Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is purely fictional work here. Then again, isn't Naruto itself fictional work?

Chapter 24: Forest of Death: Fight for Your Right to Fight! Part Three

Forest of Death – Tower Stadium

Shikamaru sighed as he moved down the stairs. He knew the stories about his opponent – last year's Top Rookie, a prodigy of the Hyuuga clan with skills that rivaled the Main Branch. He knew that his actual chances of defeating his foe were slim. However, the young genius also knew that his blonde teammate would never let him live it down if he didn't at least try.

Neji calmly strode to the center of the stadium floor, taking his position near Iruka. The stoic Hyuuga teen was supremely unconcerned with this match, and it was evident by the bored look on his face. He raised one eye calmly as the Nara Heir took a lazy stance across from him, but almost immediately dismissed the younger boy as a non-entity. He looked around at the stands, his eyes settling on his cousin and hardening.

I should have fought her. Of course it's the Main Branch that gets preferential treatment – she lost her fight, but as always, favoritism shows as she moves on. He scowled up at her, barely noting when Iruka asked if he was ready. It took two repetitions of his name before the Byakugan wielder finally realized that he was being spoken to. He turned his attention back towards the proctor, who glared at him and asked again.

"Are you ready?" Finally catching the question, Neji nodded sharply. Iruka stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what had distracted him so. Then the scarred man shook his head. "Alright then… HAJIME!" He shunshin'd back to the statue to observe the fight.

Neither person moved. Neji's style was primarily responsive and meant to deal with assailants who closed in, something that the lazy genius would only do if absolutely necessary. And Shikamaru himself was just that – lazy. The two combatants stood there staring at each other, each waiting for the other to initiate the fight.

Wait a minute – the Jyuuken is designed to counter physical combat…. And I know his teammate is that girl obsessed with throwing things, which means that he has practice dodging attacks. But, my combat style isn't physical at all. Shikamaru raised one eyebrow as he came upon this basic assumption. Most everyone who fought the Hyuuga tried physical attacks, something the clan excelled at defending against. But the Nara's shadow manipulation operated on a different level than the pure physical realm.

In the stands, Naruto grinned as he saw his genius friend's thoughts click. Of all the Konoha shinobi, aside from himself, Shikamaru was the most naturally suited to fighting Neji. The blonde didn't know for sure, but he thought that the Byakugan would actually see through the shadows that the Nara Heir used, meaning he wouldn't even see the attacks if he activated his Doujutsu.

"Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu." Shikamaru made the first move. Thin tendrils of shadow snaked out from his feet, speeding towards Neji. The Hyuuga boy raised one eyebrow at this attack and stepped back contemptuously, standing just out of reach of the genius' attack range. Shikamaru scowled and brought his shadow tendrils back to his own shadow and moved forward, trying to get the other boy into range. Or at least, that's what it seemed like.

Inwardly, Neji was scowling. This is annoying. The brat's shadow tendrils have more range than my Hakke, so I'll have to move exceptionally fast to even hope of getting in range before he can catch me with them. The Hyuuga prodigy glared at the fact that he was going to have to go closer to his full speed against the lazy boy.

Come on, come on, activate your eyes already. You'll lose as soon as you do. Shikamaru grinned to himself as he saw the vein's on his opponent's temples bulge, the tell tale sign of the Byakugan activating. To test his theory, he sent a shadow tendril from his still active technique towards the other Gennin, and nearly spoiled it by grinning widely when he saw that the prodigy didn't even react to the shadow. He watched as Neji dashed straight towards him, disregarding his technique.

This is bad. I cannot see his shadows…too bad. This so called genius is fated to lose to me today, as I am fated to continue to the Finals to destroy the 'pride' of the main house. Neji didn't even notice when his footsteps slowed down, but Shikamaru did when he saw the older Gennin break through his shadow's hold and kept going. To the Doujutsu wielder, the lack of attack to him indicated that the younger boy had given up. He kept thinking that right until the genius pulled out a kunai and tossed it down at the ground in front of himself.

