Naruto bounced lightly on the heels of his feet, obviously anxious to get his own match started. Both Sasuke and Sakura had already won their matches and it was up to him to not let them down. He needed to win his own match. It would be embarrassing to be the only member of Team 7 that didn't make it to finals.

Below him, Shikamaru Nara had just been declared the winner of his match. He had been pitted against the female sound genin, Ken? Kin? Kun? Didn't matter. The previous match had been the female sand genin versus a leaf genin. Naruto was unsure of their names, having paid no attention during the match. That had taken place right after Sakuras, he had been too busy watching over her to really care about the battle.

Now though, it was his turn.

Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka

With a grin, Naruto didn't hesitate to vault over the railing to get into the arena. Nearby, Kiba was doing the exact same.

"I've been waiting forever for this...Sorry Kiba, Don't take it personally if I blow you away!"

Naruto was standing in front of the other genin with a large grin on his face, hands clasped behind his head. His posture was relaxed and his expression was carefree. Naruto knew this would be an easy battle for him. Regardless of how he looked on the outside, he was already running through what he knew of Kiba. Kakashi had practically drilled into them prior to the exams that winging it wouldn't be enough. While he wasn't the brightest, he knew he could come up with a decent plan if needed.

At least he hoped he could.

Naruto knew a bit about Kiba's abilities from their time at the academy. That gave him something to work with.

I could use Sakura right now, she'd know exactly how to take him down.

"That's my line! Er, except not that politely! Right Akamaru?"

A high pitched bark punctuated his words.

"Yeah, well, talkings easy! Let's see what you say after I win!"

"Shut up, kid." Kiba scoffed as he carefully set Akamaru onto the ground beside him. Naruto wasn't surprised that the dog was going to fight as well. Kiba had certainly boasted enough about his clan in the academy, though Naruto had tuned him out for the most part.

"Look, I feel sorry for you. I'll make this quick."

Kiba sure is cocky for someone that's about to get his ass beat.

"Is that right? You're dumber than you look if you think you can beat me." Naruto kept his posture casual and the conversation flowing. Anger would force him to make mistakes, then it wouldn't matter if he actually had a plan or not.

"You sure talk tough for such a little kid."

Hayate looked between the two in slight annoyance before speaking up,

"Right. Begin when you're ready."

Kiba suddenly crouched down, hands forming a single hand sign. Blue chakra formed around him, flowing harshly in the air. When Kiba's hands hit the ground, his nails began to grow longer, sharper. Naruto straightened up, preparing himself for when Kiba would strike.

The Inuzuka then pounced, quicker than Naruto expected. Unfortunately for Kiba, Naruto had been training with Kakashi for situations like this. Dodging this strike would be easy for him. At the last second, Naruto decided to let the strike against his stomach connect.

Let him underestimate me.

The blow sent him flying back, crashing rather ungracefully to the hard stone. Naruto let himself lay there in the dust for a moment as he pretended to be out for the count.

"Might as well call the match now. He'll be out for a while."

Naruto heard Kiba's laugh ring out, loud and clear. There were a few murmurs from the other genin in the viewing area. No doubt they also assumed the match was over. He heard Hayate let out a small cough and took that as his cue to get up. Making a big show of being hurt as he slowly stood up, Naruto allowed a small smirk to appear on his face.

"That isn't possible! You-"

"Don't you ever underestimate me!" Naruto's voice was loud as he finally straightened up. Shifting his stance, he easily fell into a simple taijutsu form. He could see Kiba's composure crack, no longer sure of himself. The genin cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward, smirk faltering.

"Ah, whatever. More tough talk? Look in the mirror. You're a mess!"

Naruto's smirk grew into a wide grin and there was a hint of excitement in his eyes. Kiba definitely wasn't someone he considered a friend but Naruto would be lying if he said he hadn't missed their banter.

Though Kiba probably wasn't being friendly.

"I just wanted to see what you've got, you hit like an old lady! I'd tap out now and let that puppy fight for you. Might be the only way you win this!"

