Disclaimer: I own nothing but with that said I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway!

Hey! Welcome back to yet another chapter! As I've mentioned the chapters are going to be shorter for the foreseeable future given that I'm still in school (even if it's online now) and working so that's just how it is. I did work to get this out faster to compensate though so hopefully that makes up for it a little. This chapter is a bit of a rush to get through the prelims so it's not as fully realized as other chapters but we've spent plenty of time here so I think we can just blitz it through.

Anywho, as always I hope you enjoy the chapter and as usual, I'll see you all at the bottom in the author's notes. I do have a question for you all at the bottom so if you are at all interested in sharing your opinions make sure to read the AN.


"I'm staying."

Satsuki's glare didn't wane as she stared down Kakashi who in turn was sending her a look of exasperation, the two locked in a semi-heated contest of wills. The cause of which being the Uchiha's sudden unwillingness to go and have her mark sealed off until after all the matches had concluded despite their initial plans to seal it off the moment her fight had ended.

"Satsuki be reasonable." He sighed, narrowing his one good eye at the cross-armed ravenette.

"It's not acting up and I barely used any chakra in my fight, I can watch the rest of the matches no problem." She scowled. If she felt fine and was in good condition then as far as she was concerned another hour or two wouldn't kill her. Besides she wasn't exactly in any rush to go back to sleep after having spent the last few days in a coma.

Kakashi's rebuttal was cut off by Hayate announcing the next pair of fighters and by the look on Satsuki's face, she knew that chances were she'd be getting her way regardless. Why he couldn't have gotten easier students was beyond him.

Ah right, he'd failed them all… perhaps he'd been too hasty in doing that…

"Would Shikari Nara and Shino Aburame make their way down to the arena." Hayate called bringing everyone's attention back down to the stage eager to see what the two heirs would bring to the table.

Well, everyone baring Shika herself who appeared annoyed at having to fight at all, partially dragging herself down to the arena while Ino who was still in good enough condition to remain and watch over the fights, cheered her on/threatened her into action.

The dynamic of Team Ten was… interesting to say the least.

Meanwhile, the members of Team Eight were also cheering on their representative though without all the threats.

Shikari sighed as she took her place opposite Shino, this whole thing was a pain in the ass and that wasn't even getting into the shit from before. Honestly, she kinda wanted to just quit and drop this whole thing but Asuma would drill her if she gave up and Ino would have a fit if none of them moved onto the finals. That didn't cover what her mother would do if she found out that she'd dropped out without at least trying.

Why was everyone in her life so damn troublesome?

"Oi, Shino do you think I could just pay you to give up right now? I've got like…" She paused to rummage through her pockets and pulled out some spare change she happened to have on her person "Two thousand yen on me, is that fair?" She asked lazily, scratching the back of her head while the rest of the Konoha teams could only shake their heads and chuckle at the Nara's attempt to weasel her way out of fighting. Asuma could only hide his face in one hand while silencing Ino's screams of disbelief with the other.

Hinata was again coughing into her fist to hide her amusement while Kira openly burst into laughter at the audacity of the request. Kurenai was sending a look of incredulity at the gall while also shooting bemused glances at the bearded Jounin who could only shrug sheepishly as if to say "what can you do".

Shino coughed quietly in surprise but shook his head. "That deal is unfortunately unsatisfactory, should I move on and be promoted the amount of money I'd make would far exceed the amount you are willing to pay me to remain a genin." He replied, causing the girl to suck her teeth in annoyance at the fair and logical answer, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"A simple no would have been enough." She deadpanned.

Hayate decided the banter had gone on long enough. "If you two are done then the match will begin now." He informed them while leaping back to give the two fighters space.

As expected Shino attacked first, he was observant enough to know that despite her attitude Shikari was not one to be fought carelessly. Her slothfulness was the only thing that spared them from her cunning and he wasn't going to allow her time to pull a plan together if he could help it.

Shikari grunted her dissatisfaction but met her opponent halfway engaging him directly in hand to hand combat, or more accurately she allowed him to engage her while she dodged in between his attacks. Like Ino, her family's fighting style was about minimizing damage taken and energy spent while turning their opponent's strengths into their weaknesses.

Between them, she didn't doubt that Shino was the stronger one, he'd probably already reasoned this out since he decided to engage her at close range to start rather than at a distance. He was also at an advantage against her since he was the only one in their class that could fight without moving, meaning that she couldn't rely on just holding him in place either.

He was without question the worst opponent for her to face and odds were he knew that… she hated her life.

