then come, the least we can do is support your student from the rails..she's gonna need it."

The proctor stood between the two girls with a sense of grim anticipation, he could sense the killing intent these two were emitting, and it was starting to make him sweat. 'These two...they're only genin, but they feel like two jounin about to fight to the death.'

After reminding them of the rules, particularly the ones about killing, the shinobi called for the start of the match and leapt from the arena posthaste.

Neither female moved as the breeze came through, picking up their hair in its gentle caress. Mei wore an expression akin to stone as she stood with her 'cane' before her. Sakura, for her part, looked on with calm apathy; her mind, however, was racing a mile a minute.

'Just how am I gonna beat her? Even with the training from Naruto-sensei, there's no way I'm a match for her! I'm gonna have to truly play this one by ear and stay on my toes.'

A smirk crept onto the 'blind' kunoichi's face as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Sakura, you feel quite a bit stronger from last time we spoke. It seems Naruto's training actually did pay off well."

A nod was given before the young Mibu heir found her voice,"Hai. It did indeed."

A giggle was heard from the mahogany teen as she replied,"Good, because I would hate for this to be boring. So-"

The girl vanished from view as Sakura braced herself, summoning her chakra into her legs. Her senses screamed at her to move, and she did, just in time to see a crater form from the axe kick that Mei had unleashed on her position. Glancing in her direction, the older teen finished,"Show me what level of power you have attained, Sakura Haruno."

Booth

Tsunade was in shock, here her second student was with a blow that could easily rival her own in sheer strength, and she managed to do it without chakra.

A cough was heard from her teammate as he gawked at the site before him, he shot a question to his old friend as he watched,"Geez, just what are you teaching that girl Tsuande-hime?"

Their teacher interceded as he watched as well,"In any event, this fight has truly gotten to be quite interesting."

Arena

Sakura was dodging blow after blow, in an increasingly rapid pace as the fight went on. Mei merely kept up the pressure until suddenly she leapt away with a growl,"You're not taking me seriously, are you Haruno-san?"

The bubblegum kunoichi said nothing as she rapidly flipped through seals before calling out,"Hiton:Senzakura Saikuron!(Thousand Petal Cyclone)"

Cherry blossoms began cascading into the area in a flurry as Sakura's jutsu took root. The petals floated about gracefully before suddenly rushing towards Mei, flitting around the girl in a raging storm of sakura. The jade-eyed genin rapidly flipped through another set of seals before thrusting her palm towards her target, bracing the extended limb with her other arm as she called out once more,"Hiton:Ensuisei!(Blazing Comet)"

A ball of fiery chakra swirled to life on the kunoichi's hand as she focused, once it solidified the ball flew off at immense speeds towards the spinning column of petals. The attacks combined as the fire merely intensified due to the wind present, gaining a bluish hue as its heat increased and its revolution picked up exponentially, yet the sakura petals remained unharmed by the inferno as they flew throughout the attack.

"Good! This isn't half bad pinky, but not quite there. Suiton:Suijinheki.(Water release:Water Encampment Wall)"

A large wall of water erupted from within the tower of flame, disrupting it and eventually cancelling it as Mei stood where she was, unharmed. Flying through seals faster than the eye could follow, the cream-eyed teen smirked as she named her attack,"Fumaten no jutsu.(Heavenly Wind Dancer)"

Gathering chakra to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest, Mei swept them outward, releasing several large shuriken of nothing but wind. The blades enlarged and accelerated dramatically as they approached the Haruno, who seeing the threat, jumped back several yards as she began yet another chain of signs.

"Katon:Hidan Hensho!(Fire release:Scarlet Bullet Combustion!)"

Placing her hands before her once more, the young genin shot off several boulder-sized bullets of crimson flame at her enemy, blocking off the barrage of wind shuriken and creating a burst of light equivalent to a flash bang grenade going off. Everyone was forced to either look away or close their eyes to protect themselves from such an intense and sudden assault on their senses.

Kage's booth

As the upper echelon of shinobi hid themselves from the light, the toad sage laughed out loud as he talked to his mentor and partner,"Well, sensei, you weren't kidding! These girls really know how to sling jutsu! I haven't seen a single one of those before except for the suijinheki technique that Mei girl used. Gotta say, I'm impressed."

Tsunade was in her own world as her mind was preoccupied,'Mei...Just how long have you been hiding this strength from me? In any event, I will test you myself and see just what power you truly possess...This, I swear on my word as a sannin.'

Viewing area

"Naruto, just what in the world have you been showing Sakura! She's amazing!" Hinata yelled at the blond as she covered her eyes from the mini-flare that was below them. Naruto, who had his eyes closed, shrugged as he answered his friend.

"I taught her all that Muramasa-sensei showed me, and I taught her some other elemental ninjutsu that I figured would be useful to her. I had to get her at least to a point of being amusing to Mei after all."

Stands

The other shinobi present watched in awe at the immense skill the two kunoichi seemed to possess, as well as they both were firing off high-class jutsu that no one had ever heard of before. Kakashi was practically drooling at the number of techniques being used by the two,'To think that these two are still merely genin in rank! They ought to be at least mid to high-chunin as these jutsu are easily B-rank and above!'