"Too late, and your aim is off. Foolish genius, you are within the range of my Divination. Ninpo: Hakke: Rokujūyon Shō." Neji's hands became a blur as they thudded into Shikamaru's body. Pinpoint flares of chakra flowed from the Hyuuga's outstretched fingers into the Nara Heir's body, forcing the tenketsu of the younger male to seal up and stop processing chakra. The pineapple headed Gennin fell backwards as the vicious assault ended, with him barely able to push chakra throughout his body. He grinned though as he heard his assailant step back and accidently kick the kunai that he had thrown down earlier.

Neji looked down as he heard a faint hissing sound near his feet. His pale eyes widened as his prized eyes gazed straight into a flare of chakra, damaging them. He let out a cry of pain as he stumbled backwards, his hands flying up to cover his wounded eyes.

From the ground, Shikamaru chuckled weakly as he forcibly tore open two tenketsu that had been sealed by the elder shinobi's attack. The pain flooded through his body as he literally flooded those two points with his own chakra, effectively putting high pressure behind a plugged faucet. For a moment, nothing happened, until that pressure built to be too much and the 'plugs' – Neji's chakra – were shredded apart. With control over those two tenketsu points returned, Shika was able to control the limbs that they were attached to, his right arm and left leg. Slowly, the genius forced himself into an upright position, balancing carefully on his good leg as he watched his opponent sank to his knees while rubbing his eyes vigorously. The genius boy sighed and shook his head.

"This wasn't the smartest way to end the fight, nor was it the best way. But it was the fastest route that might lead to a victory for me, and thus, taking your Hakke, which I knew ahead of time that you could do, was a necessary sacrifice." Neji's head snapped upwards, the sound of Shikamaru's voice coming from above him making him realize that the other boy was upright, not on the ground as he should be after the Rokujūyon Shō. The still partially blind teen stood up, blinking furiously to regain his sight from the effects of the chakra flare bomb. As it was, he couldn't activate the Byakugan with his eyes messed up as they were, and that immediately put him at a disadvantage.

"Enough of this. Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu." Once again, shadow tendrils lanced out from the Nara Heir, but this time, when Neji jumped back to the distance he had before, the tentacular images kept going, wrapping around his feet and holding him fast. The older boy now locked in his jutsu, Shikamaru walked forward, making the other boy do so as well. That was when Shikamaru ran into a problem. Neji did not have any kunai on him, so Shika couldn't threaten him as he had intended. He growled once before his brilliant mind jumped to the next option – striking the older shinobi in the forehead with the pommel ring of his kunai, the distance making it sage for him as Neji's own hand would stop before it hit him.

Neji's sight was returning, and had recovered enough for him to see his opponent's hand rise up with a kunai clasped in it. He felt his own hand rising, and when Shikamaru moved their hands forward so that the cold metal ring rested against the Hyuuga's forehead while the prodigy's hand hovered motionless in the air, he figured out what the other was planning. Shikamaru's hand reared back, then plunged forward.

Too late, he saw the glow of chakra around Neji's hand and neck. The Hyuuga concentrated chakra to those to portions of his body for specific reasons – the chakra to his hand struck Shikamaru's forehead, knocking him out finally. The chakra to his own neck let him break the Kagemane that was keeping his head in place, allowing him to tilt his head back far enough to avoid the pommel strike that the shadow wielder had been going for. The Nara Heir crumpled to the ground, his eyes glazed over.

"Shousha, Hyuuga Neji!" The prodigy of the Branch Family knelt over his defeated opponent, chakra floating to his hands once again, prompting Iruka. "Back away Neji, I said the fight was over!"

"I am not attacking him Iruka-san. I am removing the blocks that my Hakke induced into his tenketsu. If this does not happen, it is possible that more permanent damage would be done. Thus it is imperative that his chakra flow be restored as swiftly as possible." With methodical efficiency, the Hyuuga reactived his Byakugan, wincing when he realized that he still couldn't see out of the left eye, the one that had been closer to the chakra flare. He shrugged that off for now and swept his hands along Shikamaru's body, shredding the chakra 'plugs' that he had created in the younger boy.

Even after he was done, Shikamaru laid on the ground, unresponsive. He looked up into the eyes of Shikamaru and growled in frustration when he saw that the lazy genius had fallen asleep with his eyes open some time in the few seconds that his own chakra flow had been restored to him. The pale eyed boy stood up with an angry growl and stalked back towards the stands.

