A/N: Time for things to become chaotic and fun. Let's throw this structured event into a blender and see what happens.

Chunin Exams, Final Round, Part 5

Enjoy!


Hinata struggled to control her breathing as she leaned over the railing of the observation deck that looked down to the arena, where a fox-fueled Naruto was duelling Gaara. As it was now, the battle was violent and dramatic, with both Jinchuuriki having inflicted significant damage. Although, Gaara seemed to be the much less hindered of the two. What was stressing the heiress, however, was not the battle itself.

'Why? Why would he tell him? What's the point?' Hinata silently questioned as Naruto roared defiantly at the massive wave of sand approaching him. The blonde easily evaded the mass of mobile earth and blitzed his fellow Jinchuuriki, launching him backwards with a cracking punch to the left side of his jaw. Joy briefly creeped into the emotional complex of the Hyuga girl, but was quickly and brutally extinguished by the mass of guilt and shame weighing on her already-shaken mind.

'Right when I thought I had finally made it all up to you. Right when you were finally beginning to gaze at me lovingly, it all comes crashing down. I suppose I have no room to complain. Gaara wasn't lying to you' she thought to herself with her eyes downcast. After a moment of staring at the railing, she looked back towards the battle.

'Look at you. Battling a literal and metaphorical demon, not an ounce of quit in your body. You're terrified, but you understand that you mustn't let that fear hinder you. I was, and still am a pathetic fool. I hated you for no reason other than your social standing, and even after I came to adore you, I was still arrogant enough to objectify you' she thought to herself. Naruto then threw a hard punch at Gaara, which his fellow Jinchuuriki evaded and used as an opportunity to grab hold of the blonde. Gaara then kicked out one of Naruto's legs and tossed him aside.

'I admit it. You're beyond me, Naruto Uzumaki. Far beyond me' she relented as Naruto sprang back to his feet and forcibly freed himself from the sandy tendrils that had seized his limbs. She then chuckled to herself bitterly.

'Life has a cruel sense of humor. I told him once that he wasn't worth my time, and now here I am asking myself whether or not I'm worth his. All I've ever done is hurt you, confuse you, and betray your trust. It isn't you that isn't worthy of me, but the reverse…' she thought as a single tear trailed down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun" she whispered aloud before wiping her tears away and returning to her seat, where her father, sister, and cousin awaited her. Hiashi gave her a look of concern as she sat down slowly.

"What is distressing you?" he asked gently. Hinata sighed and folded her hands in her lap before answering his question.

"My greatest sin that never was" she said vaguely, her tone making it clear that she did not wish to elaborate. The clan head nodded and turned his attention back to the match. Naruto was now bleeding profusely from a gash in his hairline, as he had been grazed by one of Gaara's spikes several minutes previously.

"It's become much more competitive, but Uzumaki-san is still constantly having to battle his way back from behind. At no point has he been clearly winning this fight" Hanabi said grimly as Naruto side-stepped a pillar of sand and rushed to attack the redhead. Neji nodded in agreement.

"As much as I despise him, Gaara is approaching him perfectly. He's enforcing a long distance, and putting the impetus on Uzumaki-san to cross it. The time it takes him to close that gap is more than ample for Gaara to either intercept him with something or prepare a defensive maneuver" he said as Gaara ducked under a kick aimed for his head.

"Naruto-kun's best successes have come when he manages to draw the sand in one direction before changing his trajectory shortly afterwards. He's landed clean several times doing it, but it isn't enough" Hinata interjected. The moment the sentence left her mouth, Gaara was sent reeling by a headbutt from Naruto, which was soon followed by a hard kick to the sand ninja's stomach.

"Gaara has absolutely no answer for him at close range. The difference in speed, power, and technical acumen is staggering. Luckily for him, he's nonsensically durable. He's just shrugging off sickeningly forceful punches and kicks as though they never connected to begin with" Neji said with a shake of his head. The Jinchuuriki in question's head was then snapped back by a sharp, left-handed punch from Naruto. Hinata leaned forward in her seat and looked on hopefully.

"Naruto-kun seems to have found his range. In the last minute, he's landed more strikes than he has the entire match as a whole" she said. Her family collectively nodded in agreement as their comrade continued to find ways around Gaara's sand and punish him with strikes.

