Chapter 33

o

Sakura couldn't breath. It was as if all of the air had been sucked out of the arena, probably by the collective gasp of the spectators above them. Time seemed to have stopped as she and everyone else stared at Sasuke, who was calmly looking over at Hayate, his hand still in the air.

"Are you going to declare the winner?" Sasuke asked with a tiny hint of a laugh in his voice.

Hayate gave himself a little shake, coughed, and then said, "Winner: Har—"

"No!" Sakura yelled, finally pulling air into her lungs. "I won't accept it. Sasuke-kun isn't forfeiting!"

Hayate gave her a funny look and said, "Um, he already did."

"I won't accept it!"

The jounin shrugged, "You don't have to. The decision is out of your hands."

The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head. "No." She turned and looked pleadingly at Sasuke and said, "Why did you do that? Don't you understand…"

Sasuke shook his head. "You don't understand. Even after all this time, you still don't get me. I don't care about making chuunin. I never did. I just wanted to see how strong you'd gotten. If you can't show me while we fight, I'll wait and see it in your next match."

"But I thought…"

"I told you I'd do this if you didn't fight me seriously," Sasuke reminded her. "Did you think I was lying?" He shook his head, a small smile on his lips, "I don't go back on my word."

The two stared at each other and then someone from the stands yelled out, "You little prick! You cost me a month's wages!"

Sasuke didn't bother turning and looking up at the heckler, nor did he bat an eye when others in the stands joined in. His dark eyes remained on Sakura until she could stand it no more and looked away.

"Winner: Harun—"

"I'll fight you!" Sakura yelled as she looked back up, cutting off Hayate's second attempt at declaring her victory. "I'll do it. I won't hold back or let you win or anything… please, don't forfeit, not like this."

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't think I can unforfeit. We'll just have to do it tomorrow at the training grounds. I was going to challenge Naruto anyway; we might as well make it a team affair."

Sakura turned to Hayate and said, "Please, don't count that. He was just joking."

"The rules are that once you give up, you're done," Hayate replied with an apologetic shrug.

"You told us that there are no rules," Sakura pointed out. "You're the referee, aren't you? Just say that the match is starting back up."

Hayate folded his arms and then coughed, his brows knit in a thoughtful expression.

When he didn't immediately dismiss the notion, Sakura added a little more. "Yugao-san would do it if she was the referee."

"Actually, she's a bit of a stickler for protocol," Hayate informed her with a smirk, "but she'd probably hate to see her favorite student so disappointed…" He sighed, and then looked up at the roof where the leaders of Suna and Konoha were sitting. "We'll leave it up to Hokage-sama."

ooo

Sarutobi pursed his lips thoughtfully and brought his fingertips together so he could rest his chin against them. It was an unfortunate dilemma that he was facing. On the one hand, it really wasn't a problem for him to allow the fight to continue since both competitors were willing to accept that decision and the crowd would clearly be in favor of it. The fact was that many of those in the stands had come specifically to see Uchiha Sasuke fight. On the other hand, Naruto had said that Orochimaru was after Sasuke and that the invasion had started when Sasuke and Gaara were fighting. If Sasuke defeated Sakura, then he would face Gaara in the next round.

He could allow the match to continue and potentially allow Orochimaru's scheme to continue as planned, or he could cause a great deal of unhappiness amongst some very important people based on somewhat unreliable evidence.

He shook his head. The daimyo and other dignitaries would get over it. Better to have them mad that he wouldn't change the rules so one of their favorites could continue fighting than to have them see the village invaded. Naruto hadn't known much about the casualty count from the first time around, but Sarutobi knew that it must have been fairly high. It wouldn't be farfetched for half of Konoha's military forces to have been lost in such a conflict.

Next to him, dressed in blue and white robes with the kanji for "wind" on his hat and the traditional headwear masking his entire face except for his eyes, the Kazekage was carefully watching him. If Naruto was right, he would be Orochimaru. Sarutobi had considered insisting on him removing his mask so his face could be plainly seen, but someone like Orochimaru might have expected that and further disguised himself. Even worse, if it wasn't Orochimaru, it would be considered a grave insult to ask such a thing. Konoha's relationship with Suna was strained as it was, it would be foolish to cause farther problems between them based solely on Naruto's remembrance of things that hadn't even happened yet. Besides, Naruto hadn't been right often enough to assume that everything he remembered would come to pass this time around.

Sarutobi pushed the thoughts of who might be sitting next to him away and stood to give his pronouncement of Sasuke's fate.

"Hokage-dono," the Kazekage spoke up before Sarutobi could say anything, "perhaps it would be better to allow the fight to continue."

Sarutobi turned to face him, forcing his eyes to remain neutral as he looked at the man who might be Orochimaru. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm sure you are aware of how many people are here to see your Uchiha fight our Gaara. If you allow his forfeit to stand, they will be very disappointed. I would consider it a personal favor if you restarted the match."