That was not fate. That child could have beaten me…he took the defeat due to laziness. Why? Did he not want to advance? The predestination obsessed Gennin grumbled as he stalked up the stairs. It hadn't been intentional on Shikamaru's part, but by his obvious lackadaisical attitude, he had upset Neji's fascination. The boy wouldn't give up his obsession completely, but this fight had shaken his conviction slightly.

Iruka shook his head, unaware of the thoughts tumbling through the older Gennin's mind. He looked towards the sleeping boy and grumbled before concentrating.

"SHIKAMARU GET YOUR LAZY ASS BACK TO THE STANDS!" Once more, Naruto was relieved that his older brother did not know how to perform the Bighead jutsu that the Chuunin sensei was so fond of using. The sleeping boy, long ago trained to respond a certain way when he heard that, immediately jumped to his feet wide awake. He returned to the stands, for some reason thinking of someone training a dog to react to a bell ringing.

Iruka took a step forward again, to pick the next opponents when he heard a faint cracking sound beneath his feet. He blinked once then jumped backwards, displaying speed above even Naruto's, landing on the statue again as the floor where he had been standing collapsed, revealing sand beneath a thin stone cover. The Chuunin's eyes widened as he realized that Gaara's technique from his fight against Chouji had not ended, and had kept converting the floor to sand. He shot a look at Ibiki, who nodded.

"Everyone, there's going to be an intermission as we repair the floor. Suna ninja-san, we need you to remove whatever technique it is that is converting the floor to sand." Gaara stood there, looking blank for a moment, before his sister leaned over and whispered something into his ear. The redheaded Jinchuruuki looked over at his blonde friend in the Konoha stands before nodding and striding to the ledge. Sand flowed from his gourd to form a platform under his feet. He floated down to the stadium floor as the other shinobi and kunoichi exited the arena.

Forest of Death – Tower (Medical Wing)

The first place for three people to head for on the intermission was the medical wing. Kiba, Lazun, and Yugito went to check on Kanuti, who was awake again, but still shaky and weakened from the poison on the needles. A soft request had the two Kumo ninja standing out of earshot –at least, out of Lazun's earshot, though Kiba didn't know that Yugito could still hear –as Kiba sat down next to the girl.

"Sorry about getting you hit by those needles." The kunoichi blinked and looked at the animalistic Gennin. She brought one hand up and pinched other arm hard, nearly drawing blood. Kiba blinked in confusion and sent her a questioning look.

"Just making sure this isn't a dream. Why on earth are you apologizing to me? Those were my needles, I should have been more careful. Hell, something I didn't realize until afterwards was that if you had wanted to, you could have scooped some of those up and thrown them back when you got an opening. It's my own fault that I got paralyzed, I should have already either built an immunity to my agent, or taken the counter agent beforehand." She waved her hand dismissively. Kiba caught it and held it for a second, making the Cloud girl blush. The kunoichi tugged her hand free.

"If anything, I should be apologizing to your partner for ignoring him. It was stupid and rude, and something that I have been trained not to do. In fact, we were warned specifically about the Inuzuka clan because of your partners giving you an often overlooked source of backup." The hand came up and rubbed the back of her head. It was at that time that Yugito and Lazun entered, ending the semiprivate conversation before Kiba even had a chance to get to the real reason that he was trying to speak to her alone.

The group settled in, with Yugito informing her teammates that the Konoha shinobi knew about their mission, and what he had told her earlier to do about it.

"But before I do go speak to this Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel person, I need to find out more about him. No offense Kiba-san, but you are a village mate of his and might be blind to some of the realities of what he has to do. I must know more about how he would react to this before I can go to him with it."

"Actually Yugito-san, I have heard something about the one known as Ronnel before we came here." Surprisingly, it was Lazun who was speaking. "I recently read a new issue of the Bingo Book that came out, that my elder sister left on the table at our house. In it was mention of a man who hunted down those who considered themselves immortal – the worshippers of Jashin. The Hunter of the False God, little was known about him aside from the fact that he was able to do something that few could – he could kill the true Masters of Jashinist Rites. It is also known that he has a streak of honor more in line with a samurai than with a true shinobi." Yugito blinked as she remembered why Lazun had been included in this mission. The Kumogakure Kekkei Genkai wielder also had a near photographic memory, an invaluable asset when you couldn't bring full dossiers on everyone you might encounter. Her head dropped to her hands as she rubbed her temples.

