Yes I know, its been more than a week, but here's the next chapter! This one took a bit longer since it diverges a bit from canon since Fu didn't originally make her appearance in the Konoha Chunin Exams in canon, plus her abilities her never really fully gone over. Thus I had a bit of creative freedom in abilities she can use. And before you ask, yes, she can still use the ninjutsu that she has in the show and anime, but you'll see what I have in mind for her.

As for some of the comments...

First off, sorry but I do like Hinata. Though yes, she does need some amount of character development. Like becoming more confident about herself to a level she doesn't always need Naruto to motivate her out of it. Though of course it isn't NaruHina centric, so rest easy on that part. And all the girls will have things to boast about at some point, so she'll get there.

Second, as for the CRA thing, Naruto doesn't really know too much yet, and I kinda plan for it to be dropped on him in a comedic way. Basically he'll eventually just go along with it. But to make you all feel better, he gets to choose, not the dumbass council. And besides, its not like he'll be the one inviting the girls...rather they'll want in XD

Third, as for Orochimaru's substitution, I was thinking more along the lines of he got scared enough that he wasn't thinking straight to just use that to get out of the way. Though yes, I will have characters use it when necessary.

Fourth, with the Yoroi thing...yes that isn't how it works in canon, but I made it this way in here. I just think of it as while the Rinnegan's path can absorb chakra ENDLESSLY, Yoroi can only absorb so much. So in this case, think of his abilties as a downgrade to that Rinnegan path. Also, he isn't seen again anyways after the preliminaries in canon (unless he's in Naruto filler for some dumb reason), so does anyone really care?

And Five, Ayame will be joining the harem, though I got another plan for Fu.

In any case, I'll just say I don't own Naruto and its stuff. Just the story here, the OCs, and custom techniques are what I own. Now enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 17: Explosive Conclusion

Hopefully the last time at the damn Tower in the Forest of Death, Konohagakure, Land of Fire

Kakashi saw the names on the board and decided to put his orange book away for once in a while.

"Well, this might be a good match. And no Naruto, it won't be a strategy one." he said, also having answered the question Naruto was about to ask.

It was Sakura who then asked him "Is this Fu person also a specialist in Taijutsu or something?"

Kakashi simply nodded at that. Sakura pondered for a bit at the man's answer.

Asuka looked over at the now ecstatic boy in green tights that seemed quite hype at finally getting his chance to get in the ring, and the girl that pumped her fist about finally getting the chance to get down in the arena. The Uchiha girl disguised as a boy then activated her sharingan. From what she knew based on Sakura's fighting style, Lee would be fast. Likely faster than the pinkette. Meanwhile, the mint haired girl was a mystery at the moment.

Though if she was also a taijutsu user, Asuka thought that it might be a good idea to memorize their styles to bring into her own. Fortunately, at least for Gai's techniques, she could imply she got them from Sakura.

As for Naruto…

So then that means it'll be some sort of super awesome fist fight, right? Naruto asked his father and the Kyuubi with his thoughts.

Minato nodded as answered "Most likely. Based on Lee's style of clothing and what we know from Sakura, he is much like Gai and Gai's own master. As a result he'll use taijutsu that focuses on speed and power."

"And from what I know, due to how Chomei's jinchuuriki ability works, that girl can take a hit and hit back with brute force. So yes, this will be interesting to watch. Well...as interesting to watch as two genin fleshbags fighting each other could be." The Kyuubi added to Minato's response.

The two fighters then both jumped over the railing and down onto the arena floor across from each other, with Hayate in between them.

"Yoosh! Time to show the power of YOUTH!" Lee said with excitement.

Fu pondered for a moment, and then asked the boy "Hey question. Want to keep this to taijutsu only? Hasn't been enough of that in here. Plus that fight between those two Hyuugas has gotten me a bit hyped."

Of course, Lee being the ever so honest person he was, proclaimed "Not to worry! I can't use anything other than taijutsu anyways! It's my goal to prove even without nin or genjutsu, I can be a splendid ninja!"

