"Sasuke Uchiha." the leaf ninja said calmly.

"Alright, let's see here." Sasuke said as he drew his number. "Five."

"Ok, Sasuke Uchiha is five, next up Temari." the leaf ninja said.

"Looks like you're in luck kid." Temari said to Sasuke. "Three."

"Next, Neji Hyuga." the leaf ninja said.

"Six." Neji said simply. "Well this might be interesting after all."

"Alright, next up Naruto Uzumaki." the leaf ninja said.

"I'm going to take down anyone I go up against." Naruto said confidently. "Two."

"Alright, Gaara." the leaf ninja said.

"Seven." Gaara said simply.

"That works, next Shino Aburame." the leaf ninja said calmly.

"Nine, it seems I'll be fighting an extra opponent." Shino said.

"Alright, next up is Kankuro." the leaf ninja said.

"Ok, let's see what lady luck says." Kankuro said before freezing. "Four."

"Four for Kankuro." the leaf ninja said. "Alright, Dosu Kinuta."

"Well, I've only got two options, so I'll get eight or one." Dosu said bluntly. "Eight."

"In that case we're done." the leaf ninja said. "Now the third exam will occur in one month, until then I would recommend you all train and improve your skills."

"Hey kid." Anko yelled to the genin. "I need to talk with you."

"Anko, which one?" the leaf ninja asked.

"Him." Anko said pointing to Sasuke. "Well kid, come on."

"Well I'll expect great things from you all in a month." said the third hokage with a smile.

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"What did you want to talk with me about?" Sasuke asked. "I need to get started on my training for the final test."

"I know that, and you will." Anko said. "First though we need to talk about that mark on your neck."

"What about it, it's nothing important." Sasuke said.

"Someone else might believe you, but not me." Anko said revealing an identical mark on her neck. "I know exactly what that thing is, and I'm going to help your training."

"Alright, what do you have in mind?" Sasuke asked.

"Kakashi is going to handle your jutsu training and preparations for the test, but you'll spend an hour every day until the third test working with me on getting that mark completely under control." Anko said.

"Fine, for now I'll trust you." Sasuke said. "So we're starting now?"

"You've got the idea kid, so let's get started." Anko said with a smirk.

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"Kakashi sensei, you're going to be training Sasuke aren't you?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I have a few techniques only he can pick up." Kakashi said calmly. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to get stronger for everyone, I'm going to train by myself for a while." Hinata said.

"Alright, good luck Hinata." Kakashi said calmly. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thank you sensei." Hinata said walking out of the room.

"Kakashi sensei." Naruto said. "What are you going to teach me for the final test?"

"Oh, actually I'm going to be training Sasuke, but I know someone who can help you." Kakashi said.

"Huh, who are you talking about sensei?" Naruto asked.

"He means me Naruto." said a figure behind him.

"Huh, you." Naruto said in disbelief. "Kakashi sensei this guy is useless."

"Naruto, Ebisu is a special jonin, he's an excellent teacher and specializes in chakra control." Kakashi explained. "That could be a huge benefit for you."

"Alright, but I don't like this at all." Naruto said in annoyance.

"Don't worry Kakashi, I'll take care of Naruto." Ebisu said turning to Naruto. "Trust me, you'll get the training you want."

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"What are we supposed to do?" Kankuro asked. "We need to keep our skills hidden until then, but if neither of us fight that could be suspicious."

"I know, that's why you need to throw the match." Temari said. "My techniques are already known by everyone, and your poison is still a trick we can rely on."

"I guess, but it still seems off to me." Kankuro said.

"The exam isn't important, you need to keep the real goal in mind Kankuro." Baki said simply.

"Yeah, we know all about that." Temari said. "I only hope everything goes according to plan."

"It will, we can't afford to fail in our mission." Baki said.

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"Byakugan." Hinata said before working on her gentle fist in the middle of the training field. "I need to get stronger."

Suddenly Hinata noticed something in the forest approaching her slowly.

"Who's there?" Hinata said before turning around to see a lion staring at her. "Aaahhhh."

"Calm down child, I'm here because I wanted to observe your training." said the lion.

"Wait, you can talk?" Hinata asked. "You're a ninja lion."

"I'm impressed you know that, well I have the feeling you'll be a great ninja, but I want to see what your capabilities are first." The lion said.

"Right, in that case I'll do my best to show you." Hinata said before continuing to train.

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"Well Naruto, I'm going to assume Kakashi had you go through the tree climbing exercise?" Ebisu asked.

"Yeah, it was real tough at first, but I got the hang of it after a while." Naruto said.

"Well that's good to hear, because that's exactly why we're at these hot springs." Ebisu said. "You're going to learn the next stage of that exercise."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well you're going to learn how to walk on the surface of the water." Ebisu said with a smirk.

"Wait for real?" Naruto asked. "That's awesome."

"I thought you'd say that Naruto, this won't be as easy though." Ebisu said calmly. "Why don't you give it a try."

"Right, just watch." Naruto said enthusiastically. "I'll get this in one try."

With those words Naruto began to focus his chakra and stepped out onto the water, only to immediately sink.

"That's not exactly walking on the surface Naruto." Ebisu said calmly.

"I don't get it, I concentrated my chakra just like for the tree climbing exercise." Naruto said.

"I told you Naruto, this is much tougher than walking up a solid wall." Ebisu said. "Perhaps a few more trys."

"Right, I'm never giving up." Naruto said getting out of the water and focusing again.

(The matches for the final exam have been decided, and the genin are beginning to train for the matches. Next chapter the training will continue. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)