"I still want to do a little checking of my own on this guy before I go revealing this secret." The four of them turned to lighter topics, such as who the successful ninja might face in later rounds, or who Yugito herself was likely to fight here in the prelims.

Forest of Death – Central Tower (Naruto)

The blonde Jinchuruuki leaned against a wall down one of the corridors that catacombed the tower. Since the intermission had been called, he had been pondering on whether or not he should seek Temari out and ask her about the sudden kiss. He had enjoyed it, true, and he did like her, but for some reason, the Konoha nin just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she might like him as well. At least, he hadn't been able to contemplate that before today. Now, many of the small sidelong glances that he had picked up on made sense to him – she was watching him the same way that he had caught Ronnel and Anko watching each other before they admitted their feelings for each other! That realization dumbfounded the blonde teen.

"No choice for it… I need to talk to her, and right now is as good a time as any other." The boy with red-streaked eyes pushed himself away from the wall and strode down the hall, heading back towards the main chamber where he thought that the girl would still be. Unfortunately for his plans, Naruto was interrupted.

"Have you given any more thought to our lord's offer?" The unfamiliar voice had the Demon Container flattening against the wall, enhancing his hearing as he listened in on whatever was going on around the corner. "It truly is most generous – after all, he is willing to let you learn from him, while the rest of your pathetic village is destroyed."

"As I told the freak before, I have a path to power far greater than any he could ever hope of achieving." Upon hearing the second speaker, Naruto nearly shot around the corner to confront the Uchiha Heir. He had thought the boy would be in the medical wing, but apparently he had gotten out somehow, or simply not gone. "His petty attempts at getting me to join him are ruined by the fact that he tried marking me when he met me in the forest." There was a sharp intake of breath from whomever Sasuke was speaking to.

"Tried marking you brat? Our master's mark has either one of two outcomes – you will either die, or you will realize his greatness! Since you are not dead, even now the truth of the Otokage's glory is sinking into your mind!" A sharp, contempt filled laugh cut the first speaker off.

"Do not think me as weak willed as you, you pathetic gauntleted freak! My true master, the one who has promised me power beyond your Kage's feeble offer, found it no trouble at all to erase the snake's venomous injection, and indeed, replaced it with his own power! I am far stronger than you could hope to be."

"You say that, but in truth, you did not even make it through the preliminary rounds. If you had heeded our lord's offer, then defeating that little Sand slut would have been no difficulty at all." The insult to the girl that he had fallen for was enough for the blonde Jinchuruuki. He ripped his truncheon from its seal on his sleeve and strode around the corner, wind whipping around him furiously.

Dosu's first warning that something was wrong was when he tried gripping his arm to reinforce the sound blast that he wanted to pin the newly revealed shinobi with. A giant blue spark leapt from the metal to his other hand, making him cry out in pain as the raw electricity bit into his nervous system. He looked down at his hand in betrayal, and saw that wind was flowing around both his gauntlets, visible even to his eyes. And the second thing that he saw was that wherever the wind flowed, electricity remained in its wake. His eyes barely had time to widen before the build up of electrons reached its breaking point, and energy slammed into his body through the arms, frying them both and sending him to the floor in a jumbled heap unable to control his autonomous system beyond his heart beating, and even that was difficult.

The Uchiha on the other hand, had even less warning than his companion. One second, he was conscious; the next, something had slammed into the side of his head and knocked him out cold. Standing near the two slumped bodies, Naruto pondered what had just happened.

Kyuubi-sensei, I think I might have just broken my elementalist kick. This comment was enough to rouse the Kitsune, who had fallen asleep rather than listen to Naruto's thoughts as he tried to figure out his relationship change.

Want to run that one by me again kit?

Well…. Uhm…. Look at my memory of what just happened with the gauntlet kid there. Therew as silence as Naruto hurried away from the unconscious teens, trying to avoid being fingered as their assailant. He made it back to the stadium when his live in sensei finally spoke again.