"How unlike you to ask for a favor over such a frivolous thing, Kazekage-dono," Sarutobi said, doing his best to keep his suspicions out of his voice.

The Kazekage shrugged. "He is the famous survivor of that clan, when Gaara defeats him, it will allow everyone here to see the quality of ninja Sunagakure produces. After Kankuro's defeat, and Temari's match… such a showing would be very important to us."

Sarutobi shook his head. He'd made up his mind. In another time he might have allowed the match to go on to help the relationship between Konoha and Suna, but knowing the potential disaster that could occur if he granted the Kazekage's request, there was only one choice. "I apologize, Kazekage-dono, but I cannot grant this. Sasuke has forfeited. The rules will not be altered to accommodate a change of heart. A chuunin cannot flip-flop. He must make a decision and accept the consequences of it." A small smile creped across his lips as he said, "Your Gaara will have plenty of time to shine even without that match."

The Kazekage's eyes did not look pleased, but he did not argue farther as Sarutobi turned and said, "Uchiha Sasuke has forfeited; his decision to do so will not be overturned."

ooo

Naruto shook his head as he heard Sarutobi's announcement. He could guess at the reason for it, but it didn't make him feel any less disappointed that his chance of seeing Sasuke in action had vanished. It had been a long, long time since he'd seen Sasuke fight for real. He, or one of his clones, had caught a few glimpses of Sasuke's fight against the Collectors, but before that it had been… not since the Valley of the End, unless you counted the very brief fight when the new Team Seven had tried to rescue him from Orochimaru.

Neither of those fights were particularly fun to remember anyway.

Still, despite his disappointment, he felt a little pride in the fact that Sasuke had been willing to step away so that Sakura wouldn't simply go out without showing what she could do. He wasn't sure that it was the best way to handle the situation – a little warning might have been nice – but it was far different from the way Sasuke would have done things the first time around, and that was something.

"I wish he would have at least given me a couple more minutes to prepare myself," Kabuto said with a chuckle as he stepped next to Naruto. "I'm not sure that I'm ready for my match yet."

Naruto did his best not to glare at the young man who happened to look exactly like a traitor from Naruto's memories, but might not necessarily be the same person. "You're worried about Gaara?"

"I think I might struggle against him," Kabuto admitted with a weak smile.

"Why's that?" Naruto asked.

"Most of my jutsu are earth elemental," Kabuto explained, "but he has much better control of the earth than I do. If I try something like Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu, I get the feeling that I'd be crushed to death before I ever made it out of the ground. It's unfortunate, but I'm really handicapped against him."

"So are you just going to forfeit?" Naruto asked, his eyes studying the young man carefully.

Kabuto frowned, clearly surprised by the question, and then began to chuckle as he said, "I don't think my chances are that bad. He might be strong, but I'm more experienced. Besides, he hurt one of my teammates. I can't just let that go without trying to pay him back."

Naruto wished that Kabuto had just said that he had no intention of fighting Gaara. At least that would have been in line with what the Kabuto from his timeline would have done. As it was, he found himself almost liking this Kabuto. He didn't trust him, but he couldn't deny that he kind of liked him. If Kabuto was telling the truth about his reasons for going through with the match, then it kind of reminded him of himself. He'd had similar feelings numerous times during his original life. Precious people were meant to be protected, but if you couldn't protect them, you paid the person who hurt them back as soon as you were able… if you were able.

"Kabuto-san," he said softly, "Gaara is… he's dangerous. Be careful."

Kabuto smiled and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Once Misumi got out of the hospital, he helped me scout him out. I don't know everything, of course, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what he's capable of. It'll be fine. If things do get out of hand, I won't be so foolish as to throw my life away in a tournament match. If I don't make chuunin today, I'll just try again next time. I'm nothing if not persistent."

Naruto nodded, not sure what else to say. He wasn't even sure that he should say anything else. If Kabuto was a traitor in this timeline, then it would be better for Gaara to kill him than for him to have the opportunity to stab Konoha in the back.

Kabuto gave him one more smile and then headed down the stairs.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Gaara asked as he passed Naruto on his way to the stairs.

Naruto shrugged. "Not really. You're probably more my friend than he is. At least I know where I stand with you."

Gaara was silent for a moment and then said, "There are only two rounds before we meet. Don't lose before I get the chance to kill you."

"I'm fighting your sister next," Naruto reminded him with a chuckle, "just tell her to go easy on me and we'll meet for sure."

"If you can't beat her, you aren't as interesting as I thought," Gaara replied and then walked down the stairs.

ooo

"What did I miss?" Kakashi asked as he sat in the seat Rin had saved for him.

His former teammate looked up and shook her head. "Practically everything. Naruto won and Sasuke gave up about thirty seconds into his match with Sakura."

Kakashi's one visible eye opened slightly. "Really?"