There was a flash of anger in Kiba's eyes as he seemed to ready himself to pounce again, Akamaru crouching low beside him. Both were ready to end this battle. Naruto couldn't wait to wipe the floor with him.

"You're going to regret that."

With that said, Kiba and Akamaru launched themselves towards Naruto.

Naruto prepared himself to fight the both of them as his eyes darted between the two. He wasn't about to hurt the puppy, so this would make it hard. Restraining the dog would be his best chance to give himself the time needed to take Kiba down. While it was expected for Akamaru to get hurt in this battle, Naruto wasn't going to do that. It was a mock battle after all and he didn't want to accidentally permanently injure the dog somehow.

Kiba's hand suddenly darted to his side as he dug into a pouch. Bracing himself to dodge a few shuriken, Naruto wasn't expecting the smoke bombs that got thrown instead.

Shit! I can't see!

Naruto barely managed to twist out of the way of the first punch thrown his way, unable to see Kiba due to the purple smoke blurring his vision. Trying to rely on his other senses wasn't much help either, due to Kiba moving too fast for him to react in time. Deciding he had enough, Naruto waited for Kiba to strike once more before he dashed forward to get out of the smoke.

Vision finally clear, Naruto was about to use the only wind jutsu he knew when a small force suddenly attached itself to his arm. Stumbling back into the smoke, Naruto groaned when he realized that Kiba had left Akamaru outside the smoke to attack him the moment he came out.

I hate dogs.

Thinking fast, Naruto grabbed Akamaru by the scruff tightly and tugged him off before holding him close to his chest and summoning a clone. Safely hidden in the smoke, he tossed the dog to his clone before transforming himself into Akamaru. His clone quickly laid down, covering Akamaru with his body to keep him hidden and unable to move.

Moments later the smoke cleared, revealing what seemed to be an unconscious Naruto and Akamaru.

"Way to-"

Kibas joyful shout was cut short by Akamaru bounding towards him with a growl. Latching onto his arm tightly, Naruto made sure to shake his head a bit much like a dog would.

"Akamaru, what are you doing?" Kiba was clearly confused though he made no move to pull the puppy off his arm. Naruto hadn't even bitten through the jacket, how unfortunate. Letting go and jumping back, Naruto allowed his real voice to seep out,

"You really should wash that jacket, you know!"

Naruto let go of the transformation and stood proudly in front of Kiba. His hands were shoved into his pockets, mimicking a stance that Sasuke would probably take. The few gasps he heard from the genin above were satisfying to his ears.

I can't wait to prove them all wrong.

"What'd you do with Akamaru?!"

The Naruto clone leapt up with a grin, holding Akamaru in his hands. He was holding him rather weirdly, hands wrapped around both front paws so the dog just sorta hung down in front of him. A normal dog probably would have tried to scramble away already.

"He's right here." The clone laughed, shaking Akamaru slightly with the movement. The dog growled at him but made no move to get free.

"How did- Okay. Fine. If I were you, I'd let Akamaru go." With a flick of his thumb, Kiba sent a small dark pill flying towards the dog. Naruto tensed up, though his hands stayed in his pockets. He wanted to see exactly what this would do before he made a move, the clone could take a hit for him if needed.

It only took a few seconds for Akamaru's fur to turn a dark red after the pill was swallowed. He seemed to puff his fur out, looking more ferocious than he did prior to the pill. The dog seemed to swing forward before his back legs kicked out at the clone. The strike immediately dispeled the fake Naruto.

This complicates things. Okay. I can handle this. No biggie.

Then he watched as Kiba seemed to take the exact same pill.

Okay maybe not.

Akamaru jumped up onto Kiba's back as the genin formed a hand sign, face growing more feral as the pill took effect.

"Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

There was visible chakra as the jutsu took hold of Kiba, it's rippling movements wild. Kiba was crouched low to the ground, a wide, feral grin on his face. With a puff of smoke, the dog on his back was now a mirrored image of the leaf genin.

"Jūjin Bunshin!"

