Third chapter coming at ya!

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto-sama while Zootopia is owned by Disney

Usagi no Naruto

Chapter Three: The Finals

"Listen up," began Genma, the Jonin preceding the Finals as the proctor. "There's been a change to the matches. Take a look and memorize it."

The eight Genin competing in the Finals all looked at the hand-sized poster the man showed them. At first glance, the matches looked like they had suffered no change; but after a second glance, they saw that Dosu from the Hidden Sound was no longer in the Chunin Exams. This meant that Shikamaru Nara would go straight to his match with Temari of the Sand instead of needing a victory against Dosu to get to her.

The other matches were still the same: Shino Aburame vs Neji Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha vs Kankuro of the Sand, and Naruto Uzumaki vs Gaara of the Desert.

"Now look alive, brats," Genma continued after letting them look over the small change, turning to face the excited spectators. "You're all the stars of this little production we're putting on. Try to make it look good for all your adoring fans."

None of the Genin found humor in the man's joke as they waited for the Hokage to start the Finals.

Guy was seated in the front row with his protégé and the paramedic assigned to the crippled Genin. He had a surprisingly calm smile on his face as he waited alongside the hundreds of other spectators; both ninja and civilian alike.

"Guy-sensei," Lee said, getting the man's attention before gesturing with his head to the top of the stairs where Kakashi was descending.

The green clad Jonin nodded before he regarded his rival. "Kakashi, I'm honestly surprised that you're here on time. I would've thought you and young Sasuke would've been fashionably late."

The man gave his signature eye-smile from behind his ever-present orange book. "Oh, I had a little…incentive to being on time for once."

Guy gave the man a knowing look that showed amusement. He knew that the Hokage had practically arm-twisted the silver-haired Jonin into being on time. The reason was simple: due to the potential clients witnessing the matches, it helped bolster the Leaf's reputation if all of their Genin were present and accounted for at the start of the Finals. It showed professionalism and punctuality to the masses.

"At any rate," Guy said as he continued their conversation, "I hope that this past month bore fruit for your Genin. Although, I doubt that Sasuke will have much trouble against his opponent considering the circumstances." He made a casual show of turning back to watch the Genin as he asked, "How did Naruto's training go with you? It must've been hard to try and divide your time between two Genin and make sure they each brought forth different skillsets to display."

Kakashi eyed his self-proclaimed rival out of the corner of his visible eye. "Actually, I don't know how Naruto's training went. I would've thought that you would be more in-the-know about that if the rumors I hear have any value."

Seated around the conversing men were the rest of the Leaf's more notable Genin, along with their sensei, Anko Mitarashi, Hana Inuzuka, and the Chunin's mother Tsume. They were silent as they eavesdropped on the two Jonin, and some of the Genin were a bit surprised at Kakashi's slight accusation. Only Hana and Tsume smirked at it, though.

"Oh? And what rumors have influenced your question, my hip rival?" Guy asked in response.

"That you've taken Naruto under your wing for the month to get him ready to fight Gaara," answered Kakashi.

"Wait," interrupted Ino Yamanaka, curious about the gossip. "That idiot is staying in the Finals?! Didn't he see what happened to Lee?!" When the crippled Genin cleared his throat, the blonde girl blushed at forgetting that he was there.

The single black eye of Kakashi narrowed as he continued, "I don't want you giving Naruto false hope that could get him killed. We don't need another Genin nearly killed in these exams."

Guy, to Kakashi's surprise, actually gave a scoff at that. "Better to give the boy hope than to crush any hope he has, Kakashi. Besides, I know he'll do what needs to be done if he gets pushed into a corner." He gave a grin as he looked to his masked rival out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sure that Naruto will surprise you when his match comes."

Tenten Higurashi, Guy's female student, couldn't hold back her question as her sensei finished speaking. "Sensei…you didn't teach that Naruto kid anything too…dangerous, did you? I mean, Lee was one thing, but…"

Sakura Haruno continued the question, showing some genuine concern for Naruto. "But Naruto doesn't have a handicap like Lee does. He has ninjutsu that he could use instead of just taijutsu."

Guy chuckled at their concern. "Don't worry. Everything I instructed Naruto in were things I know he could handle without a doubt. As for his other skills," here his chuckle became a bark of laughter, "the boy shows great ingenuity! Even I was impressed with what he came up with during this month!"

"Pfft, whatever," Kiba scoffed in response to the Jonin's words. "The Dead Last doesn't have a shot against that Gaara guy. He should've just quit as soon as he found out who he was facing."

Beside him, Hinata Hyuuga looked worried for Naruto. He was, after all, a major source of inspiration for her. Behind the boy were his mother and sister, and both shook their heads at Kiba's dismissal of the blonde Genin.