Of course, everyone besides Gai sweatdropped at his proclamation, as he literally revealed what his main weaknesses would be in a manner of speaking.

Sakura of course facepalmed. She knew about it, and while yes, it was a respectable goal, he basically yelled at his enemy "Please use genjutsu on me!"

However, much to everyone's surprise, Fu simply laughed and said "Is that right!? I like that! That sounds kinda cool if you think about it! I can use a few ninjutsu, but I prefer tai anyways. So whatever you called it...power of youth I think...let's show them our power of youth then"

It was at this point everyone other than the boy in the ring, the blonde ninja boy, and the spandex wearing sensei all had their jaws hit the floor.

D-did she just get converted to Gai's youth-ism!? They all thought. Even Orochimaru was thinking on the same line as them.

Meanwhile Naruto pointed at them and said "...is it just me...or am I vaguely seeing that weird genjutsu Lee and Gai use normally?"

Both Minato and Kyuubi replied at the same time "...we're just gonna pretend we didn't see that…stop copying me. I said stop copying me. What are an Uchiha? STOP!"

Though of course, Naruto wasn't really paying attention to their bit of an argument about who was copying whose words.

Gai meanwhile had his thumb up as he spoke "That's right! Show them the power of YOUTH!" He also felt pride for another reason he couldn't quite understand, but chose not to care. He was also interested in the match from what they knew based on the mint haired jinchuriki's dossier.

Hayate managed to get himself back together and then made his announcement.

"Ehem. Match 9: Lee Vs Fu. BEGIN!"

The moment he jumped back, both of the fighters flew towards each other, their fists colliding with each other in the middle of the arena.

"Hey, you're not bad!" Fu said with a grin on her face.

"The same to you!" Lee said before he backed off slightly to then jump forwards again.

"Leaf Hurricane!" He yelled as he jumped towards the girl.

The girl in response blocked the attack with her arms crossed, which resulted in her being pushed back, though there wasn't any sign of much damage except for a bit of dirt on her clothing.

"Wow, she took Lee's attack head on and without much damage, why is that?" Sakura said, slightly impressed.

For once, Naruto was the one who answered the question.

"Well, from what I know about the other 'eight', the one she has gives her...um…"

"Adaptive Armor." Minato spoke from inside the seal to help the boy out.

"Right, Adaptive Armor. Basically she can...um...adapt her body to whatever she's attacked with to some extent...I think." Naruto answered her.

Both Minato and the Kyuubi nodded within his mindscape. His answer was good enough to at least be passing.

Haku then spoke "Wait, if she's one of the 'nine', doesn't that mean Lee could be in trouble?"

Kakashi shook his head and spoke "No. Taki is allied with us, and she seems much more sane than that young man from Sand. That and also…"

"Nice...but you're gonna need more than that!" Fu said with a smile on her face as she then jumped towards him, fist raised.

"I think she's a taijutsu battle junkie." Kakashi said with a bit of a sweatdrop, to which all of team 7 did the same.

Fu closed the gap and swung her fist in front of her in a haymaker fashion. In this situation, Lee chose to dodge the attack with a hop to the left. And it turned out he made the right decision as after he dodged her fist hit the ground it caused a small crater.

Lee's eyes narrowed a bit before he then went in for another attack with his own fist. However, the girl simply blocked it with one arm. However, Lee wasn't done yet as he made a leg sweep. However, the girl noticed his motive and jumped over the attack, though the leg did graze past the bottom of her back foot. She then kicked out with her front foot, forcing Lee to block the attack and get pushed away. All while grinning like the taijutsu junkie she was.

He frowned a little as he noticed the slight ache in the arm that blocked Fu's attack as he thought She hits quite hard and her defense as well. And while she isn't as fast as me, her reflexes allow her to keep up.

Fu then closed in again, throwing powerful attacks that Lee decided to either dodge or parry rather than block head on.

