Chapter 37: The Preliminaries (Part 2)

"Stay down and quit making an embarrassment of yourself, or I'll put you down like the mutt you are."

Kiba growled as he fought to get back to his feet.

Neji impassively shrugged off Kiba's fierce glare as he towered over Akamaru's prone form. The small puppy whimpered as the Hyuuga applied as much pressure as he could without crushing the poor dog.

Kiba struggled to stand up straight and clutched his limp arm to his side. He was not going out like this. Not to some stuck-up bastard like him!

He coughed into his sleeve as he shakily reached into his pack for another soldier pill.

"I wouldn't advise that if I were you. Ingesting too many can have detrimental effects. There is no reason to put yourself at such risk, especially when you know how outclassed you are. All you'll be doing is risking your health for your pride."

"Shut up you bastard! I'm going to tear you apart for what you've done to Akamaru!"

"I could have done much worse," he coolly replied as he watched Kiba gulp down another pill, "If he had stayed down the first time, he wouldn't be in the position he's in now. Trust me, I take no pleasure from injuring a helpless animal, but if you continue, I'll be happy to add another limp body to the floor."

"We'll just see about that!" Kiba shouted as he raced towards Neji.

"Gatsuuga!" he cried out, spinning as hard as he could with his good arm.

Neji calmly stepped back from Akamaru and twisted out of harm's way at the last second. Just as Kiba passed by, Neji whipped out his hand and gripped Kiba's oversized hoodie at the back of his neck. Grinding to a rapid halt, Neji continued his motion and slammed Kiba into the floor.

Not giving him a second to recover, Neji was swiftly upon him. His fingers painfully darting across his arms and legs closing whatever tenketsu that were left open.

Neji brushed off the dust that had accumulated from Kiba's impact and looked over towards Hayate.

"I believe we're done here."

Hayate grimly nodded and raised his arm.

"Winner: Neji Hyuuga!"

Team Seven was quiet as they watched Kiba and Akamaru carted off towards the infirmary.

'So that's why Hinata has always seemed so afraid of Neji. That guys is ridiculous!' Sasuke thought as he watched Neji head back towards the stairs.

Hinata wasn't visibly shaking, but Kakashi could tell from her eyes that she was terrified of even the possibility of being in Kiba's position against her cousin. Yet, he noticed something else. She felt pity and remorse. As he watched her eyes follow her cousin up the stairs, the old memory of the Hyuuga incident clicked in his mind.

'So, you're still carrying that weight on your shoulders?' he internally sighed as he stepped next to his student.

"Excellent work Neji, if a little harsh at times," Gai commented as Neji retook his place by his side.

"The fool wouldn't stay down. If he wanted to walk away with fewer injuries, he had plenty of opportunities to do so."

"That is true, and I'm not criticizing your actions during the match. However, you could have ended that much sooner than you did."

Neji scoffed and finally caught sight of Naruto, who had been staring at him since he arrived.

"Got something to say, Uzumaki?"

Naruto shook his head. "I won't defend Kiba for being stubborn, but I don't like it when people beat up on my friends."

"Then find stronger friends," Neji replied as he crossed his arms, "If that slacker was truly destined to move past this point, then he would have. Today, fate favored my victory."

"That's stupid. I don't believe in fate. We make our own paths. No one else."

"Hn. Then he should have worked harder to push his path past mine. Only those with a will strong enough are able to get ahead in this life," he finished his sentence and seemed to fix his glare on Hinata.

Naruto was about to retort again, but he felt a tugging on his sleeve and looked back to see Hinata trying to pull him away from the argument.

He relented at the sight, but sent Neji one last glare before turn walked over to Sasuke's right, away from Neji.

"That guy just drives me crazy. I hope we meet in the next round. I can't wait to wipe that smug look off his face," Naruto angrily muttered as he leaned against the rail.

"Maybe you'll get the chance, but cool off first. You could be coming up soon, and you'll need a level head," Kakashi commented as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto huffed and took a deep breath, before nodding to Kakashi that he was good. Kakashi nodded and walked over to his right, and fell in line next to Hinata.

