Author's Note: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Fox McCloude, a good friend of mine on this site and a regular reviewer of this story, whose birthday is today. I hope this chapter made your day even sweeter :)


Chapter 29:

Fight to become a Chunin, Part III

or

Swordsmen, Lovers and Jinchuriki

After the first round, people were already eager to see the second. All winners have proved to be exceptionally powerful, so the public was eagerly expecting to see even more epic fights. While the public spent the intermission buying snacks, going to the bathroom, or betting money on which Genin would win which match, the Genin themselves were trying to relax and mentally prepare for the next round.

Despite the fact that most of them were tired and had even more challenging opponents this time around, their mood was much better than before. Winning their matches made them think that it would make them worthy of promotion, forgetting their respective sensei's words about Genin who won their matches (sometimes more than just one) but failed to get promoted, while Genin who lost impressed the examiners enough to recommend a promotion.

"So, it seems that we're about to fight now," Karui's voice snapped Sasuke from his thoughts. "I'm glad to see that I'll have the chance to fight a fellow swordsman," she said as she eyed the sheathed katana on his back. "Kumogakure has the best swordsmen in the Elemental Nations, and as an aspiring one, it is important to me to be able to show my skill with the sword in front of Raikage-sama."

"I thought that the best swordsmen came from Kirigakure," Sasuke pointed out.

"Those punks? Please," Karui scoffed. "They might have fancy swords with nifty abilities, but take their swords away, and what do you have?" She slowly unsheathed her own katana. Sasuke could see that, besides being a very well crafted weapon, there was nothing that set it apart from any other sword. "A sword is just as good as the person who wields it."

"While I agree with that, I wouldn't dismiss the Seven Swordsmen so easily," Sasuke replied. "I had the chance of seeing one in action more than once, and his skill isn't an exaggeration."

"If you say so," Karui shrugged. "But if the Seven Swordsmen were so hot, a generation of them wouldn't have gone down so easily against a single Genin."

That caught Sasuke's attention. "Come again? You can't be serious."

"I am. In fact, I'm surprised that you didn't know about such feat, given that it was a Konoha Genin," Karui pointed out. "Seriously, I was expecting to see a statue of the guy or something when I came here."

Sasuke was left utterly baffled. How is that he never heard of that ninja if he did such an impressive feat?

As he saw Karui walking alongside his opponent into the arena, the Raikage couldn't help but sport a smirk of superiority.

"Ah, yes, now this is a worthy adversary for Karui," A stated. Despite their dive in reputation, he was aware of how well known the power of the Uchiha was. "When Karui publicly defeats the Uchiha in front of such a large audience, Kumo's might and superiority will be more than proved."

"That girl is talented, everybody can see that," Jiraiya began. "But so is Sasuke. And not just because of his clan, that kid has a lot of talent and drive to prove himself."

"Speaking of which, it surprises me that you still keep the remnant of that rebellious clan still around, Hokage," the Raikage noted as he glanced at Itachi. "If anybody on Kumo, be a single ninja, a clan, or a whole faction, rebelled against the village's legitimate government, I would have crushed them without mercy."

"With all due respect, Raikage-dono, not all the Uchiha are disloyal to Konoha," Itachi interjected, even if he knew he shouldn't speak up. "So I don't think why should those who remained faithful to the village should share the same fate as those who betrayed it."

Darui and C flinched. The Raikage glared at Itachi, as he released no small amount of killing intent. "You better watch your mouth, brat! You might be in a place reserved for the Kage, but it does NOT make you one! Don't even think for a second that it allows you to speak me as if I was your equal!"

"Excuse my bodyguard, Raikage," Jiraiya intervened. "You brought up a very sensitive topic, and even if his outburst was completely out of place, I can't help but side with him. I'm not going to punish a loyal ninja because of the sins of their kin."

"Hm," the Raikage grunted. "Though given the kind of criminal rabble Konoha houses nowadays, the Uchiha aren't so out of place." The Raikage stated as he eyed Zabuza.

Sasuke and Karui stood in front of each other. Yugao made sure both combatants were ready to fight.

"The seventh match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Sasuke Uchiha, from Konoha, and Karui, from Kumo..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life. Both Genin unsheathed their respective katanas, and lunged at each other, firmly holding their weapons. Sharp noises of metal clashing filled the air of the stadium. They spent quite some time trading blows, pushing back and forth in a sword duel, without resorting to ninjutsu, genjutsu, or using any other kind of weapons.

After a few minutes of sword fighting in which none of them managed to gain the upper hand, they paused their duel to regain some breath.

"You're pretty good handling a sword. Your previous boasts weren't unjustified," Sasuke praised the foreign kunoichi.

Karui smiled. "Why, thank you. I've been training with a katana even before I became a Genin. Sword fighting runs through my veins."

Sasuke shot her a condescending smirk. "Funny thing, given that I started learning how to use a sword not a month ago, and we're evenly matched."

Her anger flaring inside of her, Karui gritted her teeth and charged Sasuke once more. This time, her blows were way more vicious and aggressive, however, they weren't any more sloppier as the youngest Uchiha had imagined. Karui's onslaught pushed Sasuke back as he struggled to parry his opponent's swings.

"That fancy eye of yours will be of little help against me!" Karui shouted as she pressed the attack.

"Damn, that didn't work as intended. She knows how to keep her anger in check and keep herself focused," Sasuke thought as he broke the fight and jumped backwards. "Let's try something different."

"How about that, Uchiha? Still think of yourself as my equal?" an angry Karui asked as she pressed her attack.

"I must admit that that wasn't half bad," Sasuke replied as he flew through hand seals. "Now let' see if you can keep up with me after this. Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

The blade of Sasuke's katana was suddenly wreathed in flames. He twirled his flaming sword a few times, and smirked.

"Do you think that impresses me? I can do that do!" Karui protested as she went through different hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Karui's katana started to crackle with electricity, sparks flying from its blade.

No more words added, both swordfighters charged at each other, their elemental-enhanced blades at hand. However, this fight was much shorter than the previous one: the moment the blades clashed, Karui's sword cut Sasuke's as if it was made of butter. Sasuke watched in shock his blade being sliced in two, Karui's swing had still enough momentum to make a superficial cut on Sasuke's shoulder.

"ARGH!" the Uchiha yelled as he dropped his now useless weapon and clutched his damaged shoulder while he jumped backwards. The added electricity made most of it numb, yet it still hurt a lot.

"Awwww, did that hurt? Hahaha!" Karui cackled in triumph. "Guess that the struggle to see which one of us is the best swordfighter is no more."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sasuke then pulled out a small storage scroll, and unsealed a second katana. "I can't believe you forced me to use my spare katana. Now Shisui is never going to live this down."

"Ha! And Sasuke said that brining a spare katana was unnecessary!" the oldest Uchiha stated, enjoying the natural satisfaction of being proven right. "I'm going to make sure he never hears the end of it!"

This time, Sasuke decided not to engage in melee combat, and pulled four shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, and tossed them at Karui with the skill the Uchiha were known for. Karui, however, looked undeterred.