Just as he managed to break away from her again, up in the stands Gai shouted "Lee! Take them off!"

Lee then jumped back on top of the finger statue and replied "Gai-sensei! Are you sure? I'm not protecting anyone!"

"It's alright! This is the moment to show your skills. And I'm sure she would rather fight you with everything you have!" Gai responded back to his student.

Fu chuckled a little as she said "He's not wrong!"

Lee nodded and then took the leg warmers he had on his feet off, revealing there had been weights put inside of them.

Kankuro from his spot snickered "Oh, like a couple of weights is gonna make that much of a difference!"

Lee then let go of the weights and let them fall to the floor...which resulted in two craters and plumes of dust to appear where they hit. Kankuro and a few others had their mouths wide open, while Sakura simply said "You know, its only two weights...but both of them weigh at least a few thousand kilograms."

The rest of Team 7, minus Kakashi, had their eyes wide open at said statement. That meant Lee was basically somehow walking and moving above the normal person with ridiculously heavy weights the whole time they knew him.

Kakashi simply shrugged since he knew Gai used even heavier weights on himself.

"Damn...that's kinda badass." Naruto said, his opinion of the bushy brow ninja now raised above the previous 'friends who will persevere to get Sakura's affections'.

Inside Sakura's mind though...her inner self said "And we got even heavier weights!"

Sakura nodded to her inner self's statement. The fact was that her weights that were hidden in her boots were just a thousand or so kilograms above Lee's.

It was then her Inner Self came to a realization.

"Wait...if you took them off...we could have actually hit Orochi-teme, right?" Her Inner self asked.

Sakura facepalmed at the realization.

Naruto noticed it and asked her "Uh, you alright Sakura-chan?"

Sakura replied "I'm fine. Don't worry about it Naruto."

"Don't you mean Naruto-kun?" her Inner Self commented. While she tried to ignore it, she couldn't help but blush for a moment.

"You sure?" Naruto asked again.

"I said I'm fine baka!" She retorted back with her fist raised, hoping to split them apart for the moment. She also turned her head away while she calmed herself enough to stop blushing.

Naruto shrugged as he thought Sakura was being her usual, somewhat violent, self.

Haku on the other hand noticed the blush Sakura had and thought Yep, definitely teasing her later. Might as well say she's becoming a tsundere. Maybe I could get Kakashi-sensei and Asuka-san to help me with that, fufufu.

Back on the arena below, just as the weights hit the ground, Fu could feel her grin widen.

Oh this is gonna be good! She thought with glee.

Meanwhile, Chomei sighed "Oh great, she's in junkie mode again. Still impressive that he was fighting Fu with that much extra weight though."

Lee then disappeared from the finger statue above, his speed now only visible to those of the jonin level or above, those with sharingan, those with enhanced senses, or those who had similar training.

Fu's eyes widened as she then moved her arm to block Lee's kick that came from the side.

"Whoa that's fast!" She shouted as she slid back.

However, Lee wasn't done just yet as he pursued the girl. He laid out a barrage of kicks and punches from all sorts of angles, using his speed to move all around her as he made his attacks. However, her reflexes were still fast enough to block the blows, though now there were a few bruises here and there on her arms and other spots of her body.

Seeing as how the balance of the favor was starting to kick into Lee's favor, he took a moment to release the first two gates, chakra spilling out of his body for a moment before he dashed in for one of his signature attacks.

However, the clash was broken up as Lee's attempt to kick her from below to kick her into the air was blocked by her two hands.

"My turn! Mantis Whip!" She said as she did a flip via handstand over his leg and hook kicked him to the side of the arena and into the wall. She landed on the ground with both feet, though she waited patiently.

Lee made his way out of the debris, letting out a breath of relief as he had managed to block the attack to his side the moment before. Though he could tell that he really couldn't take another hit like that. Lee looked up over at his sensei, and after he got the nod of approval, Lee looked over at his opponent.