Rin turned her attention back to the arena grounds, watching as Sasuke and Sakura walked towards the stairs. "He wouldn't want you to keep doing this," she whispered.

"Who?" Kakashi asked casually.

"You know who," Rin growled. "Obito-kun wouldn't like it if he knew you were still acting this way. You don't have to punish yourself for the rest of your life."

Kakashi glanced at her and said, "Some debts can't be paid in just a few years."

Rin sighed and shook her head again. "You're taking it too far."

"It's only to remind me," Kakashi replied. "I'm on time to the important things."

"Like your students' first Chuunin Exam?"

"Two of them are still in it. I didn't miss that much."

Rin couldn't help herself. She tried not to hold the laugh in, but it was just too ridiculous. "You really are starting to become a lot like Obito-kun, aren't you?"

"I'm only adopting his good qualities."

"And your team seems to be picking them up as well. Sasuke forfeited so that Sakura could show how strong she's gotten in the next round. It sounds exactly like the sort of idiotic thing Obito-kun would have done."

Kakashi's mask shifted as he smiled. "They're getting there, I suppose."

ooo

Sasuke turned and started walking away before the Third had even finished his announcement. He'd sort of thought that they might allow him to fight Sakura, but he didn't really care that the match was actually over. He'd told her he would forfeit if she held back, and he'd meant it. Even though she said she would fight him seriously, he'd seen enough in her eyes to know that some part of her would never be fully in the fight. She simply didn't want to beat him.

It was nice of her to care, he supposed, but unnecessary. He didn't mind losing to her. His goal in life had nothing to do with this tournament, outside of having the chance to fight against some strong opponents. From what he'd seen in the first two matches, neither Kankuro nor Temari would offer him much of a contest.

Of all the Suna genin in the tournament, only Gaara still interested him.

There were plenty of other strong people around, however. Lee had defeated him, Neji probably would have – though it was hardly a fair match since he was injured – and Naruto… Naruto was the most interesting of all. He could fight any of them any time he wanted. They would be enough for him to work on until the next Chuunin Exam came around. It was only six months away, after all.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called as she hurried to catch up to him. He'd just reached the stairs when she finally reached him. Kabuto was walking down the stairs with a slightly worried look on his face. She gave him an encouraging smile and waited until he'd past before she turned to Sasuke and whispered. "I'm… I'm sorry. I…" She paused, wet her lips, and then said, "I forgot that you'd said that, but… I shouldn't have tried to let you win no matter what. I thought I was helping you. I just wanted you to have plenty of energy when you fought Gaara or Kabuto in the next round."

Sasuke shrugged. "It's not a big deal," he said calmly, looking up at the stands where people were still yelling in frustration at him. "Not to me, anyway," he amended. "If you don't make chuunin this time around, we'll face each other in the next tournament."

"I'll train with you tomorrow and show you how strong I've gotten," Sakura promised.

Sasuke nodded. "I'll be there."

"Then it's a date," Sakura said with a happy smile until she realized the word that had come out of her mouth. It had been a long time since she'd said "date" in front of Sasuke. He'd obviously appreciated her efforts as that was when they started to become better friends, now she'd gone and ruined it by bringing up those old memories of how annoying she used to be. Sakura's smile vanished as her eyes widened in horror. "I… uh… I mean it's a…"

Sasuke looked down at her and smirked. "It's a date."

Sakura's eyes widened and a large smile spread across her face. She was fairly sure that he was joking and not actually asking her out on a date – and she really didn't want to go on a date that involved her fighting at full strength anyway – but even that much was a welcome change. Sasuke might not return her feelings, but he felt like they were good enough friends that he could make jokes like that. He definitely had never made that sort of joke with any of the other girls who'd pursued him during their time at the Academy.

Her warm feelings quickly evaporated, however, as a shadow fell across them and a fairly large amount of kill intent flooded the area at the base of the stairs.

"Move," Gaara said. He didn't sound annoyed, he didn't sound angry, he was just giving an order that he expected to be obeyed unless someone wanted to die.

Sasuke's smirk remained in place as he looked up at Gaara. "You didn't say 'please.'"

Sakura grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of Gaara's way. She was sure that Sasuke could handle the red haired genin, but they would get in trouble if a fight broke out and she really didn't need Gaara being angry with her.

There was a good chance that she would be facing him in the next round, after all.

ooo

"I'm glad I didn't have to wait to meet you later," Kabuto told Gaara as they waited for Hayate to give them permission to start their match. "My friend is still recovering from the damage you did to his arms."

Gaara simply stared silently at Kabuto the way a crocodile would stare at a small bird. Kabuto simply didn't matter to him in the slightest. Responding to anything the older genin said would be a waste of breath and energy. In fact, most of the rest of the tournament was a waste of time. Only two things really mattered to him at the moment and neither of them had much to do with Kabuto or the girl, Sakura, that he would face in the next round.