"You don't learn, don't you?" Karui said as she pulled shuriken of her own. "Lightning Release: Shuriken Lightning Transmission!"

The Kumo kunoichi's lightning-charged shuriken easily sliced Sasuke's just like it happened when their respective katanas clashed, and continued flying towards him. Sasuke made the hand seals of his clan's signature jutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Pouring a lot of chakra into the attack, Sasuke breathed a fireball large and powerful enough to stop the shuriken's momentum, heating them so much they started to melt. When the fire dispelled, he didn't saw Karui in front of him. His Sharingan managed to pick and out of place shadow, and looking up, he saw the Kumo kunoichi leaping down at him, holding her lightning-infused blade above her head.

Karui smirked as Sasuke raised his own sword to parry the incoming blow. Even if it was probably an unconscious reaction, the red haired girl couldn't help but find funny the futility of such a gesture.

"I hope you brought more spare swords!" Karui taunted as her blade clashed against Sasuke's. However, much to her surprise, this time she was unable to cut through her opponent's blade. "What?"

"This is what happens when you underestimate the Uchiha!"

Now it was Sasuke who smirked, and taking advantage of Karui's momentary lack of focus, he pushed her blade sideways and kicked her backwards. It was then when Karui noticed that the Uchiha's blade was also sparkling with electricity. An infuriating revelation dawned upon her.

"Wait a minute, the Thunder Blade...you copied it from me!" an angered Karui shouted.

"Guilty as charged," Sasuke nonchalantly replied. "I figured out that an electric charged sword would be unable to cut through another one. And my theory was proven right."

"So that's how your clan made a name for yourselves, right? By stealing other people's power and using it against them!" Karui angrily accused.

"We're ninja. We do everything necessary to win," Sasuke replied as he charged at her.

Karui snarled in anger upon seeing that she had lost her main advantage over Sasuke in such underhanded way, but she was not going to lose. She was a strong, resourceful kunoichi, and had every intention to prove it.

"Okay then, let's see how your Sharingan does against this!" Karui pulled out a couple of smoke bombs from her tool pouch and tossed them at an intermediate space between the two, creating a barrier of smoke.

Sasuke stopped on his tracks, and decided that it was better to wait for Karui's next move.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Transmission!"

Karui and a clone of her dashed at Sasuke, as they held a chain made of electricity on each hand.

"I did see your fight against Choji. Do you think I don't know both of them are clones that will zap me if I touch them?" Sasuke said as he jumped backwards in the air while making several hand seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A shower of fireballs rained upon the two Karuis, who due their speed and current state of keeping a complex jutsu active, were unable to dodge the barrage, and both of them disappeared in an electric flash. Sasuke smirked in satisfaction.

"Time to end this," Sasuke thought as he ran through hand seals. "Fire Release: Burning Man!"

Once again, the youngest Uchiha was covered from head to toe in a cloak of flames, and dashed at where he guessed Karui would be, leaving a trail of fire in his wake, and just like he foresaw, the Kumo kunocihi was still behind the smoke wall, ready to throw some shuriken, which Sasuke had no problems dodging. The Konoha ninja sank his flaming fist into Karui's stomach before she had any time to do anything else...and exploded in an electric flash, zapping Sasuke.

"AARRGH!" the youngest Uchiha shouted as he clutched his body, while his coat of flames disappeared.

One of the shuriken Karui had tossed, now in the ground, exploded in a cloud of white smoke, revealing the real Karui, who started making hand seals.

"Didn't see that, Uchiha? Even if you will see this, you won't be able to stop it," Karui finished doing her hand seals and unsheathed her sword once again, which crackled with electricity. "I'm done playing games. I wasn't planning on using this now, but I will have to do it."

Karui's sword started to glow each second brighter. Sasuke tried to move, but the electric zap had numbed his body to a degree in which dodging was not an option. Not knowing what Karui had in store for him, Sasuke decided that it would be a good time to do the hand seals of his second strongest fire jutsu.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Dragon Blast!"

Karui swung her sword forward, releasing a thick lightning bolt shaped like a dragon from it, which flew at Sasuke, letting out a metallic sounding roar. Fortunately, Sasuke had already finished his hand seals as well.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Stream!"

Sasuke exhaled a flame breath that also took the shape of a dragon. Both elemental dragons clashed, pushing back at forth, but none of them were able to gain the upper hand. Both Sasuke and Karui poured more chakra into their respective attacks, and by doing so, the struggle started to solve in Sasuke's favor.

Karui started to panic. "No! I can't lose here! I can't let both my village and Raikage-sama down! I need to win!"

This prompted the golden-eyed girl to channel even more chakra into the attack, pushing it backwards once again. Upon seeing her strategy working, she put even more chakra into the attack, believing she had already won.

However, the power of both attacks became so big, it ended up destabilizing and creating a huge explosion. And combined with the fact that Karui was closer to the explosion than Sasuke, she had almost no chakra left to spare and her body was completely exhausted, this meant that her run on the Chunin exams had come to an end.

The explosion's shockwave pushed Karui backwards, violently slamming her against the arena's wall, knocking her unconscious instantly. The blast also created an even bigger crater than those which were caused by previous fights.

This didn't meant that Sasuke came out unscathed, but he was definitely in better shape than his opponent.

Yugao sensed that Karui still had some chakra in her, and quickly motioned for the medic nin to take her away. Seeing that the danger had already passed, Sasuke emerged from his hiding spot.

"Karui can't continue fighting! Winner of the seventh match, and first finalist, Sasuke Uchiha!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of ten minutes before the next match begins!"

The image of a Konoha ninja defeating a foreign one which had already defeat another local made the crowd to erupt in a wave of applause and cheers for the member of the usually not that liked Uchiha clan.

Still, Sasuke paid them no mind, and headed back to the waiting area before Yugao had to tell him to.

"Aw man, Karui lost," a dejected Omoi stated. "She's going to be so mad when she wakes up."

"Well, I think she put up a good fight. Plus her opponent was pretty strong," T observed. "Now I get why do everybody mean by the power of the Uchiha. If this guy's just a Genin, I don't want to see the stronger ones can do. It's bad to say this, but I'm kind of glad that most of the clan was wiped off during that insurrection."

"Do you think Karui will score a promotion, sensei?" Omoi asked.

"Hmmmm..." Killer B crossed his arms, and started to think. "Even if Karui's result was defeat, her fight was quite a feat. She did her very best, and I believe she passed this test, since even if she lost, she proved to be stronger than most. Let's hope the examiners share my view, and Karui becomes the first Chunin of this crew."

"I hope you're right, sensei," T added.

"Yes! Another victory for the Uchiha clan! Go Sasuke!" Shisui excitedly yelled, his fist high in the air. Then she looked at his girlfriend and smiled awkwardly. "And another victory for the Medical Squad too. I didn't forget about that."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that Sasuke won, but, well..." Shizune grew uneasy. "It's kind of a bummer seeing the only non-medic of the Medical Squad doing well. And after this victory, Sasuke's promotion is pretty much assured. If only Karin had won her match too..."