Little did they know, Naruto was about to be a victim of his own success.


Naruto grinned and bared his fangs as Gaara staggered and fell to his back twenty feet away. The konoha genin had hit upon a method to bypass the sand completely by accident, but it had netted him more success than he had experienced at any point previously.

'Those sand tendrils are attracted to chakra. They follow it around until they can touch, and eventually crush it. If you just leave a piece of your chakra lying around, the sand will ignore you for a second' he reviewed within his mind as he watched the redhead rise to his feet. To his surprise, Gaara was not distressed or frustrated in the least. Quite contrary to what would have seemed to have been a logical reaction, he was laughing.

"Good, good. Much better. About time you showed some backbone. Rather impressive for a cretin, I must say" he said as he dusted himself off and cracked his neck. Naruto scowled.

"Big talk coming from the guy who just picked himself up off the ground for the third time in five minutes" he retorted. The redhead tilted his head to one side and smirked.

"You really haven't pieced it together yet, have you?" he asked. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and stepped forward.

"What are you on about? There isn't anything to 'piece together'. I'm beating you into a bloody paste" he snapped defiantly. Gaara stood up straight and locked eyes with his foe.

"Keep your eyes on mine. Tell me what you notice" he ordered. The blonde indulged the redhead and stared into his irises for a moment before the truth of his situation slapped him across the face. Gaara's grin widened.

"Ah, you've figured it out. You aren't the only Jinchuuriki in this arena, Naruto. I still have my Tailed-Beast to tap into" he said, his eyes shifting from blue to gold in color. A surge of wind then blew through the arena, scattering sand and throwing Naruto's hair back. The blonde clenched his jaw and took a step back as Gaara's chakra increased in intensity.

"Before we continue, I think we should do something about this deafening crowd" the sand ninja said. He then raised a hand toward the sky and looked to the pair of Kage observing the match. He then snapped his fingers. In an instant, the cheers and screams of the attending crowd vanished, leaving an unsettling silence. Naruto's eyes widened.

"What did you do?!" he demanded as he struggled to process the unnatural lack of sound permeating the stadium. Gaara raised his hands in a gesture of faux defensiveness.

"I myself did nothing. I simply gave a signal. As for why things are suddenly so quiet, worry not, for your comrades and countrymen are perfectly healthy. They've just been put to sleep. A genjutsu" he explained. The blonde growled.

"Let me guess, you're invading us?" he asked tensely, struggling to control his temper as he silently weighed his options. Gaara nodded and smiled.

"Yes, we are. I personally feel that it's unnecessary, but I have no control over such decisions. I'm simply here for the fun of it. In fact, I wouldn't even be present if this invasion hadn't been planned. With my heritage and level of strength, I would have been promoted eventually without needing to take this exam at all. Not that something as superficial as a promotion matters to me" he replied. Naruto stepped into his taijutsu stance.

"Why are you being so talkative? Shouldn't your plans be kept secret?" he asked skeptically as he prepared to attack his foe. The sand ninja gave him a dark look and called his sand to his side.

"Because you won't live long enough for that information to be of any use to you" he said before sending out a dozen tendrils of blood-stained sand the blonde's way. Naruto evaded them with relative ease at first, but was eventually seized by the ankle and launched into the arena wall. As he bounced off the stoney barrier, Naruto formed a spiraling sphere of chakra in his right hand, which glowed purple rather than its standard blue. He then blitzed forward with the Rasengan outstretched in front of him. The sphere carved through all of the sand that attempted to stop him, clearing him a path towards Gaara.

To his shock, his opponent stood his ground and smirked. When Naruto thrust the spiralling Jutsu towards the redhead's chest, Gaara caught hold of his wrist and planted his feet, stopping the excitable genin in his tracks. Naruto grunted and attempted to push the Rasengan closer to Gaara's chest, but found himself unable to budge his fellow Jinchuuriki.

'He's a lot stronger. I can't move him' he thought frantically as the sand ninja's grip on his wrist tightened. The blonde then opted to abandon his original tactic. He allowed his jutsu to dissipate before stepping forward and swiping Gaara across his jaw with a quick, left handed punch. The strike made the redhead flinch and release Naruto's wrist.