"Begin," Hayate said as he stepped away from them.

Kabuto's hands instantly dipped into the weapon pouch strapped to his lower back and whipped three kunai at the Sand-nin. Gaara's sand shot out of the gourd, blocking the kunai with plenty of time to spare and then swirling after Kabuto who quickly leapt away. The sand didn't give up easily, however, and continued to chase him until he was almost on the other side of the battle area at which point it broke of its pursuit and returned to gourd.

Kabuto smiled. "Apparently there's a range to your abilities after all."

Gaara didn't reply. Instead, his eyes shifted towards the waiting area where Naruto was watching the fight. The ghost of a smile crossed his lips at the intensity he found in those blue eyes.

Kabuto clearly wasn't upset by the fact that Gaara seemed to be completely uninterested in him, but he wasn't going to pass up a moment of distraction by his opponent. He charged at Gaara with far more speed than he'd shown in any of his past Chuunin Exam showings and sent a perfectly executed kick at the Sand-nin's head.

Gaara hadn't even returned his attention to Kabuto before the sand was out of the gourd and in front of his face. Kabuto had a little less than a second to feel the shock of having been blocked so easily before the grains encircled his leg and lifted him off the ground, turning him so that he was forced to face Gaara as the younger genin's eyes finally shifted away from Naruto. Kabuto tried to wrench his leg free, but when he reached up to grab at his ankle, the sand simply tried to catch his wrist as well. With freeing himself clearly not an option, he tried to use his close proximity to his opponent to his advantage, swinging wildly at Gaara's chest.

The sand shifted slightly as if agitated by the potential attack, but Kabuto's hand never got close enough to make contact with Gaara's body. The corner of Gaara's lips turned up as he watched the helpless genin struggle as the sand slowly lifted him higher, preparing to slam him into the ground and end the battle.

Suddenly the strap across Gaara's chest, as well as a small section of his shirt, split and the gourd it was holding up fell to the ground with a loud crash. Despite his normally stoic nature, Gaara spun and looked at the source of the noise, his eyes wide.

Kabuto used the moment of distraction to draw another kunai from his weapon pouch and throw it at Gaara's turned back. A piece of the sand that held him in the air broke away and intercepted the attack. It wasn't much, but it was enough that when he grabbed his knee and jerked down hard he was able to pull free. He was already forming seals as he flipped in the air, landed on his feet, and immediately leapt at the still distracted Gaara.

He pinned the red head's hands at his side with one arm and brought his other hand up to Gaara's throat. "Careful," he whispered as his hand began to glow blue, "sometimes near misses can be just as deadly as attacks that connect. If you don't want to find out what I can do when I actually hit you, you better surrender now."

Gaara didn't say anything for a moment. His eyes were still opened wider than normal, but the shock had receded from his face. In fact, he looked rather happy all of a sudden. Slowly he turned his head away from the gourd at his feet and looked at Kabuto. "You'll make a tasty meal for her, I think," he told the Leaf genin.

Kabuto didn't ask what Gaara meant. He'd given the boy a chance to surrender; no one would fault him for ending the match after being threatened. He dragged his finger tips across Gaara's throat, a thin cut trailing just behind them as the skin opened up under his touch.

And out of the cut poured… sand.

Kabuto sucked in a breath as he realized the danger he was in, and then a blast of sand slammed into his chest, sending him flying across the battle ground.

Gaara turned with deliberate slowness to watch as the older ninja pulled himself to his feet. Kabuto brought his hand up to his mouth and coughed into it. When he pulled his hand away, there was a small trickle of blood running between his fingers. He shook his hand to clean it and then spit a little more blood from his mouth and brought his arms up as he prepared to defend himself as best he could.

"Who would have guessed that you'd have covered yourself in sand as well?" he asked as he watched the "cut" on Gaara's neck vanish. "No wonder you can't move much."

Gaara's reply was to send his sand after his prey once more.

Kabuto quickly retreated to the other side of the arena, putting as much space between himself and Gaara as he could until the sand doubled back and returned to its master. The moment it turned away, Kabuto pushed his foot down a little harder, leaving a small divot in the ground to mark his spot. He turned towards his opponent, took a deep breath, and then charged.

The sand reacted immediately, rising into the air and then stabbing down like the claw of an immense monster. Kabuto dove to the side, barely escaping with his life. The sand, however, did not have to draw itself out of the ground to strike at him again. The back end simply morphed into a new point and attacked again.

Kabuto rolled away from the second stab and then had to push off the ground to save himself from the next. Three more times the sand struck the ground, each just barely missing the Leaf genin, as he slowly retreated back to what he'd marked as the limit of the sand's range. Once he spotted the divot in the ground, he pulled a kunai from his pouch, attached an exploding tag to it, and then lobbed it at Gaara over the sand that was rushing towards him.