Ducking under a punch she quickly bounced away from the Aburame just in time to avoid a face full of bugs. It seemed Shino had begun incorporating his kikaichu into taijutsu coating his hands with the swarming insects meaning if he landed even so much as a glancing blow she was in trouble, the drain on her reserves would limit her options and force her to fight on his terms.

So this would be a game of range and to her annoyance, she was out-gunned here as well Shino had the luxury of being able to command his bugs even while on the move, whereas she had to remain almost completely still to use most of her techniques. For being one of the lesser talked about clans the Aburamae were kind of a giant pain in the ass to fight.

"You know you can buy a lot with two thousand yen right?"

"The answer is still no, Nara-san." Shino raised a hand the insects coating his fingers suddenly swarmed into the air, the not so gentle hum of their beating wings manifesting around them as they gathered into a large mass poised to drown her out made her feel like Shino was perhaps getting annoyed with her attempts to sway him. That idea was confirmed when even more of the kikaichu billowed from his coat creating one large mass over his head that spelled doom for her chances.

"Damn… well alright then." She rubbed her neck and narrowed her eyes, the swarm was massive. Far too large for her to avoid and too dangerous for her to chance ignoring. He was really going for her throat.

For the throat…

Reaching into her pouch she pulled out three kunai with paper tags and immediately tossed one right into the mass of insects buzzing towards her.

Behind his shades, Shino narrowed his eyes in anger seeing her plan. She was going to try and burn out his insects with explosives, shrewd and cruel but this was a fight and he understood even if he would hold it absolutly against her. Acting quickly to protect his colony he mentally ordered them to split into two large waves and to rush her.

"Kai!" The tag lit up and Shino braced himself for the incoming explosion, his arms already pulling up to shield him from any debris or shrapnel. Had he paid more attention he might have noticed the kanji for "Light" written upon the tag not "Explosion" but by then it was too late.

The room flashed with a bright white light that blinded anyone looking directly at the action, those with dojutsu active were hit even harder and by the sudden influx and even Shino was forced to recoil slightly even if his shades offered him a measure of protection. Shika meanwhile didn't have the luxury of time to wait for her sight to return and so working off memory she quickly enacted her plan the remaining stages of her plan, her hands already forming the seals needed for her next technique.

"Shadow Imitation: Split!" Unseen by most given the blinding light, her shadow quickly stretched forward before splitting off into two slightly lighter arcs, the inky blackness fading into a dullish grey. The light created from her flash tag also created two large shadows underneath the coming swarm of insects. Using them as a sort of jumping-off point she quickly homed in on where she knew Shino was still standing and she smirked when she felt her shadows "tether" onto his own, the mental tightening of a rope appearing in her mind.

"Join!" The two streaks of shadow swiftly snapped back into one single black strand and the drain on her chakra became more intense. The benefit of the split method was it's a slower drain on her reserves and increased movement speed, the came at the equal cost of being far easier to shake off and not granting her total control of her target but she needed to maximize each drop of energy she had for this to work. When the light from her tag faded she would have to use more chakra to maintain the connection but it was a sacrifice she'd have to make.

As the light died down Shino found himself immobilized and frowned as he put together what his opponent had done. Distracting him with his emotional attachment to his hive while playing on his expectations, she knew he'd assume the obvious counter to his insects and he had played right into her hands. But even so, this was still an easy win for him. He could control his kikaichu mentally and he was certain that she knew that, so why bother with this?

"I know what you're thinking Shino even if you won't say it yourself." Shikari relaxed her arms and Shino followed suit now forced to mimic her movements. "The reality is that you are going to win this… if I fight you like a friend." She admitted and her eyes suddenly hardened as she formed a new seal.

Shino grunted as his shadow slowly began to wind up his leg, the streak of pitch-black darkness slowly taking shape into what resembled a hand, one that was now crawling its way up to his torso. His body trembled as he fought back against whatever she was trying to do but his attempts were only slowing the process, not enough to completely halt it. His only hope was to drain her and so once more he commanded his swarm to attack.

"I wouldn't do that Shino." She hissed, the beating wings of the kikaichu drawing closer, the hum buzzing in her ears. "Concede right now." She ordered and he frowned at the unusual amount of authority in her voice, causing him to pull back his swarm just feet away from enveloping her.

"There is… no reason for me… to do that." He had to pause between words as he continued to fight against the hand that was now slowly approaching his neck, shadow fingers flexing in anticipation as they neared his windpipe prompting him to struggle harder.