You may have done just that kit. I'm impressed too – you have two of the most destructive elements, and your secondary is elementally weak to your primary. That is incredibly rare, more often someone who has their second element activate as you did find that it is one that has no bearing, positive or negative, on their primary element.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Silence reined in the Jinchuruuki's mind as his Bijuu thought on that.

In truth kit, I don't really know. I've not heard of someone having both Fuuton and Raiton outside of a Kekkei Genkai that combined the two, and you don't have one. Trust me, I would know. The Kyuubi went quiet again, thinking, leaving Naruto to his own thoughts. Those thoughts left off of the question of just what Wind and Lightning would combine to be when he spotted Temari leaning against the railing of the stands, watching her younger brother as he worked to undo the damage inadvertently wrought by his sand conversion. The blonde boy studied the blonde girl for a moment before taking a deep breath and approaching her.

Temari was quiet as she observed her brother working. When he wasn't trying to slaughter everyone around him, and instead being serious about something like a normal human, rather a normal Jinchuruuki, she found the look of concentration that he wore rather endearing. It seemed that whatever Naruto had done in the Forest of Death earlier had brought back the younger brother she had once loved, the one who had vanished after a visit by their father's entourage many years ago.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice the person walking towards her until he was leaning on the railing beside her. As it was, when she saw another head of blonde hair near her, the elder ninja nearly jumped out of her skin, and immediately cursed herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings. She looked over and relaxed slightly when she saw that it was Naruto next to her.

"You know, most people wouldn't make their first move on another right after a fight where they took on a murderous maniac bent on humiliating her." Naruto's voice was soft as he glanced sidelong at her. This time, for the first time since meeting her on the streets of Konoha, he caught her blush.

"Yeah well, I'm not a normal girl. I'm too headstrong and stubborn. Besides, I was slightly out of it… fighting a madman who could have killed me if he was willing to go all out was slightly terrifying. It tends to make a girl act out." She turned her face away from him, upset though she couldn't quite tell why. Beside her, she heard laughter. She turned to glare at Naruto who was holding his stomach. She turned away to storm away from him, upset.

The blonde boy saw her turning away and moved swiftly. His right arm shot forward and grabbed her right arm, pulling her back to him. With another tug, the shinobi spun the kunoichi around so that she was facing him. She glared at him through tear filled eyes.

"Please, please stop crying. I wasn't laughing at you Temari-chan. A normal girl could never put up with me, you know that. I'm a Jinchuruuki, a Demon Container. A normal girl would go mad trying to put up with the insanity that is my life. A girl who accepts life at its deepest, and has walked on the edge of death…someone who has a Jinchuruuki for a brother, someone who knows what this world is like, and can handle that insanity… that is someone who can put up with me." The tears stopped as she tried to figure out what it was that he was trying to say. Before she could ask him to clarify it though, Iruka's voice rang out.

"ALL RIGHT! GET EVERYONE BACK HERE! THE FLOOR IS CLEARED, AND THE INTERMISSION IS OVER!" Lesser proctors vanished from the room, gone to retrieve those Gennin who hadn't remained in the chamber. Naruto gripped Temari's hand tightly.

"We'll talk later Temari-chan." She nodded once, still trying to figure out what it was that the blonde next to her had meant by his words. All she did know for certain was that he had held her close as he spoke to her. And being held close to the blonde had sent her heart racing. She watched, still confused by him, as the teen with cerulean eyes strode over to his side of the main stadium, sending her one last half grin before getting to the other side.

"What the hell was that all about?" Temari was snapped out of her reminiscing about the feeling of the Jinchuruuki's arms around her by her brother's question. She glared at him and huffed before turning away.

"Shut up. Has everyone come back?" A negatory grunt emanated from her other side, where Gaara had just stepped off of his sand platform. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. She wanted to get these fights over with, because she had a talk with a certain shinobi planned.

Down on the main floor, Iruka watched as the proctors who had left to get the missing Gennin returned behind a wave of those Gennin. He waited until the last of them had returned and signaled to him before looking to Ibiki, who nodded. The scar-nosed Chuunin checked the roster and cleared his throat.

"MIRANU REISHIO AND NII YUGITO, GET DOWN HERE!" Yugito winced. It was the Kirigakure kunoichi's bad luck that she would fight against a Jinchuruuki without being able to use physical weapons. Still, the Cloud girl knew that she would have to be on the watch for genjutsu and Ninjutsu, both avenues of attack that were still open.