The sand broke of its attack and moved to intercept the new threat. The moment it moved away from him, Kabuto grabbed four more kunai and launched them at Gaara as he sprinted at an angle that would gradually bring him closer and closer to his opponent.

If he was hoping the sand would be destroyed by the exploding tag or would be unable to handle attacks coming from multiple directions, he was disappointed. The moment the second group of kunai got close to Gaara, a portion of the sand broke off from the rest of the cloud and blocked them. At almost the same time, the exploding tag went off, momentarily scattering the sand that had formed a shield between it and Gaara.

Kabuto was whipping kunai at Gaara every couple of seconds, trying to find some sort of a hole in the Sand-nin's defenses. However, even after he had almost completely emptied his weapon pouch, not a single kunai had gotten through. The sand was just too fast and too thick for him to penetrate. Gaara hadn't even had to move from the spot he'd been standing since the match began. In fact, he hadn't even moved his arms!

From within the egg-shaped shell of sand that was peppered with captured kunai, Gaara smirked. "Is that it?" he asked. "Perhaps you aren't as worthwhile as I thought. It doesn't matter; you're only an appetizer anyway."

The kunai clattered to the ground as the sand rose up and flashed after Kabuto, who quickly retreated back to the point that he'd marked as safe.

"Your problem is that your powers only extend so far," Kabuto told Gaara as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"Your problem," Gaara replied, "is that you've taken my boredom to be a sign of my limitations." He finally moved, sliding his feet a little farther apart. The sand cloud that had been hanging in the air between them, almost waving in a nonexistent breeze, suddenly shot towards Kabuto.

Kabuto tried to jump away as the sand passed what had previously been its limit, but something reached out of the ground and snagged him by the ankles. He looked down and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of more sand reaching out of the grass beneath his feet and holding him in place. He quickly grabbed his final kunai from his weapon pouch and slashed at his binds. The instant he was free, he flipped backwards just as the sand slammed into the ground where he'd been standing.

The sand instantly changed directions, suddenly moving far faster than it had been previously. It caught Kabuto in midair and slammed him back into the wall behind him. Kabuto's eyes were closed and his head hung limply as the sand pulled him back, closing around him like a giant fist, and then slammed him back into the wall.

"I… surrender…" he whispered, a red mist coming out of his mouth with his words as his blood mixed with the air in his lungs.

Gaara slammed him into the wall a third time.

"Gaara is the winner," Hayate announced.

Gaara slammed Kabuto into the wall a fourth time.

"That's enough, the match is over," the jounin told him sternly.

The sand pulled Kabuto away and began to wind its way around his body, totally cocooning him. Gaara smiled and brought his hand up, a strange glint in his eyes.

Suddenly, the sand parted like a curtain, spilling a bleeding, broken Kabuto out onto the ground at the feet of Hayate as he appeared next to the sand prison, a sword in his hand.

He brought his other hand up and covered his mouth as he coughed before saying, "Next time I tell you the match is over, listen or I won't be cutting sand with this blade."

Gaara held his gaze for a moment and then shrugged. "He wasn't worth it anyway." Without another word, he turned and walked toward the stairs.

A few in the crowd clapped, most just looked confused or disturbed. Gaara didn't care.

ooo

Naruto watched with mixed feelings as Kabuto was carried away by the team of medic-nin. He'd expected Kabuto to do more. He'd expected Kabuto to heal himself the way he should be capable of doing by this point. He'd expected… he'd expected Kabuto to act like Orochimaru's minion and not like a skilled – but not unusually so – genin.

And then there was the invasion to think about. If Suna was part of the plan – assuming there even was a plan in this reality – then what was Gaara waiting for? Shouldn't he have done something… anything? Watching Gaara go through his match without so much as a hint of an ulterior priority was almost as disturbing as the little clues he'd forced himself to overlook about the Grass-nin that ended up not being Orochimaru. Did it mean that Suna and Gaara were innocent? Did it mean that they were waiting for something else this time around?

He let out a slow sigh. It was hard to know a future and not expect things to line up with it. Even though he knew that this timeline was progressing very differently from the one he'd come from, he couldn't get his brain to stop looking for the few clues that he remembered from his original childhood. He just wanted this to be his timeline.

Beside him, Sakura shivered, her face looking a bit pale.

Naruto let his concerns about the future slide to the back of his mind. He couldn't really control what was going to come; he'd just have to deal with it when it arrived. His friends, on the other hand, were here and could be helped right now. He put a hand on Sakura;s shoulder. "It'll be okay," he promised. "Just do your best."

"Easy for you to say," she replied. "You don't have to fight him in the next round."

From the other side of her Sasuke said, "You'll be fine. You're way stronger than Kabuto and you have the advantage of having seen how he fights. He doesn't know what you're capable of."

Sakura didn't look very convinced.

"We won't let anything happen to you, Sakura-chan," Naruto tried again. "If you need us, we'll step in and stop the fight."