"Look at the bright side. Your team was the only one besides Team Kurenai who got more than one Genin to the finals. Plus the only Genin of the other respective three teams also lost their fights as well," Shisui pointed out. "The Chunin hopefuls for this year's exam are pretty powerful, and not just the ones from Konoha. You'll see how Sakura and Karin do much better the next time."

"Yeah. Maybe the next exam there won't be any Jinchuriki," Shizune mentioned, once again seeing how Jinchuriki had become the bane of her team.

While the Raikage didn't make it evident, Karui's defeat left him fuming. It appeared that not even somebody as loud and prone to anger as A wanted to throw a tantrum in front of other two Kages (it wasn't sure how did he feel towards Shibuki). However, the amount of killing intent he was radiating evidenced his mood. Itachi's small but still noticeable smirk didn't help either.

"Don't get mad, Raikage. Karui put an incredible fight against Sasuke. Plus it's not that she didn't give her village a prior victory," Jiraiya began. "If I was an examiner, I would recommend her for a promotion."

The Raikage turned his head at Jiraiya and shot him a chilling glare. "You haven't see me mad yet, Hokage. And pray you would not be present if such day arrives."

As Sasuke allowed himself to relax, he noticed how much chakra he had expended for the fight, and how sore his muscles were. Unless his opponents ended up in the same predicament, there was no way he could give it all in the final. He entered the Competitor's Box, hoping for the next two matches to be as long as possible so he could have some time to rest his tired body.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto's loud voice called. He looked at the blond. "Nice work you did out there!"

"Thank you," Sasuke replied in a polite tone.

"It would be a shame if you lost before we could get to fight," Naruto added, laughing a bit.

"For that to happen, you still have one match to win," Sasuke reminded him. "And while your girlfriend doesn't look like much at first sight, her match showed that there's more to her than meets the eye."

"Haha, yeah, Hinata is pretty strong and...hey, wait a minute, girlfriend?" Naruto asked, blushing a bit.

"You two aren't exactly subtle. And frankly, it's getting kind of annoying now," Sasuke stated.

"Then...do you think it's true that she might like me back...?" Naruto asked, lowering his voice so Hinata couldn't pick up the conversation.

Sasuke just stared at his blond rival. "Sometimes, I wonder how the hell you got so far with that empty head of yours."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. It was the second time somebody told him that. "Take that back! I'm as smart as I'm strong!"

"But then again, what you lack in brains, you make up in raw power and determination, so I think you should be good," Sasuke added. "I won't bid you good luck, since good ninja don't rely on such a thing."

"Uhhhh...thanks?"

The blond then headed towards Hinata, who was at the edge of the waiting area, absentmindedly looking at the arena.

"Is she just as nervous to fight me as I am to fight her?" Naruto wondered. The two of them were the only ones who would have to fight a teammate. "Hey, Hinata, you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Hinata replied. "Thanks again for sharing some of your chakra with me, I don't think I'd have any strength to fight if it wasn't for that."

"Hey, then the match would be no fun, right?" Naruto asked, and laughed a bit. "So, should we get going?"

Hinata nodded, and started walking alongside Naruto.

"Look, neechan's about to fight again!" Hanabi excitedly pointed out as Hinata and Naruto walked into the arena. "Hope she will use the Heavenly Thunderstorm again!"

"Heavenly...Thunderstorm?" Hikari replied, confused.

"Yeah, that move she used to knock out her earlier opponent. Because that definitely wasn't a Heavenly Spin, that's why I gave it another, more fitting name," Hanabi explained. "I want to see it again."

"Even then, that move seemed to be the result of hasty improvisation," Hikari replied. "And I don't think it will work against such a skilled opponent like Naruto-kun. And that's not even counting that he's a wind type."

"It can't be..." Neji said in awe, his Byakugan activated.

"What's wrong, son?" his father asked him.

"Hinata-sama's chakra reserves...they're completely full..." the Hyuga prodigy pointed out.

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "That can't be right. The Heavenly Thunderstorm drained a good chunk of her chakra," she activated her own Byakugan, and noticed that her nephew was right. "Impossible!"

"Maybe she ate a ration pill?" Hizashi suggested.

"So are we calling it Heavenly Thunderstorm? Good!" Hanabi said, pleased. "Let's hope neechan also likes the name..."

"So, Naruto and Hinata are about to fight. Now I know how Shizune felt when Naruto fought Sakura," Kurenai said. "I can't root for one over the other!"

"Try to think that whoever wins, one of your Genin will go to the finals," Asuma told her.

"I would have preferred it if both of them made it to the finals..." Kurenai dejectedly replied.

"Hey, at least one of your Genin will go there. My only Genin lost the first round," Asuma reminded her. "And in the end, there can only be one winner. By the way, given that they're your students...who do you think it's going to win?"

"That's easy. Naruto, no contest," Kurenai flatly replied.

Asuma raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Wow, that was fast. You didn't even take a minute to think about it. Is the difference between their skill and power that big?"

"Not just between them. I'd say Naruto is way stronger than most of his former classmates. The only ones who would give him a challenge are Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and maybe Tenten."

It was commonly assumed that all Genin, Chunin, etc, had more or less the same skill and power, but that was a lie product of oversimplification. There could be a huge difference between two ninja sporting the same rank.

Both Kurenai and Asuma were Jonin, but while Kurenai was recently promoted after staying a few years as a Special Jonin –mostly thanks to her talent with Genjutsu–, Asuma managed to reach the rank before he was eighteen, just like Gai and Kakashi. And it was unlikely that other Special Jonin she knew, such as Anko or Ebisu, would even be promoted anytime soon.

The five mentioned by Kurenai could be considered "Elite Genin". They were so above the average Genin, that their rank was pretty much in name only, which was a testament of their skill and strength. When they were promoted, they would only remain as Chunin for a couple years at most before they were promoted again to Jonin or at least Special Jonin. Most of their teammates would take much longer to achieve such rank, that's it, if they managed to move past Chunin.

"Well, Sasuke is a finalist. If Naruto makes it to the finals too, at the very least we'll get an exciting fight to see."

"Come on Naruto, you have to make me a rich woman!" Tsunade stated in excitement, holding a multitude of betting tickets against her chest. "But after Temari, Hinata shouldn't be much of a challenge."

"You're forgetting about Naruto-kun's feelings for Hinata, Tsunade-sama," Shizune reminded her. "And thus it might hamper his performance. Not to mention that Hinata isn't as weak as she looks."

Tsunade frowned. "That brat better listen to his brain instead of his hormones. If he knows what's good for him."

"Go, Naruto-niisan!" Hagane yelled.

"But don't hit Hinata too hard or else she won't want to marry you!" Kaida added

"God damn it, why can't they keep those brats silent?" Naruto cursed inwardly. He then looked at Hinata, who was blushing, and staring to the ground. "Great, they made Hinata upset!"