Any plan he might have was now out the window. In his need to prove everyone wrong, he had underestimated just how much Kiba himself might have changed since the academy. All he could do now was dodge the strikes coming from both Kiba and Akamaru. His speed was faster than before, much faster, and although Kiba was unable to land a hit, Naruto was struggling to stay on his feet.

"This really should be considered cheating." Naruto mumbled under his breath as he narrowly stumbled out of reach of one of Kiba's fists. "Or give me one to even the playing field."

Using a flip to get away, Naruto put some distance between them in order to catch his breath. He still had plenty of chakra to use for the match as long as he wore Kiba out soon. There was no way he could get a good hit in with the genin still strong from the pill he took. Naruto was about to step forward to throw himself back towards Kiba when he was stopped by a yell,

"Gatsūga!"

Coming towards him were two large cyclone-like shapes, the air rippling around them from the intensity of the jutsu. Naruto only had a split second to react before they connected with his body. His arms took the brunt of the force as he tried to keep himself from being thrown to the ground. The strength behind the blow was too much for him however, and within moments he was being thrown back.

A rough groan left him as he crashed to the ground, forehead smacking the ground painfully. The impact left him disoriented as he let his body rest for just a moment.

This better not have cracked my headband.

He could vaguely feel something wet coating his skin though he didn't dare open his eyes or move as he tried to quell the pain.

"I told you it was going to get serious."

Kiba was still being obnoxious, but Naruto was done indulging in their little word spar. That's twice now that Kiba has knocked him to the ground, even if one was on purpose. He had planned to get out of this match with no injuries but Kiba seemed determined to make him work for the win.

Getting to his feet was harder than he thought it was going to be, his vision blurring slightly as he slowly pulled himself up. There was now a dull pain radiating from underneath his headband. Blood slipped down his skin from below the cloth as well. Swaying slightly on his feet, Naruto blinked a few times to clear his vision before taking a deep breath in.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to end this now. Can't be the only one on my team to lose after all, I've got a reputation to uphold." Shifting his head back to look up at the Hokage in the viewing area, he grinned widely. "Afterall, It would look bad if the future Hokage lost here."

"Whatever, it's your funeral." Kiba's voice was mocking, a sneer on his face as he readied himself down on all fours. "One more hit should do it."

This time, when Kiba used the cyclone jutsu, Naruto was prepared. Though he was still too lightheaded to use his full speed, he was able to swiftly evade the attacks. It wasn't hard to see that Kiba wasn't able to change directions quick enough when in this form which allowed Naruto to flip and twist around the blows. There were a few close scraps but those were quickly ignored.

It was obvious Kiba was getting annoyed by the way he ended the jutsu and stepped back a bit to reassess the situation. Without saying a word, the genin tossed a few smoke bombs onto the ground and once again activated the jutsu. He only had a few seconds before it would be too late to dodge, so he narrowly avoided getting hit by Kiba while flashing through the signs for the transformation jutsu.

When the smoke cleared, there were now three Kiba's standing around.

"What the- This won't work on me." A flash of confusion had shone on his face before it was replaced with a smirk. Naruto kept his face neutral and didn't both dodging or blocking the fist Kiba sent his way. Allowing himself to be sent flying back sucked but it was necessary for his plan. As he came to rest on the ground, he allowed the transformation jutsu to drop.

Instead of changing back to his normal self however, he was now once again taking the appearance of Akamaru.

"I could smell you…" Kiba's words trailed off as he stared at the prone body of the transformed Naruto. "How?!"

Naruto stayed still, hoping his plan worked. It only took a few moments of Kiba staring before the genin turned on his heel and sent a strike towards the actual Akamaru.

"A ninja must see through deception."

Or at least that's what Kakashi had said before.

Kiba had been so focused on the other Kiba turning into Akamaru as well that he was unable to block Naruto's roundhouse kick. The strike connected with Kiba's jaw, sending him crashing to the ground. Using a shunshin to get closer to him, Naruto waited for Kiba to stand up fully before beginning their taijutsu battle. Kiba seemed to have lost the effects of the pill and was much slower now.