"Clarification for you Miranu-san." The girl, who had just arrived and was glaring at Yugito as the Demon Container walked down the stairs, turned her attention towards the Battle Proctor. " According to the forfeit incurred upon you by your teammate, you cannot use physical weapons. This means that no shuriken, kunai, wires, paper bombs, chakra flares, none of those. You can use your body, as in Taijutsu, and any nin or genjutsu that you have. If you have a Kekkei Genkai, then you can use that as well." The red headed girl nodded and growled at where her near dead teammate was resting in a coma-state as the medics still worked to stabilize him. Even with the intervening battles and the intermission, they hadn't gotten the boy well enough to risk moving him. There had been a stroke of luck that the ground they were working on hadn't collapsed after Gaara's technique.

"Alright, clarification done. You two ready?" Yugito nodded, cracking her neck as she took in her opponent. The redhead girl glared at the blonde as she nodded her assent as well. "Fine then. Fighters, HAJIME!" Iruka body flickered back to the statue.

Right off the bat, Yugito dominated the fight unstoppably. Predictably, the Kiri girl used Suiton techniques. As Reishio sent a torrent of water from her mouth towards the Container of the Twin Tailed Demon Cat, said Container snorted and flashed through a short chain of seals.

"Raiton: Rai Burasto." A flare of electricity poured out of the blonde girl's hand to slam into the water that was focused on her. Reishio's eyes widened and she barely cut the water technique before the electricity that was arcing up the stream of water struck her. As it was, she did get a mild shock, but not anywhere near as severe as it could have been. The girl snarled and ran through her own chain of seals.

"Suiton: Mizu Shuriken!" Her angry shout preceded water from the ground flowing up and forming into an orb above her left hand. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he studied it, getting the feeling that he would need this knowledge later. Yugito's eyes though, showed that she was supremely unconcerned with the attack, and it was well founded, much better than Neji's false superiority. When the water formed shuriken flew towards her, the Kumogakure shinobi merely ran through the same chain of seals as before and held up her hand again.

"Raiton: Rai Burasto." Once more, lightning burst from her hand and smashed into the water jutsu. This time though, the technique shattered apart completely, fading into a shower of sparks and water that filled the air between the two kunoichi. Finally taking the initiative when her opponent couldn't see her, Yugito ran through a different chain of seals, one that the other blonde Jinchuruuki recognized his brother doing once during their wanderings.

"Raiton: Rai Bunshin no Jutsu." Lightning crackled around her, then a copy formed of the yellow and blue energy stepped away from the original girl and walked towards Reishio. With each step, the clone took on more and more of Yugito's coloring, until only a faint yellow tinge betrayed it from the real thing.

To the Kirigakure kunoichi, her opponent had just walked towards her without a care in the world. The girl snarled, infuriated by the other teen's seeming disregard. She launched herself forward, not realizing that the open arms approach was truly a trap, and one that she had fallen for soundly.

Her outstretched arm slammed into the Lightning Clone's chest. Too late, she saw that there was another Yugito standing behind the first. Too late, she saw the yellow tinge around the girl she was attacking. Too late, she saw that the water near the clone's feet was charged with electricity. By the time she saw these things and figured out what they meant, her attack had connected. In a single burst of electricity, all of the lightning stored up into the clone ricocheted into Reishio's body. The burst of energy flung the red head away, making all of her hair stand on end like a giant red afro.

The Jinchuruuki kunoichi strode over towards her fallen opponent and prodded her with one foot. She was rewarded with a snarl, but that was all the fallen Kiri ninja could do – the shock had made her nervous system go haywire, and until she recovered control of it, she wouldn't be able to move.

"Shousha, Nii Yugito!" The proclaimed victor turned and strode away, once again disregarding the redhead girl. Medics came and retrieved the fallen Gennin to cart her to the medical ward.

Iruka shook his head. So far, two of the fights had ended that quickly, and had shown that level of….ease, from one of the ninja fighting. It was apparent to the Battle proctor that some of these Gennin were ready for the rank up, whereas others were so ill suited for it that he couldn't believe that their sensei's had nominated them. He checked the scoreboard and blinked, wondering what twist of fate had set up the next fight.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO AND YAMANAKA INO, GET DOWN HERE!" The two blondes looked at each other for a moment, then Ino looked down at her old academy teacher.