"Oh, I think there is. Let me help you see it." She grunted exertion heavy in her voice but she still managed to tilt her head up towards the ceiling and even as the grip of her shadow became tighter he was still forced to pull his own head up in response. His eyes widened when he saw what she was talking about…

The remaining two kunai were embedded into the ceiling above him each with a single paper tag attached bearing the kanji for explosives attached to the hilt. If she detonated them the debris would almost certainly crush him while he was left defenseless.

"How much damage do you think concrete falling from that height will do, Shino?" She forced him to face her again and she gave him a hard look. "Do you think you can walk that off and can you make that choice before I choke you out?" The hand that was now closing around his neck squeezed tight and he gave out a choking gasp in reply.

"You… wouldn't…" He grunted, they were allies she wouldn't go that far.

"I'm a girl with a nagging Yamanaka for a teammate, I'm running on almost no sleep, low chakra, and I have very little time to play around." She leveled him with an unsympathetic stare even as sweat rolled down her brow showing that it was taking all she had to keep him locked down. "I'm willing to do what it takes to get some damn peace, so I will say this one more time. Give up." She repeated.

Shino went silent for a moment weighing his options. He could try and call her bluff but he wasn't sure she wasn't actually serious and they were still in a competitive setting, those tags could be fake or they could be real and he'd be buried under the rubble if he guessed wrong. He could try and wait for her out but if he stalled she still might detonate the tags anyway and that didn't even get into the fact that his vision was starting to go dark from her hold around his neck.

He could have his insects move to catch the debris but that left him open to her any attack, even a single kunai could do him in like this. She had him right where she wanted him, between some falling rocks and a hard place.

"I… concede…" He grunted out.

"Winner by forfeit, Shikari Nara!" Hayate announced giving the victory to the Nara heiress.

The moment she heard her win she dropped the connection and fell on her ass, she was nearly out of chakra and had he held on for even a few more minutes her plans would have gone to hell. She was lucky she had her father's poker face…

"I was not expecting such ruthlessness out of you, Nara-san." Shino stood in front of her with a hand outstretched for her to take. She didn't complain and took it gladly, allowing him to help her to her feet and keeping her steady until she found her balance.

"Good because that would have ruined the whole thing since I was talking out my ass." She sighed, cracking her neck. "Deception being a ninja's greatest asset and all that jazz, but it was a good match still, let's swear to never do it again okay?"

She planned to never fight Shino again if she could help it, she'd rather have gotten anyone else.

"You vex me greatly Nara-san."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She yawned leaving him behind as she made her way to her team and leaving Shino by himself with a single lesson imparted from the whole affair.

Never underestimate a Nara…

Hayate chuckled a bit to himself as he watched the pair make their way back up to the stands. It was always interesting to watch a Nara perform, he always thought they would make incredible showmen if they didn't find doing any sort of work tedious. He also sometimes forgot how scary they could be when pushed. He knew Yugao would have a laugh when he told her about this later. For now, he had another match to preside over.

"Would Tenten and Naruto Uzumaki make their way down to the arena." He announced calling the next contenders.

He grinned and punched a fist into his open palm, finally! With so few fighters left he was starting to get concerned he'd be the last to go but he was happy to be proven wrong. He was also itching for a proper fight after that second phase, there was a difference between a good challenge and fighting for your life.

"Don't go and embarrass yourself, idiot." Satsuki grunted, eyeing up the bun haired girl making her way down the steps to the arena. "I expect you to pass so I can fight you and Sakura in the finals and I'll deny ever knowing you if you lose." She threatened.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the Uchiha's roundabout way of wishing him luck but didn't comment on it. That was just how they supported one another she supposed, she didn't fully get it but if it worked then who was she to say anything.

"She's Lee's teammate so don't take her lightly." She warned him. Without knowing how Lee stacked up to his team she couldn't discount the idea that all of Team Guy were monsters in combat and she didn't want to see him carted away because he got overconfident. "Good luck."

"Right, don't worry I got this!" He nodded before hopping down from the railing and onto the floor below and making his way to the center of the arena taking his place across from his opponent.

"One of the rookies eh, you must be pretty lucky to have made it this far on your first go-around but that luck ends here." Tenten leveled him with an impressed grin and he had to hold back rolling his eyes at the idea they had gotten lucky. He didn't know in what universe having a creep like Orochimaru on your tail counted as "lucky" but he held his tongue.

It's not like he could really talk about the incident.

Maybe, or maybe we're just that good? Guess you'll find out." He rebutted not at all perturbed by her confidence. "I just hope that extra year you have on us means you'll be worth the time." He sent a cheeky grin back in response and internally he had to hold back a laugh at the slight twitch of her brow. It seemed she had a bit of an ego.

"Begin!"