"Well, at least he's here and didn't suffer being crop dusted, mutt," teased Anko, and the smirk she had grew at the indignant cry the Inuzuka heir gave her. "How's your nose, by the way? Still smelling digested ramen?"

Kiba was growling at that while the other Genin, even Hinata, stifled their amusement. Kurenai shook her head at Anko's antics, but she too looked amused at the memory.

"She's got you there, pup," Tsume said with a bark of laughter. Hana coughed into her fist to hide her own laughter, never finding her half-brother's dismay any less amusing.

After a moment longer, Sarutobi finally made the opening announcement to start the Chunin Exam Finals. As the crowd cheered, Genma had all of the Genin leave except for Shino and Neji, who stood across from one another.

"You both ready?" the Jonin asked.

"Yes, Genma-san," Shino replied respectfully.

"Let's get this over with," Neji said dismissively.

Genma raised his arm before bringing it down swiftly with a shout of, "Begin!"

As soon as the Jonin announced the start of the match, he leapt back a few feet. And it was just in time, for both Genin leapt back from one another while covering their jumps with thrown shuriken. The metal stars clashed in the center with only a couple getting by for each side.

Neji easily sidestepped away from the shuriken reaching him while Shino deflected his with a kunai. With the opening moves done, both stood across from one another and sized up their opponent. Neji crossed his arms while Shino had his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"Give up," Neji stated. "Like what happened to Lady Hinata, your destiny is to lose today."

Shino's brows furrowed faintly, but to many it would've been waved off as a twitch. "Your clan may have eyes that can penetrate through nearly anything, but they cannot penetrate through the being each person has. You cannot see destiny or fate, Hyuuga-san. Claiming you can, shows arrogance. Why? Because it is illogical and impossible to see another's destiny."

"Spoken like a fool who tries to escape their destiny with futility," shot back the Hyuuga prodigy. "Destiny is set for every man, woman, and child from the moment they are conceived. It is inescapable."

"And you say this because…?" the Aburame heir pressed, secretly having his beetles burrow through the ground while Neji's Byakugan remained inactive.

"I don't need to explain myself to a fool his denies his fate."

As the two Genin spoke, Judy saw that Naruto was frowning deeply. She knew that it was because Neji's speech was reminding him of how he belittled Hinata before nearly killing her. As someone who tries to prove he can be more than he was destined to be, Naruto immediately didn't like Neji or his views on life. It was a clash of opposites in terms of personal philosophy.

So, she wasn't at all surprised when her blonde friend leaned forward on the railing and yelled out, "Kick his ass, Shino! Hinata's your teammate, right?! Don't let this asshole get away with what he did to her!"

Shino's eyes, behind his dark glasses, moved to Naruto for a split second before returning to Neji. The Hyuuga frowned at the Uzumaki's words, but said nothing.

"You refuse to explain, but that shows a weakness on your part. How do you expect to get your point across if don't support it?" Shino questioned before he went through some handseals.

Neji retaliated by rushing towards the bug user, activating his bloodline as he got closer. With his eyes, he saw Shino gather chakra into his lungs while the energy itself started to become corrosive. 'I won't get to him in time,' the Hyuuga thought as he threw a shuriken while continuing his sprint.

Shino finished his seals and spun around the ninja star before lowering the collar of his jacket enough for him to use his jutsu. "Ninja Art: Poison Fog," he declared as he expelled a dark purple cloud from his mouth. The cloud spread quickly and began to expand outwards from ground zero, being Shino's body.

Neji stopped his run and grit his teeth at the quickly approaching fog. Because it was a chakra based cloud, it also hid Shino from his eyes within its dense mist. He began to backpedal away from the cloud, stopping when he was a safe distance.

Doing a quick measurement of the arena with his eyes, he saw that the total open space was around 250ft in diameter and Shino's jutsu took about 40ft in diameter; almost a fifth of the space. 'I can't get too close or else I'll breathe in the poison, but I have no means of attacking from a distance except for shuriken and kunai,' he mused before tensing and leaping backward, avoiding a hand reaching up to grab him from beneath the earth.

The hand continued to break from the ground, revealing Shino. "I'd compliment your evasion, but it would be a wasted effort due to your eyes. Or did you already know I was going to take back my compliment? Was I destined to deny you praise, Hyuuga-san?"

Neji growled at the insult, but it changed to a smirk since Shino was now closer. He was fast enough to get within the Aburame's guard and block some of his chakra points before going in for the finish.