Naruto attempted to follow up with another punch, this time with his right hand, but was cracked on the temple by a hard, left-handed punch from Gaara that forced him to momentarily take a knee. The redhead opted to simply watch Naruto rise to his feet rather than pursue him further. The konoha genin glanced up to where the Hyuga family was sitting and sighed inwardly when he spotted Hiashi and Neji waking Hinata and Hanabi. He then turned his attention back to the newly empowered Gaara.

'You guys had better find a way to fix this genjutsu thing, because I've got my hands full'


Shikamaru groaned as he was shaken back to reality. For what had seemed like hours, the shadow user had been trapped in a soft, silent room of birds feathers. The moment he had found himself in the room, the lazy genin knew he was in an illusion. Unfortunately, Shikamaru possessed neither the skillful finesse or the appropriate chakra reserves to dispel said illusion.

As his vision cleared, the shadow user was able to make out the outline of Neji, who had propped him up against the wall of the seating area. After a moment or two, Shikamaru began to rise to his feet.

"What happened? Spare no details" he asked. The Hyuga prodigy shrugged and gestured to the massive crowd of incapacitated villagers and foreigners.

"I'm as lost as you are. Out of absolutely nowhere, a large-scale genjutsu was cast over the arena. Hiashi-sama and I were able to resist it and remain conscious. We immediately woke Hanabi-sama and HInata-sama, who are waking people as we speak" he explained quickly. The sound of a large explosion then tore through the stadium. Shikamaru made his way to the railing and looked down into the arena.

"Geez. Looks like they aren't bothered by all of this. They're going even harder than they were before" he commented as he turned back towards Neji. The pair was soon joined by the rest of the Hyuga family, who had apparently awoken much of the southern section of the arena and set them on their way to evacuate.

"Hokage-sama and Kazekage-sama have disappeared from sight. If I had to guess, this was orchestrated by Suna. I haven't seen a single sand ninja among the unconscious. There were at least fifty in attendance for Gaara's match, and now they're all gone. Hokage-sama has likely transported himself and Suna's leader to an alternate location to engage him in combat" Hiashi theorized. Hinata nodded in agreement.

"From the looks of it, Naruto-kun is operating under a similar mentality. He's clearly doing his best to confine Gaara to this arena, and is making sure that none of their clashes affect the crowd" she said. Neji then turned to Shikamaru and gestured to Hanabi.

"Nara-san, would you be willing to escort Hanabi-sama out of the stadium and back to the Hyuga Estate? I would rather if she weren't so near the commotion" he requested politely. The young Hyuga opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by a stern look from her father.

"I second that notion. You will compensate, Nara-san. Trust me" he said to Shikamaru, who shook his head and began to lead Hanabi towards a flight of stairs that lead down to the base of the stadium.

"I don't want your money or any publicity. I'll do it regardless" he said as he pulled Hanabi along. Before he could take her down the stairs, Hiashi called out to him.

"When you arrive at the Estate, take her to the leftmost house. Once you're inside, go to the basement. I feel as though this conflict may take awhile to resolve" he said. Shikamaru nodded and took Hanabi down the stairs. Once he and the young Hyuga were out of sight, Hiashi turned to Neji and Hinata.

"Alright, we still have plenty of people to awaken and evacuate. It may take quite some time, but we must complete this task" he said authoritatively. The Hyuga children nodded and set off to wake a slew of nearby villagers. The clan head heaved a deep breath and prepared to join in.

"Need some help?"

Hiashi whirled around to see Kakashi and Guy leaning against the wall, both of them wearing solemn looks on their faces. The elder Hyuga sighed in relief.

"Yes, that would be much appreciated" he said as he shook a man awake and re-balanced his chakra-clow. Kakashi and Guy then began to do the same.

"We have Kurenai working on the genjutsu itself, so there's a chance that this issue will be solved all at once fairly soon" Kakashi informed Hiashi. The silver haired ninja then glanced over the railing and winced.