Hayate's signal was all the prompting his opponent needed to go on the offensive and he quickly found himself leaping out of the way just in time to avoid being stabbed by the swarm of shuriken she launched his way. Retaliating with his own flurry of steel stars he was surprised that rather than dodging she instead managed to redirect each of his stars with ones of her own, their combined weaponry falling to the ground between them.

Okay, that was a bit impressive but that wasn't going to be enough to win either but it seemed like Tenten was well aware of this. He watched her reach into her pouch and pull out two large scrolls twirling them between her fingers before rushing forward towards him. He tensed as the rolls of parchment unfurled revealing them to be storage scrolls each with the kanji for a different type of weapon and her hands glided over two in particular from each.

Twin puffs of smoke dissipated to reveal that her hands were not occupied by twin blades, large curved swords gripped tightly in hand as she crossed the distance between them and aimed an arcing slash at his body. He wasted no time in ducking under the blow and lashing out with a kick but she blocked it with the flat side of her second blade and returning fire with another slash that he just barely managed to avoid. She kept up the pace and soon enough the two were weaving around the arena in a deadly dance of blades and fists but her weapons have her the slight edge she needed to keep him on the defensive.

He was at a disadvantage here, her range was longer than his with those scimitars and she only needed one good blow to seriously injure him…

Sliding past a poorly timed thrust he quickly grabbed her by the arm and used her momentum against her to toss her away from him, his superior strength managing to pry her off the ground with relative ease and with her grip on her weapons preventing her from holding onto him he managed to create that needed space between them.

This maneuver didn't seem to discourage her however.

"Want some distance, eh? Well, try stopping this then!" Tenten dropped her blades to the ground and pulled out her scrolls once more, using the momentum of his toss to carry her she quickly began launching an array of bladed weapons towards him ranging from the usual kunai and shuriken to almost outlandish weapons like clubs, sickles, maces, and a flail for kami's sake! Yet somehow her accuracy was still perfect despite half of her armory not even consisting of throwing weapons.

He'd give her props for that.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" His cheeks puffed up as the gale forces left his throat and barreled into the hailstorm of weaponry approaching him completely knocking her barrage apart and slamming into her sending her flying back towards the outer walls of the arena.

Tenten winced as she landed, she'd only just had enough time to bring her arms up for a meager defense before the wind tunnel had smashed into her launching her back closer to the walls of the arena. Thankfully she wasn't really harmed but she was now more wary of her opponent, she didn't think he'd have such an effective counter to her weapons in his pocket. She wasn't sure how many times he could pull that move off either or what else he had tucked away.

He smirked as he watched his opponent's expression shift from one of confidence to slight trepidation. It was becoming abundantly clear that she was a weapon expert, a damn good one at that but he was probably the worst opponent she could face barring maybe Risa or that Temari girl. In their brief taijutsu exchange, he noticed her attacks were more about technique than power, her weapons making up for her lack of strength and hinting that she was likely less physically capable than her two teammates. She was more than likely the ranged fighter of their squad.

This fight was over the moment it began, drawing this out would only be a waste of time.

Tenten's eyes widened as the blond suddenly disappeared from her sight, the only hint that he'd been there at all was the slight dust kicked up in his place before she was suddenly struck with a numbing pain in the back of her head. Her hands twitched as her grip on her scrolls loosened and her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her body slumping forward unceremoniously to the ground.

She was out like a light.

"Winner by knockout, Naruto Uzumaki!" Hayate announced.

Grinning at his victory he was still nice enough to help load the unconscious team onto the stretcher for the medics before making his way back up to the stands where his teammates were waiting for him.

"That was disappointing, but at least you didn't screw it up." Satsuki offered a nod of approval and a slight smirk knowing that they were currently the only team to have each of their members make it to the finals so far. The only other team that might be able to match them was the team from Suna who still had one fighter left to go.

"Not my fault, I think she would have done well against someone else." He shrugged. He was happy that he'd won but also a bit upset that he hadn't had to try very much, at least for the finals he knew that he would get a good fight in so he held off on complaining too much. He also understood that there was now a good chance he'd have to fight Sakura or Satsuki to advance, something they were both well aware of by now.

"Would Hinata Hyuga and Sabaku no Kankuro make their way down to the arena!"

Naruto turned his attention to the arena and let out a loud cheer for his friend, one that was mirrored by Kira who was rooting for the petite Hyuga heiress to "Kick his sandy ass". Let it never be said that Inuzuka lacked heart.

Hinata rolled her eyes at her teammate and sent a beaming smile to her friend as she made her way down to face her opponent. Having seen what both of his teammates were capable of she knew that she had to be careful and that there was likely more to him than she could see at first glance.