"Combatants ready?" Yugao asked, looking at both the blond and the bluenette, who looked rather uneasy but nothing seemed apparently wrong. "In that case the eighth match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Naruto Uzumaki, from Konoha, and Hinata Hyuga, from Konoha..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Hinata raised her head, no longer blushing, her face no longer appeared bashful, but now reflecting a look of determination.

"I know I can't win this fight. Naruto-kun is way too strong for me,'"Hinata thought. "But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't give my very best. For Naruto-kun. For my family. For my promotion. I'll make sure this is a fight no one will ever forget!"

"Byakugan!"

Hinata's Bloodline activated, and adopted a fighting stance. Naruto grinned and made the hand seal of his most used jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A multitude of clones appeared alongside him. Hinata wasn't fazed, she was already used to it thanks to the countless hours she sparred against Naruto. Though she had to remind herself that this time Naruto would go all out against her.

"Attack!"

Upon the order was issued, the clones charged forward. Some of them pulled a few kunai and shuriken and tossed them at the Hyuga. Hinata also pulled out a couple kunai, and used them to deflect the incoming projectiles. However, while she did so, most Narutos were already in close combat range. This didn't deter Hinata in the slightest, though.

"Eight Trigrams, Thirty-two Palms! Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty Two palms!" Each strike was a precise blow that managed to dispel each clone, until only the original remained in the back. Seeing it was her turn to attack, Hinata made several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

An array of blue lightning bolts flew from her fingers at the confident blond, which also made several hand seals of his own.

"Wind Release: Wind Wall!"

A tornado formed around Naruto, which easily stopped and dispelled Hinata's electrical attack. However, while he was doing so, Hinata used the moment to close the gap between them, and readied a palm strike.

"Come on Hinata I've sparred against you countless times, I know how to block the Gentle Fist..." Naruto thought as he was about to push Hinata's wrist aside.

However, much to his surprise, Hinata's hand closed into a fist, and instead of aiming at one of his easiest to close tenketsu in the chest, the Hyuga moved her fist towards his face. This sudden change made Naruto fail to deflect the attack, and given that Hinata was using Tsunade's Chakra-Enhanced Strength to the best of her ability, it resulted in a painful hit that send the Jinchuriki flying backwards until his body slammed against the arena's wall.

"Oh man, I knew that Sakura wouldn't be the last time mom's technique would come back to bite me in the ass..." Naruto thought as he got back on his feet and rubbed his hurt face, trying his best to ignore the pain. "Nice one, Hinata. Didn't see that coming."

"Thanks," Hinata replied, not dropping her fighting stance. "I know I can't defeat you if I am predictable."

Hinata then formed several hand seals, which Naruto knew too well.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata's hands started to crackle with electricity. Her signature jutsu now active, the Hyuga heiress charged at Naruto.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A barrier of orange clad clones appeared between Hinata and the original Naruto. Without Naruto having to tell them anything, the clone army charged at Hinata. The first clone managed to sink his fist into Hinata's gut, who strangely enough made no effort to defend herself...

...and vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving a large rock in her place.

"What the...?"

The blond had no time to think before Hinata suddenly appeared in close quarter combat range and managed to deliver a couple lightning-charged palm strikes to Naruto's gut and the right shoulder. Clutching his injured areas, Naruto jumped back. Hinata tried to continue her onslaught, but the clones once again got in the way.

"Lightning Release: Eight Trigrams Thirty Two Thunder strikes!"

While Hinata destroyed the clones, Naruto used the Mystical Palm Jutsu to heal the zones Hinata had damaged with her sneak attack. He managed to heal his shoulder completely when Hinata destroyed the last of his clones.

"Dammit, since when did Hinata become this aggressive?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "I might have to use the Rasengan if she keeps such a pace!"

After she was done with the clones, Hinata wasted no time and went for the original Naruto, still healing himself. However, upon seeing his teammate turned temporary enemy, Naruto stopped and made several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto projected an horizontal cyclone from his hands, which caught Hinata just a couple meters before she could reach him in close combat, and violently knocked her backwards, making her fall on her back.

"You almost got me there, Hinata," Naruto praised as he tossed a couple kunai with a Flaming Seals on them, much to Hinata's horror. The Hyuga tried to get up as fast as possible while Naruto made the same hand seals as before. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

This time, Naruto only used one hand to cast his most used wind jutsu, resulting in a weaker version. When the cyclone passed over the Flaming Seals, Naruto made a hand seal with his other hand in order to activate them. The seals exploded in two balls of fire, which merged with the cyclone into a tornado of flames.

"Vacuum Palm Wall!"

Hinata thrust both hands forward, releasing a huge vacuum shell that clashed against the vortex of fire. The collision of both attacks resulted in a huge explosion. Even if its shockwave wasn't strong enough to knock down either combatant, it raised quite a few clouds of smoke and dust.

"This is my chance! I can see through the smoke while Naruto-kun can't!" Hinata thought as she charged forward.

However, Naruto wasn't stupid, and knew that Hinata would use the smoke and dust to her advantage, and prepared a countermeasure.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto expelled a powerful stream of wind through his mouth, quickly dispelling the large cloud of smoke and dust obscuring most of the arena, and revealing Hinata dashing at him. However, the moment he just finished that jutsu, Hinata grabbed something from her tool pouch and tossed it to the ground, revealing to be a smoke bomb when it detonated and created a second cloud of smoke, one that Naruto wouldn't have enough time to dispel. Of course, that didn't mean that Naruto was defenseless, not in the slightest.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Once again, a barrier of clones appeared in front of Naruto.

'Thank goodness this jutsu is instant, or else I would be screwed,' Naruto thought in relief. 'And even with the Byakugan Hinata has no way of telling which was is the real me. She'll have to fight against the clones while I dispel the smoke...wait, why I don't hear my clones fighting?'

The answer came a couple seconds later in the form of an unexpected explosion that completely poofed all the clones instantly, while sent Naruto rolling backwards against the arena's wall.

"So she threw an explosive tag at my clones instead of directly attacking herself. Oh boy...she's taking this 'not being predictable' thing very seriously..." Naruto groaned as he stood up.

"Come on Naruto-kun! I know that you're much stronger than this!" Hinata called as she dashed at him.

"She's right. I'm not giving it all. Is it because I like her? Because she's my friend and teammate?" he thought. "Yet Hinata is fighting with every ounce of her power. Yes, I can't hold back. I have to fight against her as if she was any other enemy!"

With new resolve, Naruto made several hand seals just in time before Hinata could hit him with a palm strike.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Shockwave!"

A tornado formed around Naruto, creating a windy shield that pushed Hinata back whenever she tried to touch him. Naruto poured more chakra into the jutsu, increasing the power of the tornado, which now it didn't just kept Hinata way, but it also sent her flying back several meters. Naruto then tossed a shuriken at her before making several hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

The single shuriken turned into fifty, and much to Hinata's shock, she found a swarm of steel stars flying at her.

"Multiple Vacuum Palms!"