Sakura did her best to smile and then shook her head. "That's not your job. I don't want to get either of you in trouble because I'm too weak to take care of myself."

"You're our teammate," Sasuke reminded her. "If you're in trouble, it is our job to help you." He paused and then added, "But try not to get into trouble. I don't think those morons in the stands would appreciate me stopping another fight."

This actually got Sakura to chuckle and her coloring became a little more natural. "I'll try not to."

Below them, Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji were walking across the battle grounds. Lee's excitement was barely containable. With every step he took, he seemed to have to force himself not to add a little skip. Neji, on the other hand, was as calm and collected as ever.

Naruto leaned a little farther over the rail, his own excitement starting to build. He'd seen the two of them face each other in the future, of course, but that would happen years from now when they were both so advanced that they both struggled to even land a solid punch on the other. Here, they were just starting out. They wouldn't know everything, but they also wouldn't be as close as they'd been in the future. Naruto had only ever seen them fight when it was a match between old friends; this one would be a battle between rivals.

"Watch this next match," he told Sasuke and Sakura needlessly. He was sure they already knew something of what to expect having seen Neji and Lee in action during the second part of the Exam, but it was worth mentioning again if for no other reason than to give Sakura something besides her future match with Gaara to think about. "It's going to be a good one."

ooo

"I'm glad we get to face each other so early, Neji-kun," Lee said with a happy smile as they faced each other and waited to be given permission to start.

"You shouldn't be," Neji replied. "It just means that your fate is that much closer than it would have been."

"This time will be different," Lee promised.

"We've fought almost every day since we graduated from the Academy," Neji reminded him. "The result is never different. There are some hurtles too high to overcome."

Lee shook his head. "No, anyone can reach the highest pinnacle if they work hard enough."

Neji closed his eyes as a small smirk appeared on his lips. "There's just no reasoning with you. Arguing is pointless when one side can't see reality."

Hayate cleared his throat before Lee could reply. "Are you both ready?" he asked. The two genin nodded, all smiles vanishing instantly. "Begin!"

Lee's left hand slipped behind his back as his right came up in front of him. "This time will be different," he whispered again.

Neji's fingers flashed through the activation seals. "Byakugan!"

His left foot shifted forward, his right arm coming down to his hip while his left was held out in front of him. The perfect Juuken opening stance. "I will not enjoy bursting your bubble," he told Lee, "but you must be shown the reality of your fate." The muscles in Lee's legs tensed as he prepared to attack, but before he could Neji shook his head. "Take off your weights."

Lee's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"The weights, take them off. If I am going to prove to you that you will never be able to surpass the skill I was born into, I won't let you have an excuse to fall back on. Take them off and fight me with everything you have… so I can crush your illusions completely."

Lee's jaw tightened as he glanced into the stands. "Gai-sensei…"

"Isn't here," Neji finished for him. "If you are going to fight me, take them off."

Lee looked down at his legs, closed his eyes, and then nodded. "Very well, Neji-kun. I will fight you without holding back." He kneeled and removed the weights strapped to his legs, tossing them aside as though they weighed nothing.

Neji waited for him to stand and return to his starting stance. "Whenever you're ready."

To many of those watching, Lee seemed to lean forward and then vanish. Those with the training to follow the movement saw him cross the distance between himself and Neji in the blink of an eye. Very few genin level ninja could have moved so fast, even fewer could have blocked an attack from someone moving so fast, but Neji was nothing if not exceptional.

His left arm easily knocked away the initial punch and then he shifted slightly to the side to dodge a follow up kick. While Lee's leg was still in the air, Neji's right hand shot forward, seeking the spot on his teammate's chest that would end the match right away. Lee was too quick, however, as he pushed off the ground with his base foot, moving himself just out of range of Neji's hand.

Neji wasn't about to let Lee off the hook with only a near miss. He charged forward and was nearly on top of Lee before the other boy had touched down again, his arm cocked and ready to make sure that he connected this time.

Lee's foot flashed through the air so fast that Neji almost didn't see it until it was too late. He broke off his attack and leaned away. The kick passed so close to his nose that he could actually smell the spandex.

A smile appeared on Lee's face as his foot changed direction in mid-flight, pulling in closer to his body and the lashing out, catching Neji square in the face.

Neji's head snapped back as blood exploded from his now-broken nose. Lee didn't bother to give him a chance to recover. It took his two steps to slip inside Neji's defenses as the back of his fist struck his teammate's ribs. The Hyuuga gasped in pain and surprise, bringing his arms up in a desperate attempt to defend himself as Lee spun on his heel drove his foot past Neji's hands and into his stomach, doubling him over.

Lee settled for just a second and then ducked down and brought his fist up with the full force of a jump behind it, catching Neji under the chin and lifting him into the air.