Kankuro for his part gave little away other than the ever so slight twitch of his fingers that signified her was ready for combat.

Seeing both contestants weren't exactly roaring to exchange words Hayate decided that they should get to it.

"Begin!"

The moment the words left his mouth the smile on Hinata's face dropped and the veins around her eyes bulged signifying the activation of the Hyuga clan's famed Byakugan. The world around her shifted into grayscale colors bleeding into shades of grey, white, and black with the sole exception of the bodies around her that now shined a bright azure.

All but one… the one standing right in front of her.

She tilted her head just centimeters to the side allowing the kunai that had been thrown her way to sail by harmlessly before she rushed forward towards the catsuit wearing genin. He brought his arms up in defense but to his shock, she did not attack him directly as he'd expected and instead leaped over him using his shoulders to swing herself up and around to his back.

Fingertips bleeding with chakra shot forward and seemed to strike at… nothing? Spectators watched in bewilderment as Hinata seemed to shadowbox the air around Kankuro rather than make use of her openings to strike him head-on.

If she could sense their confusion she didn't show it keeping her attention focused solely on the task at hand. She used her chakra like scalpels to cut away at the many blue ribbons that surrounded 'Kankuro', severing the complex network of strings as she glared into the bundle resting upon his back.

To the spectators, Kankuro seemed to suddenly lurch for a moment appearing to have lost his balance before suddenly collapsing to the floor in an unmoving heap for no discernable reason. She hadn't so much as touched him, why had he collapsed?

Hinata, however, didn't seem satisfied just yet and she quickly fell upon the bundle that Kankuro had dropped during his fall attacking it with such ferocity that even those who were familiar with her were taken aback. It wasn't in her nature to attack a downed opponent but yet she did not stop fingertips jabbing the wrapped up bundle with near surgical precision.

Then abruptly she stopped. The bulges around her eyes receded and her stance relaxed.

"That match is over Proctor-san he will not be getting up anytime soon." She relayed as she knelt down over the slumped over form of "Kankuro" pulling the boy's boy up revealing his face, a face that was now chipped and cracked from its abrupt meeting with the floor.

She peeled back the flakes and revealed a disturbing underside, hand-carved wooden features, and fake glassy eyes came to light and clued those in who were more familiar with Suna's secrets of what had likely transpired.

Hinata clicked her teeth and dropped the body unceremoniously before turning to the bundle and with a single kunai, cut through the thick bandages like paper unveiling the mysterious bundle to be… another Kankuro? The Suna genin's face was scrunched up in pain and he was near unresponsive as he was forced to lay helplessly upon the floor while she stood over him.

"You could never hide from my eyes, you should have fought me more directly maybe then you might not have lost as quickly." She gave a pleasant smile that sent shivers down his spine but he could not say anything, she held every advantage. "It's a shame but I suppose it was just your unfortunate luck to have me as an opponent."

Hayate waited for a moment to see if the genin had anything left to give but it became clear that he was out of options without his puppet and his chakra and so after a short mental countdown he called it.

"Winner by incapacitation, Hinata Hyuga!"

Hinata smirked and made her way back to her team leaving the stage clear for the last fight of the preliminaries.

"Would Dosu Kinta and Neji Hyuga make their way down to the arena."

The announcement was unneeded as both had begun making their way even before they'd been called having kept track of the matches in their heads and quickly narrowing down their finalist positions. Neither said a word to the other as they simply glared into the eyes of their opponent and waited for Hayate's signal to begin.

It was almost like a final gambit for their respective teams, neither of their teammates had advanced to the final stage and this would be their last chance to both save face and earn a chance at promotion. The need for words was not necessary, they both understood what was at stake.

"Begin!"

Both sprung into action immediately. Neji charged forward to close the distance while Dosu began to swing his arms in the direction of the approaching Hyuga, the gauntlet glowing very faintly with streams of chakra as he did so but otherwise not much seemed to come from the mummified sound-nin's attack. It came as a surprise then when Neji suddenly ground to a halt gripping his head in pain and stumbling back seemingly disoriented.

Dosu wanted to capitalize on this and quickly dashed in to try and finish the fight quickly but even while disoriented was not a taijutsu expert for nothing and still managed to deflect the incoming attack before retaliating with a few jabs to the sound-nin's chest before the two sprung back and once more glared at one another from across the field.

Dosu narrowed his eye and charged his gauntlet again, something Neji noticed as he focused his sight on the chakra running through him. Watching the chakra gather towards his opponent's arms he quickly put two and two together and realized that the source of that first hit was likely something to do with that gauntlet.

