No one was pleased with Shikamaru's actions. While the entire crowd was complaining about not getting a good show, Akira could hear Naruto yell at him for quitting so easily. Surprisingly, Akira also heard Naruto tell her to be angrier at Shikamaru for giving up. It made her laugh. Shikamaru knew when he was beaten and Akira appreciated that he didn't waste her time.

"All right, get yourself up to the viewing area so I can fight the one I'm really looking forward to crushing."
"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru said. He leaned in and whispered, "How are you gonna do it?"
"I"m gonna piss her off."

Shikamaru chuckled and shook his head, then left the battlefield to cede his place to Temari. She floated down on her large fan and landed gracefully in front of Akira. She glared at the Uchiha who was placing her katana back into their holsters.

"Think I'm going to be easy to beat, do you?" she challenged.
"Not necessarily," Akira said, smiling innocently. "But I do know you're going to lose."

Temari huffed and rushed at Akira without the proctor announcing the start of the match. Akira smiled and closed her eyes. She breathed in, exhaled, and got into a lose defending stance. Temari threw a dozen kunai at her but Akira gracefully avoided every single one of them. The sound of the blades whooshing past her ears was loud, but it gave Akira a rush of adrenaline, of excitement. Akira exhaled again and loosened her body, retaking her stance. She opened her eyes and stared directly at Temari, her haori swaying in the light breeze.

"Why aren't you moving?"
"Because I don't need to."

Temari huffed again and picked up her large fan. A large gust of wind was soon on its way towards her at an alarming rate. Akira calmly undid the haori himo and sent chakra to her feet. She jumped out of the way of the gale without much effort and the haori was taken with the wind, giving Temari the impression that her attack had landed. When the wind and dust cleared, Temari frowned. Akira was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a flash of white shone from behind her and Temari went flying forwards, skidding face-first on the ground. When she got up and turned around, it was as if Akira had never moved. She was still peaceful-looking and in a loose defence position, her haori worn as if it had never left her body.

"What the hell is your deal!?" Temari shouted.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Akira said with a smile. "I haven't moved."
"Stop smiling!"

With a yell, Temari sent a flurry of wind blasts toward Akira, each one in a different direction, in the hopes that one of them landed. Akira readjusted her position and let herself fall to the ground so that all the gusts of wind passed right above her. As she was falling, Akira made a few hand seals. When she landed on the ground, electricity ran from the palms of her hands and into the ground. The current shot straight for Temari and she was blown upwards and electrocuted. When she was falling back down, Akira was somehow above her, fist alight with crackling white electricity. She pounded her fist into Temari's chest and pummeled her to the ground. When the dust cleared, Temari was out cold.

However, nothing had happened. When Temari made her initial onslaught without waiting for the proctor's signal, Akira's eyes had been closed. When she opened them and looked directly at her opponent, that's when Temari lost. Akira's eyes were blood red, with six tomoe featured in the final stage of her Sharingan. Temari was stuck in a Genjutsu, immobile, eyes wide open and forced to live her defeat in her head. When she'd been defeated in the Genjutsu, Temari passed out and lost without Akira even having to perform a single jutsu.

"Since Temari is unable to battle, the winner of this match is Akira Uchiha!"

The crowd cheered the loudest she'd heard them cheer so far. A feeling of relief washed over her and she closed her eyes, releasing them back to the dark sapphire blue everyone was used to. The stress and the expectations were gone, and now there was nothing she could do but wait to see if anyone thought she was Chūnin material. Akira watched for a moment as Temari was carried off by medical-nin and then she smiled as people began chanting her name. She turned to the crowd and gave an awkward mock salute before returning to the waiting area to make room for the next match. When she'd barely gotten up the stairs, Naruto tackled her in a hug that nearly sent her to the ground.

"I have no idea what happened, but that was amazing!" Naruto cheered. "You just stared at her and she passed out!"
"Yeah, not bad, kid," Shikamaru said, elbowing Akira in the arm. "You've managed to up the ante on that Sharingan of yours."
"I do try sometimes. Not that'd you'd know."

Shikamaru put his hand in her face and pushed her head away. Akira laughed and did the same, and they went back to the edge of the viewing area to see the next match. However, when Shino and Kankuro's names were called, Kankuro withdrew before even going down to fight. It was at that moment that the feeling of dread Akira had been feeling all day returned to haunt her. Sasuke wasn't here yet, Maru was nowhere to be found, Dosu hadn't entered the final stage, and now Kankuro was withdrawing. Akira didn't like this at all.

Naruto yelling at the proctor broke Akira away from her thoughts. He jumped down into the arena and the two of them spoke for a moment, then Naruto ran back up.

"They're waiting another ten minutes for him and then they're calling it," he said. "I swear, if he doesn't show up the crowd will tear him apart, and if they don't, I will."
"I'm sure the little punk is just trying to make an entrance," Shikamaru said.

Akira couldn't disagree. Sasuke was known for being dramatic, especially if it wasn't the time, and now wasn't the time. Akira couldn't help feeling that somewhere, somehow, Maru was doing something stupid. She looked around nervously, occasionally glancing back to Naruto's watch to see how much time Sasuke had left before he was disqualified, searching for Kakashi, the only head of silver in the village. The nauseating feeling that something bad was going to happen had seeped into her bones and her entire body was on edge and Akira couldn't take it anymore. Maru had infiltrated her mind like a disease, and she had the intention to get rid of it once and for all. However, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen even with her Sharingan. Shikamaru looked at her, worried—he'd never seen her so scared.

"Akira?" he said softly. She turned to him, like a deer caught in headlights, as if she'd just seen a ghost. "You're scared."
"Something's going to go wrong, Shikamaru," Akira whispered. Her eyes darted to the battlefield and then back to the crowd. "I can't take this."

A sudden wave of slow-burning pain rose to Akira's shoulder for the first time in days. It wasn't an intolerable pain. On the contrary, it was faint, almost as if it was just there to remind her the curse mark was there. Akira's hand rose to her shoulder and she gently squeezed. It felt like a warning.

Akira's attention was soon taken by her brother's and Kakashi's sudden arrival. She paid no mind to what they said, but to the increased burning sensation in her shoulder. As the crowd began to chant the Uchiha name once again, an overwhelming sensation of fear took hold of Akira.

"Akira, you're scaring me," Shikamaru said.
"Kakashi—" Akira muttered. "I need Kakashi."