"Thank you for doing that. The last thing we need is Naruto disqualifying himself before his match," he whispered.

"It was no problem, sensei. I would just prefer it if none us had to fight," she whispered as she began twiddling her thumbs.

'There's the tick again,' Kakashi internally sighed as he watched his student subvert into her old habit. It had been weeks since he had last seen her do it, and he had hoped they had expelled it from her system.

After taking in his students, Kakashi had made it his personal mission to help them overcome their greatest, internal challenges. For the boys it was easier. Naruto needed the support and acceptance from a group of people that genuinely cared for him, and his team and Iruka were happy to fill that void. Sasuke was slightly harder, but the boy had already come to him of his own accord, asking how to better control his emotions.

All three of them had faced years of psychological damage, but Hinata was the trickiest. When he had first met her, her entire personality simply screamed submission. From the way she would avert her eyes to her desperate attempts to please others.

She had made astounding progress, and all three of them rubbed off on each other in fantastic ways. Whenever she was alone with her team, her confidence was at an all time high, so it was disheartening to see how fast it could revert into her old behavior.

If she was ever going to fully come out of her shell, there were three things she was going to have to face: her father, her cousin, and Naruto.

Oh, he was not looking forward to that. Kakashi could feel the migraine that would form when that day decided to rear its ugly head. He had gone through the ups and downs of romantic angst enough during his time with his own team.

If he reciprocated her feelings, great. If he rejected them, greaaaaat.

Kakashi sighed as he watched Naruto fuss once again about Hinata's injuries from her match. He would get so close to her face, he was worried the poor girl was going to pass out. Sasuke would silently watch the two interact, before yanking the blonde by his collar and chastise him for bothering the girl.

Then there was the question of how he would react.

"Excuse me, Lady Hyuuga."

The voice shook him from his thoughts, and the team turned to face the blond haired boy from the Kumo team.

"I thought I would come over and congratulate you. Your performance was quite spectacular, and might I say, you are even more lovely up close."

Hinata turned red at the compliment but smiled and bowed her head.

"Oh, um thank you. And you are?"

"Jay. Jay Oshiro, and I am always at your service," he smirked as a whipped out a yellow rose almost from nowhere. Hinata turned an even brighter shade of red, but took the flower with a stammering thank you.

Sasuke frowned at the interaction, and Naruto was fed up with it. "All right, all right wise guy. Is that all?" he said as he stepping between them.

"And I thought you Konoha ninja were supposed to be the one's preaching about cooperation between villages. What's wrong with trying to get to know someone better?"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder and stared across the hall at the identical rose, sitting on the ground next to the Suna girl's feet.

"Riiiiight," he drawled out as he raised an eyebrow.

The cocky expression of the brunette's face changed to a more apologetic look.

"By the way, I also came over here to thank you for offering your assistance to our team during the second exam. I wanted to apologize for my teammate's rude behavior toward your shadow clone."

Naruto expression shifted and his gaze softened.

"Naw, it's alright. I get it. You didn't know me, and we were in the middle of an exam. No harm, no foul. What happened to your teammate? Is he okay? I noticed he wasn't with you guys."

Jay winced as he took off his hat and rubbed the back of his head. "Ko is doing better. It's a little disappointing what really happened. We were making our way through the forest, when Ko startled an animal from the impact of his landing. The thing launched a volley of spikes that skewered his leg. It's not going to be serious, but it prevented him from competing in the preliminaries."

"I'm sorry. Dam. If only I had been a bit smarter, I should have approached you guys more carefully. I could have led you to Hinata-chan, and she could have helped."

"Naw, it's fine. Ehl probably would have done the same thing, even if you had offered your help. He's not a very trusting guy. Besides, as talented as she may be, it was better we got him to the tower as fast as we did."

He reached into his pouch and pulled out a white, spiked barb. "This here's the culprit. See this?" he asked as he ran his finger along the serrated edge. "This thing isn't designed to come out easily. It's meant to be nightmare going in, but absolute hell coming out."