Naruto didn't hold back with his strikes, and for every hit that was blocked, two connected in its place. Kiba was unable to hit Naruto now, who was easily evading his fists. When it became clear that Kiba wasn't going to last much longer with the abuse he was taking, Naruto quickly used a shunshin to get behind him before his hands flipped through the signs for a familiar jutsu.

"Fūton: Reppūshō!"

His hands clapping together activated the jutsu, and Naruto struggled to balance the amount of chakra he needed for it to be useful. The hiss of the wind that seemed to fly from his hands was much larger than he planned, the force of it sending Kiba flying towards the back wall of the arena. He hit the wall with a deep thump before slumping to the ground.

Naruto bit down hard on his inner cheek in worry. He hadn't meant to use that much chakra, it seemed like Kiba was unconscious. That hadn't been his plan, but as long as he was okay then it didn't really matter.

Well I do feel a little guilty..

The proctor stepped over to Kiba and inspected him for a moment before turning back towards Naruto and nodding,

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!"

The last three matches went by quickly. Kabutos other teammates, the one that hadn't fought Sasuke, ended up facing Chōji. Unfortunately it ended up a loss for Chōji. The other genin was able to stretch his limbs out and easily restrained him despite his expanding technique. After that was the last sound genin versus Hinata. Though they cheered her on as much as they could, Hinata was no match for Dosu. Her lack of confidence in her abilities led to Dosu almost killing her. The proctor had stepped in at the last moment to end the match.

The last match was between two leaf genin that Sakura was unfamiliar with. Neji Hyūga and Rock Lee. It looked like the two were teammates and the one in the green jumpsuit seemed to be very excited for this matchup. Sakura could see that he was holding back as well, based on the irritation on the Hyūga's face during the battle. Though he was defeated, Rock Lee expressed joy at being beaten by someone like Neji and vowed to have a rematch later.

Once the final match was over, the Hokage made his way down to the arena floor and called out for the winners of the matches to stand before him. Sakura and Naruto made their way down together, Kakashi having left moments prior with a request that they relay the final exam info to him later.

"In one month from now, the final exam will take place. Each of you will put your battle skills on display, and we expect you to show the power and control that is fitting of a Chunin. This month-long preparation period will allow each of you to train and learn some new tricks, as everyone here has seen your battles and will know how you fight."

Anko stepped up with a box in her hand, heading towards Dosu when the hokage gave her a nod.

"Take one piece of paper. When that is done, Ibiki here will ask for you to each state your number. Then we will proceed to the final lineup."

Once that was finished, they were informed of the final matchups.

Round 1 - Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyūga

Round 2 - Temari vs Shikamaru Nara

Round 3 - Sakura Haruno vs Dosu Kinata

Round 4 - Shino Aburame vs Misumi Tsurugi

Round 5 - Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara

The winners of round 1 and 2 would fight each other, and so forth. The winner between the winners of round 3 and 4 would have to fight an extra battle against the winner of round 5. Sakura internally groaned as she realized that there was a very real chance it could be her.

Then again, her opponent was Dosu. The sound genin.

There was no way she was a match for him, a month was not enough time to get her to that type of level. He had taken Hinata down so quickly, and the girl had a kekkei genkai to back her up. Sakura didn't have an ability like that to fall back on.

Plus there was the added factor of her being absolutely terrified to face him. He would have no issues killing her, she knew that.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Sakura focused on the Hokage again as he continued to explain the final round. Minutes later, they were being dismissed. Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm and hurried towards the entrance, ignoring his shout of confusion. She wanted to get out of there quickly and find Kakashi. He had mentioned he would most likely be at the hospital with Sasuke so that would be their first stop.

Then it would be time to begin training.

Short chapter. Next chapter will be a long one detailing the month before finals.

Shikyaku no Jutsu - Four Legs Technique

Jūjin Bunshin - Beast Human Clone

Gatsūga - Fang Passing Fang

Fūton: Reppūshō - Wind Release: Gale Palm