Hinata thrust one palm forward at a time a quick pace, releasing a barrage of vacuum shells that managed to block the incoming shuriken. Though even with the Byakugan, Hinata was so focused on stopping the shuriken barrage that she didn't notice Naruto sneaking upon her until he was at close quarter range. And much to Hinata's confusion, Naruto engaged her in taijutsu combat.

Taken aback by such an unexpected action, Hinata was forced to fall back before Naruto's barrage of not very refined but very strong punches and kicks. Still, once the shock wore off, Hinata once again gained the upper hand, it was Naruto the one being pushed back. Naruto put some distance by jumping back before being overwhelmed, something Hinata took advantage of, and made several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata's hands cracked with electricity once more as she lunged at Naruto, ready to deliver a palm strike. Naruto wouldn't have time to make the seals of one of his many wind jutsu. However, he did have a jutsu that took no time to cast.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Another army of orange wearing blonds appeared in a circle surrounding Hinata. The Hyuga, however, ignored them and decided to focus on the original. The palm strike connected...and Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Clone Replacement. Of course," Hinata thought.

"Byakugan or not, you won't be able to defend from an attack that comes from all directions!" all the Naruto clones stated as they charged her.

Hinata's mouth formed an uncharacteristic smirk. "That's where you're wrong, Naruto-kun."

Even if it was a risky move, there was no other option. Hinata spread the lightning chakra from her hands to the rest of her body, as she started to spin. Naruto was too late to stop upon realizing what she was going to do.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Hinata turned into a spinning thunderstorm, releasing lightning bolts in every direction, that instantly poofed all the Naruto clones, while blasting the original back several meters. Still, the blond could help but notice that this version of Hinata's new attack was much less destructive than the one before, maybe because the second time Hinata knew how to control it a bit better, and not to use so much chakra on it.

When Hinata was done spinning, she wasn't dizzy, and her body was still flickering with electricity.

"Damn, that attack again..." Naruto stated as he got up. "I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of it," Hinata said, mildly satisfied. "Come on Naruto-kun, I'm sure you have a way to counter this!"

"I do," Naruto admitted. "But I was hoping I could defeat you without having to resort to it. Guess I have no choice," Naruto extended his arm, and on his hand a sphere of chakra began to form. "Okay Hinata, you're going to be the first to witness the jutsu I've been working on this past month. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Naruto-kun."

Through her Byakugan, Hinata saw that that despite its relatively small size, the sphere had an incredibly dense chakra. If all that chakra were to be released at once, the effect would be devastating.

"That jutsu is way too powerful for any Genin to resist. If my version of the Heavenly Spin can do the trick..." the Hyuga thought.

Naruto dashed at Hinata, holding the chakra sphere on one hand. Hinata wasted no time and started to spin again.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Fortunately, Naruto was close enough to her to use his trump card before Hinata's defense could knock him back.

"Rasengan!"

Both attacks collided, trying to overpower each other. However, a after a few seconds of struggle, the Rasengan started to expand, while Hinata's spinning speed started to slow down. The result was a massive explosion, blasting both combatants flying in opposite directions, landing with a loud thud.

When the smoke dispersed, everybody saw Naruto and Hinata down on the ground, immobile. People started to murmur, wondering what could have happened, and the possibility of a double knockout. However, after a couple seconds, Naruto started to get up.

Yugao went to check Hinata. She was still miraculously conscious, albeit in great pain. Her whole body trembled. She tried to move, but her body was too exhausted. Meanwhile, Naruto was already back on his feet. The winner was clear.

"Hinata is no condition to fight! Winner of the eighth match, Naruto!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of ten minutes before the next round begins!"

"YES!" Naruto cheered. Not even the thought of his crush and best friend being already out of the competition –by his own hand, no less– was enough to keep the blond down. He then walked towards Hinata, still lying on the ground. "Hinata?"

"N-Naruto-kun..." the Hyuga replied in a whisper. "H-How...how was I...?"

"You were amazing!" the jinchuriki beamed. "I had no idea you were so powerful! There were some times I thought I was going to lose."

"You would never lose...against somebody...l-like me..." Hinata replied.

"Don't sell yourself so short, Hinata. Like you said before, you wouldn't have gotten so far if you didn't deserve it," Naruto told her.

Hinata smiled. "I guess...you're right. It will be a pity that...I won't be able to see you...in the finals..."

"Pity indeed. But I know that you will be rooting for me, and that's enough," Naruto replied.

The stadium's medic-nin arrived, and placed Hinata on a stretcher before they took her away. With nothing else for Naruto to do, the blond returned to the waiting area.

"HAHA, YES!" Tsunade loudly cheered. "Now if you excuse me, I have to make my fortune even bigger!" Tsunade said before leaving to change all his tickets for cash, which she would use to buy more betting tickets.

Shizune shook her head at Tsunade, but then smiled upon seeing Naruto talking with the downed Hinata. "I think that this had to be Naruto's hardest fight so far."

"What are you saying? You told me the kind of opponents Naruto had to face before. Hinata wasn't among the strongest," Shisui pointed out.

Shizune shook her head again. "That's irrelevant. Hinata is Naruto's first and best friend for quite a long time. And his recent feelings for her go beyond mere friendship. Being forced to fight against such a person, even in a friendly and controlled environment like this one, is never easy. Let's hope Naruto, nor any of us, have to fight against a loved one again in the future."

Shizune's words reminded Shisui of the night the Uchiha Clan rebelled. Itachi probably had to fight and kill many clansmen he was close to, including his own father. The ninja world was a cruel place indeed.

Hikari sighed in resignation. "I had hopes that Hinata would be able to defeat Naruto-kun, but in the end it wasn't mean to be."

"Naruto is a very strong opponent. Hinata-sama never had a chance," Neji somberly stated. "But the fact that she pressed Naruto so much in order to make him resort to such a powerful jutsu to defeat her speaks volumes."

"Does this mean that Hinata-neechan won't be Chunin anymore, mother?" Hanabi asked.

Hikari shook her head. "She still has a chance if the examiners were impressed enough with her fights, Hanabi-chan."

"Well, I was impressed. Very impressed. Only an idiot wouldn't think that Hinata-neechan isn't good enough to be a Chunin," Hanabi stated.

When Naruto returned to the Competitor's Box, he was greeted by the sight of the three remaining Genin, Sasuke, Gaara and Fu. And soon one of the latter two would be out.

"Congratulations on your second victory, Naruto," Gaara told him.

"Yeah, it was a fight to remember!" Fu added.

"See? I told you that you could defeat her," Sasuke told him. "Even if she gave you a harder time than I expected. But then again, I could see you were holding back."

"I wasn't holding back!" Naruto protested. "Hinata is strong as hell! I mean, I had to use the Rasengan to defeat her, while I was hoping I could show it when I was fighting either you or the other finalist."

"Speaking of which, I hate to admit it, but it was one hell of a jutsu, Naruto," Sasuke praised. "Now I have to come up with something strong enough to surpass it."

"Ha! You'd wish! That jutsu was created by the Fourth Hokage himself! Good luck coming up with something better," Naruto boasted.