He waited for Dosu to attack and sure enough, Dosu swung his arm again and he watched the chakra he'd gathered disperse suddenly before a new wave of nausea hit and he was nearly forced to the ground. He grit his teeth as the ground beneath him was painted red with a few drops of what he realized was blood. His bandaged fingers coming up to his nose where a trail of the life giving liquid was dripping freely from his nostrils.

He hadn't seen anything meaning whatever that attack was it wasn't entirely chakra based in nature. That confirmed to him that the gauntlet was the key.

He pushed himself to his feet and fought to maintain his balance. Stabilizing himself he raced forward again this time enhancing his speed to close the gap before his opponent could charge another attack slipping into his guard something that Dosu wasn't ready for given the widening of his single eye but by then it was too late and he'd already begun working on disabling the biggest obstacle to his victory.

Chakra coated fingertips slammed into the tenketsu leading to the gauntlet, the flow of chakra in that arm fizzling out as he forcibly closed the network off with a few well placed blows. Dosu hissed in pain from a combination of pain from the strikes and the sudden numbness in his arm but he felt panic grip him when he realized that his main weapon was cut off.

Neji spared him not even a pitying glance as he went to work picking him apart. Without his gauntlet to aid him the sound-genin just couldn't keep up in a pure taijutsu fight and Neji refused to allow him to create any distance ensuring the fight continued on his terms. It took Neji mere minutes to shut down nearly all the tenketsu in Dosu's body before a final palm strike launched him sprawled out onto his back where Neji then pinned him.

It was a blowout match.

"Winner, Neji Hyuga!"

"As expected." Were the only words out of the Hyuga's mouth as he left his sprawled out opponent behind and returned to his teammates' side. Dosu had to be escorted out by medics who were not working to return his chakra circulation and help ease the numbing pain of the Gentle Fist.

With that, the preliminaries had come to a close and so the victors were drawn back down to the center of the arena to receive further instruction.

...

"Congratulations on making it this far, you've all fought hard and now only one more challenge awaits you on your path to becoming chunin." Hayate coughed out his congrats before pulling out a simple box with a hole at the top. "You each will reach into this box and draw a number, the order of the numbers will determine your opponent for the finals, there will be a month break before the finals begin so you will have plenty of time to think of how best to approach your fight." He explained.

With the instructions clear each of the chunin hopefuls stepped forwards and one at a time reached in and drew a single slip of paper with a number on it.

"If you would read your numbers aloud we will now create the matchups."

Naruto nodded and opened his slip of paper where the number one was printed in bold ink.

"I've got one." He spoke up, figuring this was going to go in order and he held up his slip to prove his word.

"Ha! I got two!" Kira's pleased voice barked up from the side as she held up a slip with the number two printed on it. "Guess that means it's you and me whiskers!" She grinned fully riled up now and he matched her smirk with one of his own. He shouldn't be surprised that she was his opponent but he knew that he was in for a good fight if nothing else.

"Better bring your best Kibble, I won't hold back on you."

"I'll rip you apart if you do!" She promised.

Temari then spoke up showing her own slip of paper. "I have number three." She revealed stepping forward to see who her opponent would be.

"Hn, I've got four." Satsuki held up her own slip revealing a bold four and the two kunoichi locked eyes in a brief staring contest before backing down to allow the rest of the contestants to find their match.

"This is so annoying, I've got five." Shikari yawned.

Sakura nodded and held up her paper. "I got six." She said relaxing a bit at now that she knew she wasn't up against either of her teammates or the monstrous girl from Suna. She wasn't close with Shikari but they were still on friendly terms for the most part. Still, the Nara had proven that she wasn't going to go down easy so she couldn't afford to slack off.

Hinata stepped up next and revealed her number. "It seems I got seven"

Neji stepped forward and showed his own. "Eight"

The two Hyuga locked eyes and those paying enough tension caught the look of worry on the Heiress's face and the subtle hint of anger that flashed in the older genin's gaze before the duo backed away. There was some history there but to what extent was only known between them.

Risa cracked open her eyes and showed her own sheet. "Nine."

Hayate nodded having written down the names as the numbers were announced. "Thank you, the matchups will be as follows."

"Round one will be Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kira Inuzuka!"

"Round two will be Sabaku no Temari vs. Satsuki Uchiha!"

"Round three will be Shikari Nara vs. Sakura Haruno!"

"Round four will be Hinata Hyuga vs. Neji Hyuga!"

"And lastly the winner of round one will face Sabaku no Risa!"