Even Neji winced at the thought of being struck with, not one, but several of those barbs.

Jay sighed as he placed the barb back in his bag. "Ko's a trooper. Thanks to your doctor's he'll be back on his feet in no time. He was adamant that he'll stay for the finals. He wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I'm glad he's okay. Tell him that I hope he gets well soon," Hinata said.

In a heartbeat, Jay's expression shifted back to his earlier look. "Oh, I'll be sure to. Don't you worry."

All sympathy he had for the guy drained away immediately, as Naruto growled at the interaction.

"If you all are done, you just missed the last match," Neji coldly said, turning their attention back to the floor.

Chouji slumped to the ground, as Dosu loomed over his unconscious body.

"That's a shame," Jay lamented, "I liked that guy. He was very pleasant, when we talked before entering the forest. Now there's a guy who loves to eat."

They all watched as Shikamaru helped Chouji to his feet.

"It's okay Chouji! You did your best!" Ino called out, as Shikamaru helped his friend up the stairs.

"Alright, now whose next?" Naruto asked as his excitement returned, only to fall again as his name failed to show up on the board.

"Would Kankuro and Gaara please come down to the floor?" Hayate called out, as Hinata patted Naruto's back.

"There's no need. I forfeit," Kankuro called out, surprising everyone in the room.

"You sure?" Hayate asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure," was his only response as he folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Alright then, your call," Hayate said before declaring Gaara the victor.

"Well that was rather dull. Who just gives up without even trying?" Jay said crossing his arms.

"No, he was smart. He would no better than anyone how dangerous that guy is," Naruto said garnering the attention of everyone present.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"I ran into that guy in the forest. Er, well my clones did. That guy wiped all of them out within seconds. We're lucky it was only the clones that cross his path," Naruto said as he stared across the room at the red-haired boy.

"What did he do?" Kakashi asked.

"He crushed them all. In seconds, and I mean literally crushed. He destroyed them all with sand.

Jay was silent as he too stared at the boy. 'So that Gaara guy really does live up to his reputation. I guess the Raikage was right after all.'

Kakashi was also silent as he stored that information for later.

"Would Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka please make your way to the floor," Hayate called out.

"All right! Finally!" Ino exclaimed as he made her way towards the stairs.

"Oh this should be good," Sasuke scoffed as leaned against the railing.

"Why? Are they very skilled?" Jay asked.

"No, not at all," Sasuke scoffed as he placed his face in his palm.

Hinata knocked his hand from under him, and shot him a disappointed look. "You'll be surprised. I've met with Sakura a few times since were assigned our teams, and she's been taking her training very seriously."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Sasuke replied as he straightened his back and stared down at the floor.

"Are you ready Forehead girl? I've been looking forward to this," Ino said with a cocky smile as she stood opposite from her old best friend.

"So have I, but I'm sorry to say you're not going to like what's about to happen," Sakura replied as she slipped into the new stance Kurenai had been drilling into her head since day one.

"Alright, if both competitors are ready, then you may begin."

Without delay, Ino launched herself towards Sakura. She reared her fist back and took aim right for her face.

Sakura was patient and waited until the last second, before she knocked the punch away with her left hand and smacked Ino in the face with the knuckles of her right hand.

Ino stumbled slightly, but returned with renewed vigor. She grunted with each strike, growing more aggravated as Sakura silently dodged and knocked away every incoming punch.

After extending her punch too far, Sakura lashed out and caught hold of Ino's wrist before delivering a solid hit straight to her jaw.

Ino stumbled away from her, holding her jaw in her hands.

"Lucky punch," she quietly said as she rotated her chin.

"Not luck. This is the result of all the hard work I've been putting in," Sakura replied as she returned to her starting stance, "I'm done being the weak one, even if you aren't."

Ino growled and she lunged forward and fired a punch straight towards her chest. Ino's eyes widened in horror, as her fist seemed to fly straight through Sakura's chest.

"Wh...what?"