"Looks like Naruto is having a rough go at things right now. Oh well. We have to trust him. We have more important things to be worrying about" he said. The clan head raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?" he asked skeptically. Kakashi responded by drawing a kunai and stabbing it into an unconscious body, which immediately morphed into that of a Suna ninja.

"They've hidden soldiers amongst the fallen" Hiashi breathed, immediately activating his Byakugan and scanning the area, spotting a large number of enemy ninja feigning sleep.

"There's at least two hundred of them. More than I had estimated" he muttered. The 'sleeping' ninja then began to rise, disturbed by the murder of their comrade. As their numbers became more apparent, Guy grinned and slapped his comrades on the shoulder.

"Come, my friends. It's time for a friendly little competition. The first to forty bodies is owed a dinner paid for by the losers" he announced as he kicked an oncoming sand ninja down into the arena, where he was crushed by Gaara's sand. For a brief moment, Kakashi and Hiashi were kindred spirits, with an identical thought crossing their minds as they sighed.

'Some things never change'


Shikamaru chewed his lip absently as he and Hanabi trekked through the surprisingly long and winding hallway of the stadium. Directional cues were plastered on the walls, meaning they would not lose their way, but the journey had already gone on for far longer than the shadow user had anticipated.

"Are we almost out?" Hanabi whined as Shikamaru led her along. Just as the lazy genin was about to respond with a vague, unknowing answer, the shine of sunlight showed around the corner of the hall.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked tiredly, earning a nod from the young Hyuga as they approached the exit. Once they rounded the corner, however, Shikamaru froze and put a firm hand on Hanabi's shoulder to stop her from advancing any further. Standing between the exit and the pair of konoha ninja was Temari, who had reclaimed her fan from the wall, and was still sporting a litany of cuts from her battle with the shadow user.

"Imagine meeting you here, Shikamaru" she greeted blankly, earning a narrowed glare from the shadow user. Shikamaru stepped in front of Hanabi and folded his arms across his chest.

"Cut the crap. What is it you want?" he demanded calmly. The sand kunoichi scowled and stepped forward towards the pair.

"Should be pretty obvious. I'm here to intercept you. To make sure you don't go any further than you already have" she said bluntly. Shikamaru sighed and assumed a taijutsu stance.

"I really don't feel like fighting you again. I don't like hitting women. Then again, you look a whole lot more masculine than most of the girls I know, so maybe I won't mind as much" he said. Temari barked a short laugh and reached for her fan.

"Feminine or not, I'm a whole lot less tired than you are. This won't end well for you" she said menacingly. The shadow user's eye twitched a bit.

'She's right, as much as I hate to admit it. I'm still exhausted. I don't know how, but she looks as fresh as she did when our match started' he thought to himself somewhat frantically. He then glanced over his shoulder at Hanabi, who was looking quite afraid.

'I've got to get her out of here. Temari is probably going to kill me, but that doesn't matter. She needs to survive' he thought as he looked back to his foe.

"At least let the kid pass. She's of no threat to you, and she doesn't have any information. I'll give you a fight if you do" he reasoned. After a moment of silence, Temari nodded, shocking the Nara.

"She's got twenty seconds to get lost. If she isn't gone by then, I'll carve her up" she said. Hanabi looked to Shikamaru in a panic, but was urged forward by the shadow user.

"Run, and go to the basement like your father told you to. Don't argue" he ordered. Hanabi reluctantly nodded and sprinted past the fan wielder. Once she was gone and out of earshot, Temari and Shikamaru prepared to engage.

"Be real, you aren't under any orders to guard this exit. If you were, you wouldn't have let her go. You just came here to look for me" the shadow user said. Temari smirked.

"So what if I did? I'm a competitive person, and I hate losing. I'm going to make you regret letting me live" she said while unfurling her fan. Shikamaru sighed.

"Honestly, killing me is a favor. Being a ninja kind of sucks" he replied tiredly. The fan wielder shook her head and licked her lips.

"Kill you? No, that's not what I'm going to do. Let's just say you're going to have a change of scenery"


A/N: DUN DUN DUN. I know that the transition happened quick, but it didn't really need to be all that elaborate. Hope you all enjoyed it :)

See you next chapter! Read and Review!