Hayate nodded. "That concludes the preliminaries, as I said before you all will one month to prepare yourselves before the finals, you will have eyes all over the world watching you so make sure you are ready to perform." He gave them those final parting words before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

It was going to be a busy month for them all.

...

"I have to say that I am extremely proud of each of you for making it this far." Kakashi said as he led his team out of the forest and back to the village. "It's very rare for an entire team to make it to the finals but you three have a habit of breaking expectations."

Naruto and Sakura grinned happily at the praise and even Satsuki allowed a small smirk to settle upon her face. They'd gone through a lot of crap to make it this far and now that end was in sight they couldn't help but be proud of themselves and while Kakashi wasn't stingy with praise, he never gave it out if he didn't mean it.

"We can't be stopped!" Naruto declared pumping his fist in victory.

"Clearly, but that also leaves us in a very unique position." Kakashi's tone switched from jovial to serious and his genin knew that now was the time to listen in. "You all are now competing against one another meaning that you all likely won't be training together to keep an element of surprise which also means that I can't train you all."

Their eyes widened at that bit of information.

"While I could send clones with you all I don't want to give any of you an advantage over the others so I will only be training one of you." He gave them a sideways glance and held up a single hand to stop any coming protests. "That said I will not be leaving any of you high and dry or on your own." He finished cutting off any complaints.

"Really?" Satsuki gave her sensei a skeptical look knowing that it was only recently that he'd taken his job as their instructor seriously.

In response, he merely rolled his single good eye at her disbelief. He may have had trouble with this whole teaching thing at the beginning but he was getting better, at least he thought so…

"Ignoring your tone..." He shot her a look. "You all will have proper teachers for the month that much I can assure you of." He promised, they'd all earned a fair shot at their promotion so the least he could do is ensure they all received decent training even if he didn't think they needed it all that much.

"So who will you be training sensei?" Sakura asked curiously to see which of them would end up with him.

"Given the circumstances, I will be the one handling Satsuki's training." He revealed bluntly, causing said Uchiha to curse quietly under her breath. She knew that he was going to run her ragged and she hadn't exactly been buttering him up over the past few days either… at least she'd be getting stronger though so she'd suck it up.

Sakura and Naruto nodded, while they were a bit put off that they wouldn't be training under him they could understand the reasons. Kakashi was the only one currently who could answer any questions about her sharingan and with Orochimaru skulking about it was better for her to be with someone who would be capable of defending her.

"Sakura you will be contacted by your instructor in the coming days, she's a bit on the serious side but she's very skilled and you'll benefit greatly from her instruction if you apply yourself." He informed the pinkette who nodded in affirmative.

He then turned to the final member of his team and addressed him. "As for you Naruto, your trainer has left instructions for you to meet him at the Hokage's office in two days so be prepared." He said and Naruto saluted in understanding already conjuring up mental images of what his trainer might be like.

"Good, with all that out the way you and Sakura are free to go. Princess here, however, has a date with a hospital bed." He chirped cheerfully, laying an iron tight grip on the rebellious heiress's shoulder much to her visible displeasure.

Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but snicker at the look of utter loathing Satsuki sent his way, a small part of them pitied the girl.

Only a small part though.

...

"I'm home!" He shouted kicking off his shoes as he entered his little apartment for the first time in what felt like a month, the once familiar smell of his own home seeming foreign after his time in the forests but he welcomed it like an old friend nonetheless.

"Naruto-sama!"

He blanched as Haku rocketed out from the back and barreled into him nearly knocking him to the floor in her excitement. He blinked owlishly at the hearty greeting but did not admonish her for it instead returning the embrace with a slight smile, he didn't think she'd miss him so much. For what it was worth he'd missed her as well so he couldn't deny he was happy to see her as well.

Haku let out a content sigh as she once more had the pleasure of her master's presence at her side. It was… difficult for her without him, not that she doubted his ability but she could not interfere with his test meaning that she could not protect him. She'd become somewhat restless as of late but none of that mattered now that he was here again.

If he had not returned…

"It is good to have you back, Naruto-sama." She broke their embrace and looked him over, he looked a bit ragged and despite his efforts, she could see that he was tired no doubt exhausted from being out so long. She wouldn't be surprised if he collapsed at some point during the day even with his seemingly endless stamina.

"It's good to be back Haku-chan." He smiled and the two made their way into the apartment. "How have things been while I was away? He asked.

"Quiet, but I have a feeling things will not stay that way now that you've returned. I suppose the peace had to end eventually." She teased taking joy in the pout he sent her way, she'd missed that childishness of his that was so rare in their world. It was one of her favorite qualities in him and part of the reason she teased him so relentlessly.