"Sensei. No way in HELL am I fighting Naruto! Not in this life time! I forfeit!" She crossed her arms and turned away to underscore her seriousness here. Iruka shook his head.

Honestly, I can't blame her. She watched her opponent put the smackdown on another Gennnin, and she is honest enough to admit that she isn't as good as Bakine is…err..was… The scar nosed man looked towards the sidelines where the medics were working on Bakine. They had slowed down their feverish pace, but the Chuunin couldn't tell if that was because they had succeeded in stabilizing him or if they had just given up. Whatever. "FINE THEN. SHOUSHA BY FORFEIT – UZUMAKI NARUTO!" He nodded to the blonde boy, who just shrugged his acceptance.

"We're getting close to the end of this maggots. We have two Oto maggots, a Sand maggot, and a Konoha maggot left. Two more fights, and this is done! Umino-san, who are our next fighters?" Ibiki amplified his voice to make sure they all heard him. Iruka glanced down at the listings and thought for a moment before looking up.

"ABURA ZAKU AND ROCK LEE, GET DOWN HERE!" The Taijutsu specialist Gennin leapt from his spot in the stands straight to where Iruka was standing, covering the distance with a single jump. Everyone looked at him with differing amounts of shock.

"YOSH! LET THIS FIGHT SHOW HOW BRIGHTLY MY FIRES OF YOUTH™ BURN!"

(AN And End. Got a little more romantic tension in this chapter, though only hugging. No sign of Ronnel and what's going on there, I'm saving that up for when the fights are done. After the prelims, we have two special chapters coming up. One will read as if from the Bingo Book – It will cover Naruto, Sasuke, Ronnel, Anko, and a character who will show up soon. After that, will be a relaxation chapter for the group, ie, get ready to see some Karaoke! I believe I found a pretty damn good song for how Ron feels about his purple haired lady, and I can't resist the temptation to use it.

Anyway, the next chapter will be the end of the prelims. I know I've been putting two or three per chapter, so the next one might not break six thousand words. Don't worry, I might fluff it up some to get it there though.

Reader Reviews:

Sythangelwing:

Ah, I don't mind questions, really I don't. Ask away lol.

It apparently made a lot of people's days when they saw that happen. And my abuse of the traitor got wrapped up for a while in this chapter, gotta love the concussion from behind.

Here is the next chapter… and no, no he isn't. Sand is going to get someone else, because as stated, the Sand Siblings and their sensei, once the Exams are over, are becoming Konoha ninja. Can't be both. –shrug-

And it isn't a spoiler – I haven't revealed who it will be that they get to replace him. It might get a couple of laughs. At least, I hope it will.

Umbra8191:

Hope you enjoyed this chappie.

Naginator:

It seems that a lot of people enjoyed seeing the Uchiha get the smackdown. And while Temari isn't the first to realize that she likes him –look back at Haku's emofest a few chapters ago, Wave arc I think- she IS the first to act on it. And the Ice mistress was still in the arena when the kiss happened, so what do you think is gonna happen lol.

Sorry about the delay, here's the next chapter.

Geetac:

Hope you like this chapter too.

Gon Freaks:

Er. Massive and total carnage aside? Lol, nah, the full explanation is going to be in the down time chapter, so it's still two or three chapters away.

Dragon and Sword Master:

It's not paranoia when they're really out to get you! Lol.

Er. Don't hate me, but I didn't really play any of the FF saga except for er…10, I think. I VAGUELY know the name, but I have no clue who Auron is, or what it would mean if Ron pulled one. I will say this – he isn't going to hate on Naruto for using it.

And I know there's something wrong with the idea – that's what makes it so hilarious. If you've read Chuunin Exam Day, at one point early on Naruto pulls something similar to this, only it ends up with Sasuke being a blind choirboy.

And I'm not a true hater – I like the original Sasuke, before he got his insane powerups and went completely SI/bonkers. The scene in the Wave arc in canon, when he and 'Ruto get in an eating contest, is one of my favorites, because it's showing the child that the two of them still are. Erk. Sorry, anyway, yeah, not really enough of a hater to pull stupid bashes on characters.