Sakura smirked as she delivered a blow to both of Ino's ears, disorienting her. As Ino stumbled away, the Sakura in front of her melted away into the air. Immediately, another Sakura shot up from her right and delivered a punch straight to her face, sending Ino flying back.

Ino slid along the ground, before she wobbled to her feet.

"What the hell was that?"

Sakura smirked as she held up her arm. "Like I said. This is the result of all my hard work. Kurenai-sensei took time with me after training to drill home everything. Better taijutsu, better stamina, and most importantly…"

She waved her arm, and as it moved, multiple arms would appear in the last spot the front arm had been.

"Genjutsu. It seems I have quite the talent for it, Ino-pig," Sakura finished as she waved her mass of hands and wiggled her fingers at her.

"Ino, I want to thank you for everything you did for me at the academy. You taught me to stand up for myself and be proud of who I am. However, I am not the same little girl you stood up for on the playground. I am a kunoichi."

With that, the multiple arms disappeared, and Sakura shot off towards Ino.

Ino reached up to block the first punch, only for her hand to slip right through the oncoming fist to her face. Instead, she wheezed as Sakura nailed her in the gut before delivering a kick to her side.

'This is really not good,' Ino thought as she reached into her bag and threw down a smoke bomb.

Sakura stopped and simply watched as the cloud enveloped her friend.

"That wasn't the best idea," Jay commented as he crossed his arms, "blondie just made things all the more easier for the paint-haired one."

Ino quietly crept through the smoke, trying to put some distance away from Sakura.

"I wouldn't have done that if I were you," a voice whispered behind her back, sending chills up her spine.

She spun around to find nothing behind her. Sweat dripped down her brow as she heard a rustling sound, and whipped around to find nothing again.

"Ino, you are in my world now, and here, I control everything," Sakura's voice taunted as the smoke began to shift and turn black.

Ino squealed as several sets of yellow eyes began lighting up in the smoke and hissing at her.

"This is not real. This is not real. This is not real," she repeated to herself as she closed her eyes.

"Real. That's all perspective. How real does this feel?" Sakura's voice called out as the floor shook.

Ino's eyes shot open and she gasped by the sight before her.

She stumbled back as the tower form a dark figure seemed to be heading towards her in the mist.

"If this isn't real, then this probably won't hurt. Probably."

Ino gulped as the massive foot of Inner Sakura slammed down onto the floor, shaking her off her feet. Its massive yellow eyes bore down at her reared back its fist.

'I…I need to get out of here! That thing will squish me!'

Ino snapped her fingers together and tried her best to start molding chakra.

"It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. RELEASE!" she cried out just as the goliath's massive fist was about to collide with her.

The black clouds snapped back to purple, and she bolted up from the ground. Her lungs cried out for air, as she took a deep breath of nothing but smoke.

She took a running start and leaped out of the smoke, only to find Sakura sailing towards her midair with her fist cocked.

Ino didn't have the time or energy as Sakura slammed her fist into her, sending her flying back with a loud "Shannaro!"

Ino smacked against the concrete wall and fell to the floor with a thud.

After several seconds, Hayate called out, "Ino Yamanaka is unable to continue. The winner is Sakura Haruno."

Sakura's smile lit up her face as she turned and waved at her sensei. Kurenai mirrored her smile, and tried not to shoot Asuma a look as her heart swelled up with pride.

"I hate it when she gets like that," Shino commented, as he lightly clapped, "It can be so distressing. I'm sure Kiba still has nightmares from her little tests."

"You're just still upset that she forced you to think you were being chased by an anteater."

Shino shot his sensei a sharp look under his glasses, but remained silent on the matter.

After bowing to her sensei, a look of concern crept across her face as she jogged over to her friend.

"Hey. Are you okay?" she asked as she knelt down by her side.

"N-not really. I can't get up," Ino winced as she tried to raise herself up.

Sakura's eyes softened and she lifted Ino's arm over her shoulder and lifted her up.

"Come on. Let's get you to the medical bay so they can patch you up."