The genin themselves were of a similar mind as Tenten spoke aloud to her fellow shinobi,"Guys, I find it incredibly awesome that Naruto was the one who taught Sakura. She's outstanding! For her to have this much power is totally unreal for someone of our level!"

Shikamaru spoke loudly to reply,"Our level? I think she passed that the moment she started firing off new techniques like fireworks!"

Nods and comments of agreement followed as the ninja watched the rest of the match in silent excitement.

Arena

As the light faded, the two opposing kunoichi stood stock still, niether one budging in the least. Then, in a blur of movement, the two engaged in a flexible display of acrobatic taijutsu. Mei lashing out with a side kick, only to be evaded as Sakura went for a leaping punch. The wine-haired nin parried the attack as she leaned to the right, grabbed the offending limb, and flipped the girl over her shoulder directly into the dirt. Sakura, stopped her fall by reaching out with her left palm into the dust as she thrust a vicious kick from her left leg. Forced to let go, Mei shot a sweep at the other teen, who in turn went forward into a one-handed cartwheel before quickly coming in with a butterfly kick as she drew a kunai.

Her opponent leaned back into a backflip so as to avoid the attack, drawing a kunai herself. Upon landing the two kunoichi instantly rampage into one another, knives clicking into a burst of sparks from the friction the two warriors were causing. A smile appeared on the elder's face visage as she said,"Sakura, you have done very well. I see that I will have to resort to a more serious approach if I am to fight with you any longer...So, you have my respect. Narakumi no jutsu.(Hell Viewing Technique)"

Sakura instantly flinched, her whole body went rigid as her mind was flung back into the tower once more, this time she was one her knees.,,Chains echoed throughout the chamber as she heard a laugh that made her eyes widen tenfold. Glancing up, she saw the Uchiha once more before her, his throat wound looking as if it were never present and a gleam in his eyes that reflected open lust and sheer madness.

"Y-y-you? I thought I killed you?"

"Now, Sakura-chan, I'm hurt. You really think that you could get rid of me that easily? Tsk. Seems like I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson that you won't soon forget, my little cherry blossom. Hahahaha!"

"Iyyyaaahhh!"

The 'blind' genin stepped back as she watched her oppostion fall, a small smirk on her face at the look of absolute hooror etched into her target's features. She spoke softly, more to herself than to her enemy,"Sweet dreams...Sakura."

The proctor came into the area with a tired look on his face as he walked over and called Mei the victor of the match, and called in a medic squad with a stretcher to carry the young pinkette to the hospital. As this went on, Mei went back up into the viewing area only to meet a hard-faced Naruto.

"My my, what have I here? An angry Naru-kun, but why, I wonder?" asked said girl in the coyest way she knew.

"What did you do to her?"

"Eh? What do mean?"

"I mean what genjutsu did you cast on her to win? The only area I didn't train her on was that, and I knew that was a weakness in her style, now tell me before something...bad happens to Sakura."

Now Mei's attention was fully on the blonde before her, a questioning glance asked,"Why?"

Sighing, the Uzumaki spoke, albeit reluctantly.

"I used a technique my sensei used to train me, and it has some potentially traumatic means in order to force you to overcome your weakspots mentally by exposing them in a manner that would hurt you the most...In Sakura's case, she was almost raped by Sasuke in her trial, and she was forced to kill him in order to kill her fan-girl self, and it still has quite a strong hold on her mind and heart at the moment. That's why I need to know which genjutsu you used on her."

A moment of silence washed over the two as Hinata stood quietly, having been told all this information as the fight progressed. With an anxious tone, the dark-haired girl replied,"I used the Narakumi jutsu on her, just patch her up as best you can, and apologize to her for me for turning her greatest fear against her at such a vulnerable time."

The due was shocked at the amount, or lack thereof, of sarcasm in the foreign nin's voice. Naruto immediately recognized the light in her eye as remiscing a past wound, and bowing to the girl he turned and promptly left the area, certain to give the girl room to breathe for a while.

'She's been hurt in that manner as well...it would seem.'

"Will Hinata Hyuga and Inuzuka Hana come to the grounds for the final match of the Kage slot."

The blunette merely looked to her fellow bonded kunoichi before heading to the arena floor for her fight, but not before placing a delicate hand upon the girls shoulder, forcing eye contact.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun will do everything in his power to make sure that neither you nor Sakura have to deal with such painful memories anymore. That is a promise. "

*FIN*

Ch.20 Nightmares and Placements (Tournament Pt. III)

(A/N): Firstly, I wanted to let you all know that I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Life's been busy and this is the only time I found to get it done..It's 2:02 in the morning and I have work in the morning at 8..So, you ALL should know that I love you enough to sacrifice precious sleep time for you all! (_)

Now, I'm sure you all have questions in regard to this part of the story, and I'm too tired to write it in this note, soooo ask me in a PM or a review and I'll be more than happy to answer whatever you send my way!Thank you all so much for your support and favorites to the story; though I could use some more reviews...Ma ma, anyway, hope ya like the chap and next chapter we shall get into the Famed SANNIN BATLES! YYYYAAAA! ^^ Ja' ne.

Jutsu names and translations will come later...Gomenasai!