Rants are fine lol, I do them from time to time (see above). And still feel sorry for him? Yes, he actually could have won this fight. But, he's Shikamaru, lazy. And losing to last year's Rookie wouldn't seem like such a let down.

Queenwitch:

Thankee madam. And uhm.. which secret? And no, Yugito isn't going to follow 'Ruto around, she is going to see who he meets after the Exams are done. She doesn't know that Naruto was adopted, so she's going to miss Ronnel completely. Lol.

And uhm, nope, not reviewing as anonymous. ^.^

Firelordeg:

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Too lazy to log in:

Again with the making me laugh. And You'll just have to wait and see. As far as the Yugito question – think about what Temari was in canon.

Fnaficreader71:

Here's the next chappie!

James Larthol

Get your knickers out of that twist Tomo. The prelims end next chapter, and as for Sasuke – he couldn't go all out. Remember, he didn't even dare activate his 'Cursed' Seal because of Jashin's influence. He thinks he's stronger than Naruto, but when you have a god telling you to lay low, you damn well better lay low. Lol. Not too much of a show, sorry. That real show is going to be the next two fights. Any fight with Lee is going to involve him ping ponging someone all over the place, and I can't wait to get started. –evil cackle- on another note – sorry I haven't been on G.O., life issues have been hitting one after another.

Wyrtha:

Yup, been heavy on the action, it's time for introspection and whatnot. I'm still working on making the fights longer, but… eh, que sera sera. And yes XD I did that bit on purpose – just to further humiliate him. And for not killing him right then and there, well… she didn't want to risk having her brother at a disadvantage when he goes into his fight.

Kiyomos:

Lol, thanks. But is it really though? Hmm.

Lostmyshoeinsheol:

Yup yup, I thought it was unique! But then, not many people have Naruto pulling out all the stops to seal away a possessing monk spirit. That's the biggest part as to why Gaara went good – no more loopy priest wanting blood.

As for Kiba and Yugito – it gets mentioned again in this chapter, along with a little romantic tension for everyone's favorite dog-boy.

Working out how to crumple the duckass was fun, and it's the reason why the floor wasn't immediately fixed, something that either contestant could have requested. But Temari didn't because she wanted the sand, and the Uchiha wouldn't because he couldn't be seen as weaker than her. What with the advantage of sand, and the fact that he couldn't go all out, Sasuke couldn't win. At least, not in THIS reality.

No- I'm not on facebook:

Hehe. Wondered how many people caught that. And yet another Uchiha pummeling fan! Woot!

Marc:

Gaara's conversion happened over the course of a week slowly, then had a major shift when Naruto sealed the psychotic priest away when they were in the woods. Gaara is now going to be a LOT calmer than he was – no midnight roaming to get blood.

Storyreaderlovespie:

Hmm. Actually, you are the first person to ask me either of those questions. Ron is slightly below them, from what he has shown so far. Granted, he has one trick left up his sleeve that might kick him up there, but Ronnel's true skill is in evading blows. If he doesn't want to get hit, you'd have to be a Sannin to hit him. Or Anko.

And as for the Jiraiya part…well… he doesn't know. He only just found out who 'Ruto's father is, and doesn't know who his godfather is. If he did know though, he wouldn't try keeping Jiraiya away – he'd tell Naruto to prank him, and prank him hard.

Still Not Dead Yet:

Thanks, though the credit for the sand ramp idea goes to another author, one I read years ago (sweatdrops). Though the collapsing floor part, that was mine, so far as I know.

And yes, yes, another Sasuke basher lover! Lol. I think I attracted a lot of that crowd.

And wait, Tenten's pointy things get wind around them later on, making them even more pointy. –ducks and hides- That won't end well.
And as for that well… maybe. Though if it does use chakra strings, then the Uncle's technique is actually more like Kankuro's Kugetsu (Puppetry) than wind manipulation. No, the Projectile Control skill is one that I use on Gaia for Wind natured shinobi. Comes in handy, and it actually made an appearance way, way back, near the beginning of the story, when Naruto and Sasuke fought at the end of the Academy Exams.

All right, that's every review! Keep 'em coming with this chappie!
Ja Ne,

G.T.