At the height of his flight, Neji rotated himself just enough to get his hands and feet under him when he landed, but even then he did not come down gracefully. Blood ran freely down his face as he slowly stood and brought his cold white eyes to meet the burning black ones of his teammate. He stared at Lee in silence for a moment, and then wiped his hand across his face, smearing the blood and doing little to improve his appearance.

"You've gotten a little stronger," he admitted as he spit.

"I will definitely beat you this time, Neji-kun," Lee replied.

"Then you'll have to do better than this." Neji didn't wait for a response. He charged forward with what almost seemed to be as much speed as Lee had shown so far.

His arm came up to deliver another Juuken strike to Lee's chest, but once more Lee was too quick. He twisted away, and dropped low to sweep Neji's feet out from under him. Neji leaped, planted his hand on the ground and kicked out at Lee's head. Lee was up to the challenge, however, and he easily blocked the kick and sent another at Neji's chest before he had a chance to get his feet back under him.

Neji's free hand caught hold of Lee at the knee, his grip keeping the kick from reaching him and giving him a fulcrum to speed his turn in the air.

He landed on his right foot, his left circling back behind him, and continued to spin. "Kaiten!"

ooo

"What the hell?" Sasuke asked as he watched Lee be thrown across the battle ground by the force of the chakra released by the spinning Neji.

"I-it was Kaiten," Hinata whispered in awe, "but… but he shouldn't know that. It is a technique that is s-supposed to be exclusive to the Main Family. I have n-never seen anyone but my f-father perform it."

"Looks like it's not so exclusive anymore," Naruto said with a smile.

Sasuke closed his eyes and whispered, "Sharingan." His red irises began to track Neji and Lee's every movement. "Definitely not exclusive," he said with a smile.

Hinata didn't pay attention to the Uchiha's plan to try to steal her families special techniques, her eyes were glued to the fight below.

Naruto watched as Lee got back on his feet and went back on the offensive. His two friends were incredible, even at this early age. Lee's speed and power were probably already above chuunin level and he was only scratching the surface of what he was capable of. Neji's precision and vision were as amazing as ever and his movements were not those of a genin. The fact that they could even keep up with each other was amazing.

Maito Gai had been boastful of his team up until his death and with good reason. There probably weren't many in this timeline who'd gotten to hear those boasts yet, but there was no doubt that they would have to agree with him after seeing this match.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder how many times Kakashi would have to hear about this match while he and Gai were having their "battles."

He let his attention drift to Hinata and smiled. She was watching proof of Neji's genius – if she hadn't seen enough of it in the past already – and yet she didn't seem to be shrinking into the nervous wreck that he expected her to become. She was amazed, of course, but she didn't look scared. The Hinata that he'd started training with back when she had just returned from the Wave Country could never have watched this match without comparing herself to her cousin and wallowing in the knowledge that he was naturally more skilled than her. Her arms should have been drawn in close to her body and her fingers should have been pinching her lower lip, but Hinata had grown. She wasn't that little girl anymore.

As he continued studying her and admiring her growth, Hinata frowned in confusion, sensing his eyes on her, and then looked over at him.

Naruto quickly looked away. He hadn't meant to stare, or at least hadn't meant to be caught. He certainly didn't want her thinking that his looking at her meant anything more than it did; she needed to get over her crush as soon as possible for her own good. Of course, he belatedly realized, looking away like that was something that he'd seen girls with crushes often do when they were caught looking at the object of their affection. By not just meeting her gaze he might have sent the wrong signal…

He looked back up at her, but she'd already turned back to the fight.

Naruto cursed under his breath and shook his head in annoyance. Why were things always so complicated? It seemed like everything in his life was more difficult than it had to be.

'What did I expect?' he asked himself with a small chuckle as a thought occurred to him. 'I got killed and ended up in the past instead of the afterlife! If I can't even manage something as simple as dying, why should anything else go smoothly for me?'

ooo

Neji and Lee pushed away from each other and stared one another down, breathing hard. Blood was still running down Neji's face, but the damage to Lee was probably more extensive. When Neji grabbed Lee's knee just before performing the Kaiten, he'd damaged something within it and closed two of the tenketsu located there.

Lee could push through the pain, but whatever the damage was, it slowed him down slightly. Without his usual speed, he couldn't escape Neji's other attacks as much. The Hyuuga had landed three more solid strikes, two had only been on Lee's ribs – which hurt but didn't prevent him from moving the way he normally would – but the third had caught Lee in the right shoulder and that arm no longer operated properly.

On top of that, Neji's Kaiten made close combat – the only type Lee was skilled in – even more dangerous than it normally was.

He would have to stop the spin if he wanted to prove his ninja way to himself and to Neji. There could be no turning back now. He refused to lose to Neji.

"If I cannot stop his spin," he whispered as he let out one last deep breath and then straightened, "I will perform five hundred back flips without stopping."

He closed his eyes, pushed away all thoughts of fatigue and pain, and then opened them and charged.