"Mou, that's mean Haku-chan!" He whined.

"But am I wrong?" She pushed, giggling softly as he huffed and turned away from her but she could see his shoulders shaking with hidden amusement telling her that he took offense from her playful jab and that it was all in good fun. He was so different from Zabuza but not in a bad way...

Smirking to herself she quickly tiptoed over to him while he was looking away and suddenly leaned over pressing herself against his back, her lips brushing ever so gently against his ear sending shivers down his spine. She bit back a laugh as he predictably stiffened at her touch but her training was more than enough to keep her in line for the moment.

"Forgive me Naruto-sama that was cruel of me…" She practically purred in his ears and could almost feel the heat radiating off his face at the sudden contact. "Perhaps I can welcome you back in a much more appropriate way~" She whispered a mixture of apologetic earnestness in her voice that was not matched by the way hands began to roam across his chest.

"Would you like that more, master?~"

His shouts of embarrassment would be heard across the village proving her right in the end.


AN. Chapter Complete!

So as I said before my goal for this chapter was mainly to wrap up the prelims by getting the last of the fights out of the way so that we could move onto the month gap, the finals, and everything else following that. With that said I recognize that some may feel like a lot of this feels a bit rushed and I can admit that but I tried to make matchups the clearly favored one fighter over another to at least make it feel real with the exception of Shikari's fight which I had to put some more thought into and take some liberties with. That said I will be fully realizing the fights in the finals so this won't happen again. It helps that there are also fewer fights overall!

Anyway, let's talk about some stuff:

Starting off I'd like to address the status of Tayuya for this fic since I got a lot of questions since the results of the poll were revealed (check the AN of the last chapter if you haven't seen the results). A few people have reached out through either PM or reviews asking me if I would at least do something else with Tayuya if she wouldn't be the harem. Specifically either making her an Uzumaki or a love interest for another character and so I wanted to talk about this overall and get my thoughts out there.

I am not really a fan of doing either of these for a couple of reasons. The largest of which being that if I brought her into the story it would essentially be an unnecessary character that suddenly has to be added to the extensive cast that already exists. That is not a dig at her in some mean way but rather it would be adding her for the sake of adding her when she'll more than likely end up like Amagi, a character who is around but isn't doing anything in the story and for people that like her I don't think they'd love that.

Making her a main character just goes back to her being around for the sake of it and with my plans there will be enough characters to balance. As for her being a love interest for someone else, this has some of the same problems. The only characters I could pair her with that have any story value are not really even main characters such as Shino and Choji and while I've had a few people suggesting putting her with Sakura, that isn't happening here.

(As a note Sakura is not being paired with Ino either, I'm not sure if I've made it seem like that with their interactions but that isn't their relationship in this fic lol)

So while I'm not confirming anything right now I do want to set expectations that she'll more than likely play her role then exit the story.

Next up, I said I would reveal who I wanted to win the poll and why so I will do that:

So being upfront when I really thought about the options I ended up settling that I was more team Samui than Tayuya for a couple of reasons. I like Tayuya and would have been fine with her winning but I also feel that the best stories with her are either solo pairings or very small harems (three girls max) where she can be really fleshed out and the focus is on her and how she develops. Samui may not be as interesting in terms of options but she can be done to play off Naruto very well and Kumo is my second favorite village so with her in I get a good excuse to explore Kumo and its characters who are also some of my favorites in the series. I also don't see her done as often in more traditional stories (mostly see her in smutty fics) so expanding on her here would be a nice contribution.

So with all the poll stuff laid out let's talk about the last thing I wanted to ask you all:

I'm thinking about changing Naruto's summons and have some ideas written down but I would like to hear your ideas about summons that you think would be an interesting choice, I like the toads but there is no harm in changing them to something else.

With that said feel free to leave some ideas in your reviews or PM them to me. I only have a few rules/notes about suggestions though.

1. No mythical creatures (dragons, hydras, phoenixes, etc). The reason being I don't want to give him a broken summon or the "no one has called us in a thousand years, welcome chosen one" sort of deal. Rare creatures are fine and even extinct creatures to a point are fine.

2. Not foxes, nothing against them but that feels far too easy and almost stereotypical for him.

3. The summon doesn't have to be super offensive. I don't mind giving him summons that play support roles or utility roles.

4. The summon should fit him somewhat meaning clans like the snakes would be out (other reptiles would be fine)

So if you have any you'd like to suggest let me know otherwise I'll just go with my list or leave him toads. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one, stay safe and be careful out there!