Ino wanted to argue with her, but remained silent and simply nodded. As they slowly made their way across the room, Ino couldn't help but take quick glances at her old friend, who was carrying her as if their spat had never even happened.

'Wow. You really have grown up. I can't believe I'm a little jealous, but… in a weird way, I'm proud of you.'

Sakura felt her gaze and shot her a curious look. Ino got flustered and quickly glanced away, causing Sakura to simply smile as they made their way down the corridor with the help of the medical team.

"See? I told you," Hinata said crossing her arms and shooting Sasuke a knowing smile.

"Alright, alright. You were right. I owe her an apology. She really has gotten better."

"That was some impressive genjutsu work, if I may say so myself," Jay said as a big smile lit up his face.

Kakashi chuckled as he watched Sasuke slightly buckle under Hinata's stare. 'Now that is the confident young lady I'm used to seeing.'

"Now, with that out of the way, who's next?" Kakashi asked drawing their attention to the board once more.

"Come one already! I'm tired of waiting!" Naruto exclaimed as he watched the yellow letters fly across the screen.

Jay Oshiro vs. Watane Uturo

"AAAHHH" Naruto cried out, before he crouched next to the wall and had a little sob.

"Stop it, you idiot. You're making an embarrassment of yourself and us," Sasuke groaned as he pinched his forehead.

"Says you. You were the first to go. You didn't have to wait at all," Naruto cried out through crocodile tears.

Jay clapped and rubbed his hands together.

"Whelp. That's my cue. It's been nice meeting you all."

He turned and offered a deep bow to both Gai and Kakashi. "Sensei." He turned to Hinata and offered her a bow, while tipping his hat, "Lady Hinata," which caused Naruto to send him a glare. He smirked and sent him a wink before jumping over the railing onto the floor.

The last genin from Waterfall took his time going down the stairs, and took a few minutes stretching before the match began.

"Even the loudmouth got to go before me! Why does the universe hate me?" Naruto sobbed as he smacked his head against the rail.

"Naruto. Please show a little more decorum. We do have foreign visitors here. Besides, this is going to be the first time you'll really get to see a shinobi from Kumo in action," Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded and placed his head in his hands as he lazily watched the match. To be honest, he was really droning it out.

Jay danced backwards around the field with his opponent hot his tail, all the while with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He would just never shut up, and kept taunting his opponent, causing him to grow more and more frustrated in his pursuit of the smart mouthed genin.

Naruto let his eyes wander the balconies as he looked to see who was left. As he gazed over the competitors, he started to realize there was almost no one left. Was he really going to be the last match?

"SHUT UP! " Watane cried as he reared his sword above his head to bear down on Jay. Instantly, he pivoted on the ball of his foot and surged forward. He planted his knee into his opponent's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He snatched the boy's katana straight out of his hands, and slammed its handle straight into the boy's forehead.

Watane crumpled to the ground in a heap, with Jay planting a foot on his back, all the while, spinning the boy's katana in his hands.

"And the victor is Jay," Hayate called out before going into another coughing fit.

At this point, Naruto had shot up and was counting everyone again. There had to be someone he had missed. There were only twenty-four of them. There shouldn't have been an odd one out. As his eyes scanned over the room, it suddenly dawned on him who was the only person left beside himself.

The scoreboard lit up in bright yellow letters, and displayed the final two names. As his eyes glossed across the name across from his, he felt his heart light on fire with excitement and he turned to match the grin of his opponent.

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Rock Lee

Author's Note:

Admit it. You know you're excited. How is a fuinjutsu versed Naruto going to contend with Lee's godly speed? Find out tomorrow!

I could have released all three chapters at the same time, but it's 12:27 and I want to share these two chapters with you now. Be on the lookout for the finale to the preliminaries

As for this chapter, I really wanted to give Sakura a moment. She really drew the short end of the stick for most of the canon series. While she is nowhere near my favorite character of Naruto, I don't dislike her either. I thought it was time to give her a fair shot and let her shine in one of her two big scenes in this story.

(PS if you didn't get it, that "greaaaat" was supposed to be sarcastic.)