Sasuke crossed his arms, and snorted dismissively. "Even the lowest of the Uchiha are geniuses compared to the average ninja, and I stand among the best of them. And with the help of Itachi-niisan and Shisui it won't even be a challenge."

Naruto had the feeling that Sasuke's words weren't just empty boasts, but was looking forward to see what his rival would come up with. In fact, an idea was already brewing in Sasuke's mind.

Meanwhile, in the Kage Box, two of the leaders present were eagerly expecting the next match, both with high hopes for their only representative.

"Well, Shibuki, your girl is indeed an impressive kunoichi, but she had the misfortune to be matched against Gaara," Rasa stated, his lips forming a smile of superiority. "There's no way she can defeat him."

Shibuki wasn't going to let this bullying asshole to intimidate him or demean his village. "And I admit that Gaara's defense is truly something to behold, but like that Konoha kunoichi proved, there's no such thing as an impenetrable defense. "

"Maybe, but do you think that your girl can pierce it? You have her in too high esteem, it would seem," Rasa replied.

"Fu is way more powerful than she lets on. You aren't the first one who underestimates her abilities," Shibuki rebuked.

"You mean because she's a Jinchuriki?" Rasa casually mentioned. Both Jiraiya and A raised an eyebrow (albeit in Jiraiya's case, he was pretending to be surprised), while Shibuki paled for the second time that day. "Oh, don't give me that look, the girl isn't exactly subtle. That careless attitude will get her killed one day."

"Say, how about if we enjoy the fight instead?" Jiraiya intervened before the discussion could get more heated. "Besides, it will be a good way of finding out which one is right."

Gaara and Fu walked into the arena. Since this fight involved two foreign ninjas, the public didn't show as much interest as in previous match. Still, there was a noticeable number of people eager to see them fight, simply because the red haired boy and the green haired girl proved to be very strong ninja, and their fight would be everything but boring.

"Don't think I forgot what you did," Fu stated in an oddly threatening tone. "And I didn't forgive you!"

A confused Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. This was the first time he even traded a line with the bizarre girl, so he couldn't help but wonder what he did to merit such reaction.

"I'm afraid I don't know what are you talking about," Gaara replied in his usual calmness.

"Ha! Don't think that by pretending to have amnesia that I'm going to go easy on you!" Fu replied, as she stomped her foot on the ground.

"I'm being sincere. I never saw you in my life, so I don't know what kind of felony I did to enrage you so much," Gaara insisted.

"In that case, I'll refresh your memory: you eliminated Shino from the exams!" Fu dramatically stated as she pointed an accusatory finger at Gaara. "And as his friend –and hopefully something more one day– it is my duty to avenge him!"

"Oh," was all what Gaara said.

"See? That's what I was talking about!" Ino told Shikamaru. The lazy Nara merely rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Did she...?" Kiba began, a bit flabbergasted. "Did she loudly shout that she wants to be more than just friends with you, Shino?"

"So it seems," Shino replied in his usual stoicism. "I believe that this deserves a thorough conversation with her in order to establish the kind of relationship we want."

"No offense Shino, but I never thought you were the type of guy that could get a girl fall for him so fast," Kakashi commented. "Then again, as kids your age usually say, chicks dig mysterious guys."

"None taken," Shino replied. "She's a great girl, but I don't know her that much. Plus the fact that she's from another village would make it even more complicated. Do I really want a relationship with her?" the Aburame heir thought.

Seeing that they no longer traded anymore words, Yugao thought it was about time to begin.

"You two ready? In that case the ninth match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Gaara, from Suna, and Fu, from Taki..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Sand started to pour from Gaara's word the second Yugao's last word left her lips. For her part, Fu stepped backwards and made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Fu released a powerful stream of water from her mouth. Gaara's sand automatically erected a barrier around him. However, the barrier soaked the water, becoming mud in the process. Just like Fu had planned.

Summoning her wings, the green haired flew at Gaara, plowing through the softened sand barrier, her fist reared back ready to punch the Suna ninja's face. However, much to her surprise, the sand erected a second barrier centimeters from Gaara's face, which managed to absorb the force of the green haired girl's punch. When the sand moved to wrap around her, Fu quickly flew upwards, escaping a potential defeat.

"My turn," Gaara said as he made a hand seal. "Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

Deadly sand projectiles flied at Fu at an amazingly fast speed. The flying kunoichi had a hard time matching their speed, and while she managed to dodge most of them, one of her wings was hit, nullifying her flying ability, and making her to crash into the ground below, creating yet another crater in the arena.

"Ouch..." Fu muttered as she climbed out of the crater. "My wings...my beautiful wings!"

"Sorry," Gaara stoically, but sincerely said. "Will they heal?"

"Yes. But it will take a lot of time!" the green haired girl protested.

"I see. Nevertheless, don't expect me to go easy on you because of that," and with a hand wave, Gaara launched a tide of sand at the Taki kunoichi.

Fu instinctively deployed her wings, only to feel a wave of pain instead. Cursing, she was forced to run away in order to avoid being buried under the sand tsunami.

"Dammit! Was I so dependent on my wings that I'm this helpless without them?" the green haired girl cursed inwardly. "No! I still have plenty of tricks to spare! I'll show that creepy kid and everybody else!"

Fu made a single hand seal. "Hiding in the Scale Powder Jutsu!"

Fu opened her mouth, and exhaled a large quantity of glittery powder, which reflected so much light that it blinded pretty much everybody. Fu took the chance and dashed at Gaara –reminding herself of not using her wings– ready to punch his face. Unfortunately, her fist only connected with a wall of sand.

"What? The sand can act on its own?" Fu asked, flabbergasted.

"Indeed," Gaara replied, as he rubbed his eyes. A thread of sand then coiled around Fu's legs. "However, this is all my doing."

"Hey, what are you- WHOAH!"

Gaara's sand whip started to repeatedly slam Fu into the ground, switching between swinging her to the left and to the right. Eventually, he let her go when he thought that she had enough. But Fu's resilience proved to be too much when the girl got up as if the severe beating only gave her a minor headache.

"Oh, wow, everything spins..." Fu slurred as she grabbed her head with one hand. "I think I might have a concussion...so, are you going to ask me what do they feed me?"

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Why should I ask such a thing?"

The green haired girl shrugged. "I dunno. Everybody does. Usually after they beat me into the ground just like you did. I don't know what it has to do with anything, but it has been a thing since I got here."

"I'm not from Konoha," the redheaded ninja stated in a neutral tone.

"That might explain it. Anyway..." Fu made a hand seal. "Transformation Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, Fu transformed into Gaara, much to everybody else's confusion. Fu pulled out two kunai and dashed at the jinchuriki of the One Tail.

"You didn't see that coming, do you?" Fu asked in Gaara's voice, but with her usual cheerful and chipper tone.

However, when Fu tried to stab Gaara, she found herself hitting once again a wall of sand. Gaara wasted no time, and trapped her in a cocoon of sand which left only the head exposed. Her transformation was also undone.

"I don't know what you were trying to do with that," Gaara began.