He smirked a little as he did so. No one had ever pushed him so far other than his sensei, Neji, and Sakura-chan. Unlike them though, he also respected the way she seemed to carry herself. Her attitude in the fight showed that she was wanted to see everything he had, and despite being able to use ninjutsu unlike himself, she preferred to use taijutsu and was very strong with it. He didn't know how well her ninjutsu was, but he could tell the girl had trained herself in herself to work with whatever part of her chakra that seemed to make herself tougher to injure.

He then yelled "Gate of Pain! Gate of Life! Gate of Limit! OPEN!"

As he did so, his chakra flared, his hair being blown upwards as he did so. His skin turned red, and blood started to come out of his nose.

Several of the spectators eyes widened in disbelief, including Neji as he hadn't expected this from Lee. Well, anyone who watched Sakura fight before wasn't too surprised other than Neji. Though of course, the only shock they had was from how the boy managed to go even further.

From inside the seal, Minato could say he was impressed. "To think that someone so young could already reach the 5th gate."

The Kyuubi snickered at his statement and said to him "Bitch please. If you think that's impressive, you should see someone who has actually mastered their jinchuriki powers."

"Looks like Lee is going all out then. Though he'll probably be out for a while afterwards." Sakura commented. She had only seen Lee use it once before in a spar with her. She only managed to win due to barely outlasting him. Of course though, Lee using up to the fifth gate was fairly rare outside of training.

Fu's eyes widened in surprise as she felt the chakra coming off of him. She then mentally spoke to Chomei Chomei, max out the impact resistance quick!

"On it already!" Chomei spoke back to her, quickly using his chakra to influence her body's defenses against impact damage.

Right after that though, Lee disappeared from sight, even from many of the jonins, and reappeared right under her.

Too fast! Fu thought. While she was able to see him coming, her body wasn't. She was then kicked into the air right where Lee wanted her. He then jumped up and proceeded to jump all around the arena, leaving craters wherever he landed and jumped back in. And with each one, he landed an attack on the mint-haired girl. She grimaced from each hit as she tried to block the attacks.

After a couple dozen of these, Lee then kicked her towards the ground, only to then send one of his bandages flying towards her, which caused her to be wrapped in the bandages. She was a bit confused as to why before she felt him tug the bandage to pull her towards him, her eyes widening in alarm.

Just as she finished being unraveled, she was right in front of Lee's foot, who then kicked her downwards as he yelled "REVERSE LOTUS!"

She was hit squarely in the stomach, causing her to cough a bit of blood right before she was sent flying straight into the ground, a plume of dust following her impact.

Lee then fell to the ground himself on his feet, though he stumbled a little as the effect of the gates wore off and the side effects began to take hold. He could feel the aching pain all over his body.

I hope that was enough to get past that defense of hers...though hopefully not too much… Lee thought as he looked into the dust cloud.

However, it was then revealed that Fu had gotten back up, though she was a bit bloody and had some bruises all over her body, as well as an especially nasty one on her stomach. She also appeared a bit shaky from the force of the attacks despite

Gonna be feeling that one for the next few days… she thought.

"Damn. I really didn't expect you to hit that hard. Just a little more and I would have really been in trouble." Fu said with a bit of a grin before she wiped the blood from her lips with her arm.

Lee replied "Is that right?...well I'm not giving up j-just yet!"

Fu looked at the boy in front of her and sighed "That last attack took a lot out of you though, right? And I'll admit, I'm not doing too good either…"

Lee nodded. He could tell his body wouldn't be able to take much more abuse either.

"So...one more attack?" Fu asked him with a smile.

For a second, Lee felt a warmth in his cheeks before he smiled and replied "One more attack."

After a few seconds of them staring down at each other from across the stage, both of them dashed at each other with as much speed as their bodies would let them, and made their attacks. They both went for a single punch towards each other's faces.

As a result of the clash however, it was Lee who fell to the ground, though Fu did catch him a bit so that it wouldn't be face first. She then sighed as she looked at the damage done to her and the boy below her.