Neji blocked Lee's punch and then brought his own leg up to block a low kick from his teammate before twisting to the side to avoid a second punch. As Lee's fist reached the extent of its reach, he swung it to the side to keep after Neji. Neji reached up to grab it and inflict more damage, but Lee changed tactics and lashed out with his other hand, connecting solidly with Neji's jaw.

Lee was standing at a weird angle. He sort of had part of his back to Neji and was almost facing a spot about a half-meter in front of the Hyuuga, but his taijutsu skills were great enough that he could compensate and do some real damage. Neji had the opportunity to finish immobilizing Lee's right shoulder, but he wasn't sure that it would be worth the punishment he'd receive as he tried to do it. His left foot began to shift back as he prepared to spin again and give himself a little breathing room, but at that moment, Lee's back foot slid forward and pushed the Hyuuga slightly off balance. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep Neji from being able to spin the way he needed to.

Seizing his advantage, Lee stepped closer to Neji and grabbed his teammate by the shirt, preparing to throw him into the air.

Neji was off balance, but he didn't need to be centered to hit the tenketsu that he could clearly see right in front of him. As Lee's grip tightened on his shirt and his shoulder flexed in anticipation of the throw, Neji's hand came up and drove his middle finger into Lee's wrist. The tendons within the joint immediately relaxed as the nerves were temporarily paralyzed. Lee didn't even realize that his hand had opened until he started his lifting motion and felt the lack of weight.

He tried to bring his arms down to defend himself, but both of Neji's hands flashed forward before he could get into position. They connected with his chest and sent him flying away.

Lee landed on his back and tumbled through the dirt and grass for over a meter before coming to a stop. He tried to take a deep breath but found that his lungs couldn't fill up the way he wanted them to. Instead, he had to settle for a series of quick, painful breaths to get oxygen back into his system. Slowly climbing back to his feet, he turned and located Neji, who was standing in almost the same spot he'd been.

Both of them were beginning to wear down. Were it not for the damage he'd taken to his lungs, Lee would have been confident that he could wear Neji down and win that way, but even if it was an option, he didn't think he'd take it. He didn't want to prove that he had more stamina than Neji, they both already knew that. No, he wanted to show that his power had surpassed Neji's. That through nothing more than hard work and guts he had overcome the gap that had once separated them.

Anything less than that would be a hollow victory.

His body hated the shallow, unsatisfactory breaths that he was forced to take, but he could ignore such trivial needs as oxygen. Slowly he brought his hands up to the ready position and prepared himself.

His muscles ached and cried out in protest as he sprinted forward at top speed, but those complaints were easy to block out as well.

Neji's eyes widened in surprise at Lee's resilience as the bowl-cut genin bore down on him. So great was his surprise that he was a half second slow in bringing up his arm to block Lee's punch and took a blow to the chest just below the neck that stunned him.

Lee didn't bother slowing down to take pride in the pain on his rival's face; he was already ducking low and planting his hands on the ground. He drove his foot up into Neji's chin with everything he had and then leapt into the air after him.

"You've seen me use this before," he whispered as his body caught up to Neji's, perfectly mimicking the other boy's flight so that he almost seemed to be a shadow, "but you have never felt it." He flexed his hands and his arm wrappings came undone. "Don't worry, I will be careful not to kill you." The wrappings wound their way around Neji, pinning his arms at his side as the two of them began to spin faster and faster. "Now you will see that hard work can surpass genius."

o

o

AN: Seriously, is there any other song to listen to when writing a Gaara scene than Metallica's Enter Sandman? If there is, I don't want to know about it.

Well, as I said at the top of this chapter, I'm a bit sorry about the length, but this is more the size of a chapter that I had in mind when I started writing this story. The near 13K of the last chapter and the 15K of the one before it were just getting excessive. This chapter probably would have been about that length, however, if my week hadn't been so busy.

Hopefully the fights were somewhat exciting (I doubt many of you thought Gaara was going to be out of the tournament this early) and not too drawn out or overly detailed. I really should have had Kabuto and Gaara fight before Sasuke and Sakura so I could have had a little more action in the last chapter and a little more character developing filler in this one. Bad planning on my part, I guess.

Anyway, next week will be the conclusion of the Lee-Neji fight and I think Jiraiya and Tsunade will show up a bit too. Should be fun, right? Please review and let me know what you thought.

Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu – "Inner Decapitation Technique" The user dives underground and grabs hold of their opponents ankles and pulls them down until only their head is left above ground. Kabuto tried it against Tsunade in canon; Kakashi used it successfully against Sasuke during the bell test.

Kaiten – "Heavenly Spin" Could also be called "Hakkeshou Kaiten" ("Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin"). Neji spins fast, he releases chakra from their chakra points, forms a dome around him and blocks any and all attacks.

Tenketsu – The holes from with chakra is released from the body.