"Well, I kinda noticed that your sand goes on its own, so I thought that maybe I could fool it by disguising myself as you," Fu explained, not too concerned about her current predicament.

"Not a bad idea. Would have worked if the chakra that moves the sand wasn't connected to my very being," Gaara replied. "Then again, such a mistake will cost you this match."

Fu smiled widely. "No, it won't."

And she disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving a log behind. Gaara felt a current of air at his back, and turned around to see Fu with her fist reared back, said fist surrounded by a small tornado.

"Hurricane Punch!"

Once again, Gaara's ultimate defense triggered, making a wall of sand that absorbed the impact of the punch. However, it failed to absorb the burst of wind the attack unleashed, which sent Gaara flying back several meters. The sand, however, made a cushion that softened the fall.

"Now is my chance!" Fu said as she dashed towards Gaara, as wind began to whirl around her arms. When she closed the gap, she thrust both arms forward. "Double Hurricane Punch!"

Fu released two powerful horizontal tornadoes that managed to bypass Gaara's sand shield and hit the Suna ninja...who promptly burst into sand.

"Like I already told you, you already lost," Gaara's voice said behind her.

Fu tried to turn back, but she couldn't looking down. She saw her legs being trapped by sand, leaving her stuck. Threads of sand started to dangerously whirl around her.

"Please surrender," Gaara continued as she walked towards her, his arm extended. "I do not wish to cause you more harm than necessary."

"And I told you that if you expect me to give up, you have another thing coming!" Fu defiantly replied, as she struggled with the sand trapping her feet, unable to break free. She rummaged through her ninja pouch hoping to find something that could help with her current predicament, when her fingers touched something she had forgotten was there. Pulling it out, she saw it was a vial with a blue liquid on it. Shibuki had given her that vial, and told her to only use it on a life or death situation.

The green haired girl wondered if she should drink the vial or not. On one hand, this wasn't a life or death situation. She could easily surrender, and go back home completely unscratched.

But on the other hand, what would people think of her village if its only representative walked away when things got difficult? No, giving up wasn't an option. Shibuki had trusted the village's future to her, and she couldn't betray that trust. Her decision already made, Fu opened the vial and drank its contents. At that moment, a second sand cocoon formed around her body, leaving only her head exposed.

"I believe you don't have another Body Replacement prepared in advance," Gaara guessed. "So this-"

The effects of the vial were immediate. Fu felt a surge of power rushing through her body, and her chakra flared forming a glowing blue aura around her. It was so potent, it was able to push the sand away, breaking the cocoon.

"OH YES! THIS IS AMAZING! Fu yelled at the top of her lungs. "Get ready for the worst beating of your life, redhead!"

And the green haired girl vanished in front of him.

"NO!" Shibuki yelled as he got up from his chair and rushed towards the edge of the box. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"What's wrong, Shibuki-san?" Jiraiya asked, confused. "Fu seems to be doing pretty good so far. Why the outburst?"

"You...you don't get it," Shibuki replied, shaken. "What Fu did...I told her only to do it under extreme circumstances, but guess that I had to specify that these matches didn't count. Tell me Jiraiya, do you know about the treasure of my village?"

Fu didn't recover the ability to fly, but she was moving so fast it barely made a difference. Coupled with her hard hits, the green haired girl had become a genuine threat.

"Why do I always have to fight against people who outspeed my sand?" Gaara internally complained. "Then again, not all victories can be as easy as against the bug ninja."

Fu snapped Gaara from his thoughts thanks to a well aimed punch. Even if his sand armor absorbed most of the impact, he could still feel the pain of the punch. Before Fu had time to continue her onslaught, the redhead called the sand back and used it to form a protective dome. Fu began to wildly pound on the dome, which started to crack. Gaara made a hand seals, and huge sand spikes grew in every direction, forcing the Seven Tails Jinchuriki to jump back.

"Do you think you can hide from me!?" Fu yelled as he made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Fu expelled from her mouth an incredibly powerful stream of water, almost like a torrent, towards the sand dome, which was unable to hold the attack, and crumbled down as it absorbed the water and turned into mud. Gaara used his remaining sand to propel himself upwards.

Fu smirked. "Gotcha."

In a split second, Fu leaped into the air, and found herself in front of Gaara. However, before she could punch him again, she noticed a tentacle of sand wrapping around her leg.

"Oh shit, not this again!"

The sand tentacle only slammed her against the floor once. However, Gaara was already preparing his next attack, and five streams of sand were already upon her. Making use of her newfound speed and agility, Fu skillfully dodged the constant sand attacks, but she was unable to find an opening to attack.

Eventually, Fu made a mistake and didn't doge a sand stream, which made her lose her balance and fell down on her butt.

"NOW!" Gaara thought as he quickly brought his palms together. "Sand Tsunami!"

Gaara used all his sand, and then some, to bury Fu alive. He used every ounce of his strength to keep her underneath. If he was able enough to contain her until she lost consciousness, the match would be over. Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as he had expected.

All that sand wasn't enough to contain Fu, which burst from the sand tomb with and overwhelming force. All those present noticed that her blue aura had turned red.

"I'M SICK OF YOUR SAND!" Fu bellowed as she dived at him.

Gaara managed to jump backwards before the green haired meteor hit the ground, adding yet another crater to the ground –the arena floor was mostly craters right now– but that didn't deter her in the slightest.

"Hokage-sama, you have to stop this!" Shibuki pleaded.

Jiraiya nodded "Indeed. I know how dangerous can-"

"You won't do such a thing, Hokage," Rasa interjected.

Jiraiya looked at his fellow Kage as if he grew a second head. "Are you mad, Kazekage? Fu is losing control of her Tailed Beast! She's a danger to everybody, herself included!"

"I'm aware of the dangers, Hokage. But I'm sure Gaara can handle this," Rasa reassured. He looked at the arena, oddly satisfied. "You'll see it now."

Upon seeing her new chakra cloak, it didn't took long for Shino to put two and two and deduce the source of the girl's strange powers.

"So, she's a Jinchuriki like Naruto and Gaara," the Aburame thought. "This is...an interesting turn of events."

"DIE!" Fu yelled as she dashed towards Gaara once again. Her chakra cloak had taken the form of a beetle, with a tail forming on its back.

"I can't believe I have to resort to this a second time..." Gaara thought as he made a hand seal. "Ultimately Hard Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku!"

Another hat-wearing replica of Shukaku appeared between Gaara and Fu, except this time it was twice as big as the one he summoned against Tenten. Undeterred, Fu crashed against the sand shield, and in her enraged state, rather than simply circumventing it, she tried to tear it down with the force of her fists. Each hit boomed loudly through the whole stadium, and soon the Shukaku replica started to crumble, until a particularly strong punch tore it in half.

"YES! DESTROYED! NOW YOU GO NE-!"

"Ultimately Hard Absolute Attack: Spear of Shukaku!"

Fu didn't have time to ask where did Gaara got that halberd, apparently made of sand, before he embedded it into her shoulder, and pinned her into the ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as she futilely tried to remove the spear from her shoulder. However, it didn't bulge.