She then smiled and said to him "That was really good fight. We should do it again sometime!"

Lee then, despite the sheer amount of pain he was feeling, gave her his signature thumbs up and grin.

However, what she said next caused his mind to overload and pass out.

"You may look a little weird, but guys like you are the kind I can get along with!"

Lee then promptly passed out both at what she just implied and at the fact as taking in her features now that his mind wasn't so focused on the fight, that she was also cute. Gai had tears of pride in his eyes at the scene. Of course, Fu panicked a little bit, asking if he was okay and telling him to not go towards the light. Though of course, Chomei knew and consoled her from within.

At the moment Lee passed out, several of the spectators along with Hayate couldn't help but think Wait...does she like him?...oh dear god, the kids two taijutsu masters would make…

Sakura however smiled at the thought...for multiple reasons.

You know, they kinda look cute together if you think about it. She thought.

"And if it works out, we won't have to deal with him constantly asking us out." Her Inner self commented.

...that too. And with the other girls around, maybe Naruto won't be so annoying to me Sakura thought back.

Of course her Inner self replied "Oh please, we both know you would take the offer after everything we've been through."

While Sakura argued with her inner self, Fu was declared the winner and both her and Lee were taken to the infirmary. Asuka smirked as she thought That was a pretty good fight. And I got some moves off of Lee. That kick into the air thing seems pretty useful. Unfortunately though, can't really use Fu's style. I'll take it though.

Naruto was hyping about the fight with his two tenants, who admitted for a chunin exams, it was decently high tier. However…

"Though the only reason it got so hectic was the matchup and the fact they were both unique ninja." Minato noted.

The Kyuubi shrugged as she said "And if she didn't really care, she could have annihilated him with Chomei. And that bit at the end though...ugh, I really would not want to imagine their kids."

Naruto tried to think of what Kyuubi mentioned, only to get several weird images to which the Kyuubi replied "Brat. Think of that again and I will find a way to slap you from in here."

Naruto scratched the back of his head at that and Minato chuckled.

Haku meanwhile was looking at the scoreboard as she said "So, I guess I will be getting the last match then."

Naruto, Sakura, and Asuka were brought out of their pondering, about to ask what she meant. The scoreboard then flashed the only remaining set of names.

Haku Yuki Vs Choji Akimichi

"Ohhhh." Naruto responded to the matchup. Naruto looked over at Choji and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him...but then again, it meant Haku would probably move up to the finals.

Asuka's response was "Well, we might get that rematch then after all."

Meanwhile, Sakura sighed. She never really minded the boy much. He was fairly nice. While no, she had no 'interest' in him, she at least thought of him as a friend.

Shikamaru looked at the matchup and told his friend "...yeah you should probably just forfeit."

Though Ino yelled "Oh hell no! If you've been hiding anything awesome like Shikamaru, you got some way to fight her!"

Choji was a bit conflicted in this situation. He understood both of his teammate's recommendations. While yes, he did have a trump card or two, it wasn't like his family's pills since those were only deemed for emergencies. Plus as far as he could tell, Team 7 was probably the strongest team amongst their current year. He was thankful though at least he wasn't fighting his friend Naruto...or kami-forbid, Sakura. He honestly still had a few goosebumps from watching her destroy the Sound trio.

It was then Asuma put a hand on his shoulder and told him "Choji, if you go in there, and fight to win, no matter the outcome, we'll go out for barbecue later. My Treat."

Shikamaru facepalmed at that while Ino gave him the thumbs up. They both knew how he would react.

"OOOOOOHHHH! FREE FOOD! I'LL DO THIS FOR YOU!" He roared, causing every single other person in the stadium besides Team 10 to sweatdrop.

Choji then rushed down the stairs to the arena while Haku simply used an ice shunpo to get down. Though of course she did first get a thumbs up from Naruto. That was motivation enough for her for the moment.

