There is a brief intermission between the first and second rounds so that a team of medics can make sure all of the combatants are capable of continuing. It's more of a formality than anything, but it's not unheard of for genin who have been poisoned or badly injured being forced to stop in order to avoid any necessary deaths. Even healthy competitors with very few injuries have been killed in the past since the fights can get extremely vicious. I suspect that this break is meant to give people time to bet on the next matches more than it is to make anyone stop early, at least this time. The traditional bracket system makes it easy for them to know who will be facing who.

Baki has his own ideas about who will advance. "Gaara shouldn't have much trouble with his opponent no matter how many senbon are shot at him. That pink haired girl looks like she could beat the Inuzuka as long as she keeps that massive dog at bay. The other two matches aren't as obvious," he says as he examines the damaged arena. "Normally, I would say that the Hyuga would be the clear winner. That other kid looks like he could cause an upset though. He might not even give his opponent time to react. As for Temari fighting Kira, I hope Temari wins."

"You hope? Have some confidence in your own student, Baki!" If Temari does end up going all out and summons Kamatari, Kira won't last a minute. "From what I've seen, Kira was lucky to make it this far."

"That's exactly my point. We haven't seen the extent of her abilities yet. She at least put up quite a fight last round, and there's no telling how much more of a threat she could be if Riu plays a bigger role in the fight. Do you see what I mean?"

I wish I didn't. "Temari has an advantage since Kira was beaten up pretty badly before she won her match. Hopefully she can end things quickly."

"She will as long as her temper doesn't make her clumsy." Maybe if Temari lets her aggression out directly onto its cause she'll be ready to discuss her suspicions with us as calmly as she can. I'm not going to lie; I'm going to enjoy seeing Kira get beaten. Temari will make sure she understands what happens to people who even look like they're going to cause my family trouble.

Before we have time to discuss things further, the beginning of the second round is announced. The first match is between Gaara and the Ame genin. The inevitable shower of senbon is completely blocked by Gaara's sand shield. Moments later, Gaara wins the match by trapping his opponent in a Sand Coffin. More than a few people boo as the defeated genin leaves. How did that kid even make it to the third phase with so few jutsu? Either he didn't try at all or he really needs to return to the Academy for a few pointers on how not to shame his village.

Kira and Temari are next. As soon as the match starts, Riu performs a rapid series of gestures with her tail. Both she and Kira use a clone jutsu as Temari readies her fan. The originals and a half a dozen clones, three of Kira and three of Riu, scatter. It soon becomes clear that Riu had cast a genjutsu on Temari as she completely misses her targets. Gusts of wind roar through the arena again and again only to come nowhere near either of them. I feel one of them rush through my hair as all four Kiras concentrate bright white chakra into claws extending from their hands and feet. The Riu clones dart past Temari's legs, striking her with their own chakra claws as they pass. Temari tries to cut them with slashes of wind from her fan while also dodging a barrage of fireballs and strikes from the Kira clones.

I've lost track of where the real Riu is since all of the cats attacking Temari sport scratches and thinned patches of fur. The real Kira is fairly easy to spot. All of her clones are moving much more quickly than she is, have more wounds than her, and attack Temari far more frequently. She's probably still sore from her last fight. The so called clones must be Riu's illusions since none of them have dispelled yet despite taking damage.

Sick of missing so many times, Temari closes her fan and charges it with so much chakra that it becomes a glowing blue club. She prepares to swing it as hard as she can just as one of the cats takes a flying leap towards her. The real Kira rushes forward and intercepts the cat, clutching it to her chest as the fan crashes into her back. The two are smashed straight into one of the fissures left behind from the previous round. All of the clones vanish as does all of the white chakra. Temari looks far less disoriented as she waits for her opponents to reappear.

Riu jumps out, trembling from nose to tail. Kira crawls out behind her. It's hard to see from here, but something about her hands and feet is off. They are as white as sun bleached bones and their nails have grown and curved into points. Before anyone has time to process what is going on, Kira charges at Temari, her former hesitance to put herself in danger forgotten. She spews a massive stream of bright white fire at Temari that is hot enough to make her fan glow bright red as it shields my daughter from the flames.

With Temari distracted, Kira rips her fan out of her arms by a still cold (or at least not blistering hot) section and hurls it against the wall. Riu jumps more than a foot strait into the air as the one of a kind weapon cracks against the stone, leaving yet another crater.

"Holy shit," Baki whispers. His reaction is one of the only noises in the entire stunned audience as Kira begins to assault Temari with slice after slice of her overgrown nails. All the while, the whiteness appears splotches all over her body until Kira's chin, neck, and entire right knee are completely covered. Riu cowers in a ball a short distance away as she mews at her owner. Temari manages to launch a counter attack with a blade of wind rammed straight into Kira's stomach, sending her flying across the arena. With her opponent stunned, Temari rushes to grab her fan.

Kira drags herself into a crouch. Temari readies herself for another attack. Riu screams at Kira as the stubborn girl rushes towards Temari again. She isn't as lucky this time. With time to prepare herself, Temari picks Kira up with a mini cyclone from her fan and uses it to batter her opponent before sending her plummeting to the ground. She doesn't get up this time. Riu sprints over to her fallen partner as the proctor declares the winner. Two medics carrying a stretcher arrive and carry Kira off with her wailing cat alongside them.

The audience is still in shock when the next match starts. Hopefully this one will be less terrifying to watch. Kira is lucky it is forbidden to attack Chunin Exam participants for anything that they do during the fights; otherwise, she'd be nothing but a stain on the ground now. Thankfully, the Hyuga and his opponent make for an entertaining match. The pair move so quickly that their punches are little more than blurs. They block each other's hits until the Hyuga sends the green clad boy back with one of his clan's signature defensive techniques. He then uses the opening to defeat his opponent with a rapid series of powerful jabs. It's impressive that the match lasted as long as it did; few shinobi are capable of matching the Hyuga's speed.

The final match of the round is between the Inuzuka and the pink haired girl. The massive dog and his master each eat a pill. As if the dog's size wasn't freaky enough, it turns bright red and starts growling. The pair then launch a spiraling technique and shoot towards their opponent. All it takes is one punch a piece for the two to be sent crashing into the ground. Another fist into the ground sent them down into a crevice so deep that they had to be pulled out afterwards. With that, the second round is complete.