Little by little, as the pain increased, Fu noticed how her strength withered away. Even the Tailed Beast chakra could only help her so far, and her red aura flickered away. Eventually, the immense pain combined with her diminishing strength made the green haired girl to lose consciousness. Once Gaara made sure that she was out, he undid the spear, which turned back into sand.

Yugao went to check the fallen kunoichi. She was badly wounded, but alive. She gestured the medic nin in order to take her away.

"Fu can't keep fighting! Winner of the ninth match, and third finalist, Gaara!" Yugao announced. "There will be a recession of fifteen minutes before the final match begin! Unlike the previous rounds, the finalists will receive medical attention before the match begins!"

"See? I told you Gaara could handle her," Rasa told Shibuki while sporting an incredibly smug smile. "And, as you can see, she isn't exactly careful with her jinchuriki status. After that display, you can forget about keeping it a secret."

Shibuki sighed in defeat. "I should have never given her the Hero Water, but I wanted her to be safe."

Kakashi had told Jiraiya about the Hero Water when he and his team escorted Shibuki to Taki a few weeks ago. It was a special liquid produced by the Great Tree of Taki once every hundred years. Drinking it greatly increased the power of your chakra for a short time, but the backlash would potentially harm the body in a permanent way, similar to the Celestial Gates.

And as it was shown moments ago, if a Jinchuriki drank it, not only increased the power of their chakra, but of their Tailed Beast as well, which would make the Jinchuriki to lose control of their power.

"Hokage-sama, is it okay if I go to the infirmary to check on Fu?" Shibuki asked, ignoring the Kazekage.

"Sure you can, but you're going to miss the final match," Jiraiya told him.

Shibuki chuckled sadly. "Given that no Taki ninja takes part, I don't have much interest in seeing it. I have no doubt it will be spectacular. Raikage-dono, Kazekage-dono, if you excuse me..."

And Shibuki left the Kage Box. Not that A or Rasa minded. In fact, the latter seemed to be satisfied that there were only Kage and their bodyguards present.

Truth be told, A didn't have any interest in the match either, and was tempted of using Shibuki's excuse as well, but it would be seen as a gesture inappropriate for a Kage, and thus decided to stay.

"Well Kazekage, the final match will begin shortly. Aren't you excited? Because I certainly am," Jiraiya told his fellow Kage.

"Oh, yes, about that," Rasa replied as if he suddenly remembered something. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I know what you're planning. The two Konoha Genin will double team Gaara to kick him out of the fight as early as possible, so they can hog the spotlight. I won't tolerate such thing happening."

The Toad Sage raised an eyebrow. "What? You can't be sure of that! Besides, Naruto has a bond with Gaara since both of them are Jinchuriki. Maybe it's them who team up against Sasuke. Or nobody teams up and it's a three way brawl."

"I stand by my demands, Hokage. I want a different outcome," Rasa insisted.

"And what do you want me to do? There are only three Genin left, and I can't kick one of them out of the competition like that."

"Easy. Have the two Konoha Genin fight each other. The winner can fight Gaara," Rasa suggested.

"Are you insane? I'm not going to do such a thing that would put my Genin in a such disadvantageous position!" Jiraiya fired back, indignant.

"Okay, I know that I'm asking much without giving something else in return," Rasa then looked around, as if trying to come up with something, until his eyes rested on Zabuza. "How about if I drop all charges against Zabuza? I believe it's a generous offer."

Jiraiya pondered the Kazekage's words. Not having to dealt with Zabuza's past crimes against Suna later was indeed a plus. On one hand, only one Konoha Genin would make it to the finals, and said Genin would be more tired than Gaara, giving the redhead an easy victory, and a lot of publicity to Suna.

On the other hand...Naruto and Sasuke were two of the most, if not the most, powerful Genin right now. Even if it wasn't the finals, a match between them would also impress Konoha's current and potential customers.

Besides, it's possible that such gamble would backfire on Rasa. Some people would see it as a cowardly gesture, that Suna is too afraid to face difficult odds. If that's what he wanted, then so be it.

"Alright, I accept your terms. On the condition that the winner will also be healed once again before he faces Gaara," Jiraiya added.

"I find it reasonable. We have a deal, then?" Rasa said with a smirk of superiority. "Good."

Jiraiya didn't know how much longer he could resist before he succumbed to the burning desire of strangling Rasa to death.

Meanwhile, in the arena, after being properly healed, the three finalists were in front of Yugao.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki. Gaara. Congratulations for making to the finals, but the hardest part comes now. Sometimes, a fight will involve more than just two parties, and thus you will need to know how to-"

Yugao was interrupted when Itachi Body Flickered besides her, startling everybody there.

"Brother...?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

Itachi whispered something inaudible at Yugao's ear, who turned at him in surprise and mouthed something Sasuke identified as "you have to be kidding me", but Itachi was serious. His message once delivered, Itachi returned to the Kage Box.

"Uh...I have orders from Hokage-sama. There has been a change of plans," Yugao said out loud. People started to murmur. "There will be one more match. Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki will fight each other, and the winner will fight Gaara in the finals!"

"What!?" Naruto asked in shock.

"That can't be true!" Sasuke protested.

And they weren't the only ones. The public erupted in a cacophony of loud complaints and boos, as well as insults towards Suna and the Kazekage.

"So...Gaara, please return to the Competitor Box. Sasuke, Naruto, prepare to fight."


Author's Note: So yeah, sorry if you were expecting a three way brawl, but...I really, really, really wanted to make a Naruto vs Sasuke fight. I'm sure you guys will love it.

I got some complaints in the previous chapter about how much I nerfed Gaara to show off Tenten, that he stayed on the defensive all the time and only won when she run out of power. And I had to admit that those complains had a point. I tried to make Gaara more proactive in his fight against Fu, and I hope it was better and truer to the character as a result.

Ah, Naruto vs Hinata. Another fight I've been wanting to do even before this story began, since I never saw one (and yes, I know that "Yet Again" has a NvH fight in the Chunin Exams). Like with Sakura, I had to make Naruto to hold back a little so the fight wouldn't end so soon. Even then, it was a delight to write, and hope it was also a delight to read.

Also, question: a couple reviewers told me they'd like if Hinata got her "Protection of the Eight Trgrams" attack she learned during that filler arc (you know, the one where she briefly appeared naked, you pervs). I think she doesn't need it, but I decided to ask all of you just in case. So do you want Hinata to learn that jutsu, or do you think that with her current repertoire, she doesn't need it? (For the record, regarding of what you answer, Hinata WILL learn many more new attacks in the future).

And I believe I don't do this often enough, but thanks to gio8 for his work betareading this story :)

The finals will be in the next chapter? Who will face Gaara, Naruto or Sasuke? Or maybe it's a tie and both of them get to fight him. Or it's a tie and neither of them get to fight him and Gaara wins by deafult. Oh the possibilities...

One way or another, the Chunin Exams will come to an end next chapter! In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!