Hayate meanwhile was waiting in the middle, coughing a bit. He was just happy that other than the few good matches, this would be over soon. He really disliked spending so much time in enclosed spaces filled with dust, and after all these fights, there was a good amount of it around.

Besides, I'm sure Yugao will be happy to hear how Naruto has progressed. He thought.

As the two made it to their spots to his sides, he coughed once more and asked them "Ready?"

Choji roared "YES SIR!"

Meanwhile Haku simply nodded.

Hayate sighed and then announced to the competitors and the audience "Final match: Haku Yuki Vs Choji Akimichi. BEGIN!"

Just as he jumped away, Choji used his clan's signature jutsu.

"Expansion Jutsu!" He yelled, his body's size expanding to make his body the size of a large ball.

However, before he could use the infamous Human Boulder Jutsu, Haku sent one of her own at him. Sakura recognized the technique as the one Haku had used in their battle with Orochimaru.

"Ice Style: Frozen Waterfall Flow!" she yelled as a sphere of pressurized water formed in front of her. The water then burst forwards like a waterfall at the unprepared Akimichi and slammed him into a wall. Before he could even react the water then froze around him, turning him into a human boulder...now stuck in a giant block of ice. Furthermore, due to how his jutsu worked, it not only made him a bigger target, but since he couldn't really use his limbs in the expansion jutsu, he was now stuck.

Everyone minus Team 7 and the Hokage had their jaws on the ground in shock. Naruto and Asuka were trying their best to not laugh at the situation. Kakashi simply did his eye smile, and Sakura sighed at how that was pretty much overkill.

Though everyone in the building could swear they could hear a man laughing from somewhere far away. Of course Team 7 and the Hokage recognized who it was. Which resulted in Haku saying "...I may have overdone it a little…"

Hayate looked at her and asked "...you can undo the freezing, right?"

With a nod from her, Hayate announced "The winner of the final match of the preliminaries is Haku Yuki!"

With that, Haku made a handsign, which caused the ice to shatter, revealing the now shivering Choji.

"C-c-cold…" he muttered.

He then looked over at Asuma, and remembered what his sensei would do for them.

"B-b-but...w-worth it! F-f-f-free food!"

Of course, everyone who heard him either started laughing or facepalmed.

And with that, the matches of the preliminaries were complete. After Choji was taken out of the arena by medics in case he had caught hypothermia or frostbite, the Hokage asked for all of the winners of the previous matches went down to the arena floor.

As a result, the Hokage, Anko, Hayate, and the match winners were all on the arena floor. On one side were the first three mentioned, and on the other were the members of both Team 7 and the team from Sunagakure, Shikamaru, Neji, and Fu.

The Hokage observed the remaining examinees, and then spoke "Now then, let me explain the how the final part of the exam will happen."


Naruto: Well, didn't expect that as a pairing dattebayo!

Asuka: You and me both.

Kakashi: I fear for the future of Konoha if they have children.

Sakura: Well, that way I don't have Lee constantly asking me out anymore

Haku: True...but now you want Naruto to.

Sakura: There's n-no w-way I would g-go out with that b-baka!

Haku: Spoken like a true tsundere.

Zabuza: Haku's got a point there cherry brat. Tsundere's do tend to call their interest an idiot.

Sakura: SHUT UP!

Gai: Ah, the flames of youth are strong today! Especially with my student Lee! I'm so proud!

WVH: Yeah, I decided to put Fu with Lee. Partially with the idea of how they carry themselves and also just the chaos their children could bring. Plus this way, it makes it easier for there to be Neji x Tenten as I hinted at the end of the Tenten vs Temari fight.

Tenten: Wait, Neji likes me that way?

Neji: WVH...come here please. It's rude of you to reveal someone's secrets like that.

WVH: eheheh...well I gotta go. Hayate, outro please! *runs from annoyed Neji*

Hayate: Okay then. *cough* I hope everyone here enjoyed the chapter. *cough* Please be sure to R&R and come back next *cough cough* time...also why did he ask me to *cough* do this? Whatever...