With his plan set, he used chakra to augment his legs and rush Shino. He easily got within striking distance and began to barrage the Aburame with Gentle Fist strikes aimed at his chakra network. After he hit a couple of dozen, he finished his assault with a powerful palm thrust to the sternum.

Unable to defend, Shino went down and was left on his back. Neji smirked down at him, and deactivated his eyes with confidence. "Sorry, but this is reality. I tried to warn you, but only the blind fail to see what their destiny is; and yours was to lose to me."

Up in the stands, Hinata and Kiba both looked worried for their teammate, but Kurenai kept a cool expression. She knew that Shino was a great tactician for a Genin, so she didn't believe he would be taken down that easily.

And she was proven correct when "Shino" dissolved into countless bugs that immediately returned to the ground; leaving behind their deceased comrades that Neji had struck.

"What?!" the Hyuuga cried in surprise before he heard movement and turned just in time to get slugged in the jaw by a vicious right hook from Shino.

The hit stunned Neji, making him stumble and open for Shino to add in a lunging kick that struck him in the chest and sent him tumbling. The bug user looked down at Neji as he shakily stood up, fixing his glasses as he asked, "I'm confused; didn't fate tell you I'd use a Bug Clone? Wasn't it destined that you'd see my deception and counter it?"

Neji growled at him, holding his chest while his Byakugan reactivated. "You dare mock me?! You wish to know why I believe in destiny so much?!"

What followed was Neji removing his headband, showing the Hyuuga Seal that he kept hidden away on his forehead. Following this was a revealing of the past from his perspective; of how his father was the younger twin of Hiashi Hyuuga, Head of the clan, and was forced to become a Branch Member; of how he (Neji) himself was destined to be a Branch Member because of his father's status, of how Hinata's attempted kidnapping ended up in Neji's father being used as a scapegoat that the Hidden Cloud believed to be Hiashi, allowing him to finally be free of his fate in death.

Hiashi, who was watching the matches from the stands, had his eyes closed to hide the shame he felt. Hanabi, his youngest daughter, looked surprised at the revelation her cousin had declared to the masses. With Hinata, she looked down in guilt while Kiba tried to comfort her.

The Jonin sensei, Tsume, Anko, and Hana all frowned at Neji's words. Some things – especially your opinions on said things – shouldn't be revealed to the public if they're so sensitive in nature. The other Leaf Genin were surprised while Sasuke didn't change his aloof look from his seat in the competitor booth. However, Naruto and Judy frowned at the "true" nature of the Hyuuga Council in regards to dealing with political issues.

Finally, behind his glasses, Shino narrowed his eyes.

"That's it?" he asked, shocking Neji with his tone. "You're angry because of the order you and Hinata's fathers were born in? You attempted to murder a member of your own family in cold blood for that petty a reason?"

Neji looked ready to kill the Aburame as he roared, "If my father was born first, he wouldn't have been used as a replacement for Hiashi! The man should've accepted his punishment and died, but instead he let his brother – my father – die in his place!"

"Then tell me this, Oh All-Seeing One: if she knew how to use that seal on your forehead the entire time, why didn't Hinata do it? Even when you attempted to murder her, and it took nearly all the Leaf Chunin and Jonin present for the preliminaries to hold you back, why did she do nothing and seemingly accept whatever you were going to do to her?!" Shino's voice raised as he actually showed an outward emotion publicly; anger. "Even considering you swore to keep your personal vendetta out of the fight and you did that anyway?!"

The crowd muttered at that. Some actually frowned at Neji. The Aburame had a point.

"Face it, Hyuuga-san; all you did was prove, in front of the Hokage no less, that the Side Branch of the Hyuuga Clan would cause unneeded death without that seal of yours to keep them in check!"

The members of the Side Branch of the Hyuuga all gasped, and some glared at Shino while others shook their fists at Neji threateningly. Sure, everyone with considerable ninja training in the stands knew what the Aburame was doing. After all, shinobi knew about and considered mind games an acceptable tactic, after all. How could they not recognize that being what Shino was doing? Especially considering that Neji's whole revelation was what gave Shino the fuel needed to use Neji's anger to his advantage.

With that in mind, if anger towards what Shino was saying was going to be directed at anyone, it was Neji for giving the bug user this kind of information to work within the first place. After all, Hinata was most definitely not the type to go and explain about the Hyuuga Incident with the Hidden Cloud behind her cousin's back; and the Side Branch members all knew that! She more than any Main Branch Hyuuga treated them fairly and actually supported their wishes to remove their clan's seal!

"You…worthless little…" growled out Neji before, in a blind rage, he rushed at Shino. Aiming for the kill, he struck the Aburame directly in the heart; but it was a ruse for a second Bug Clone to disperse and cover the Hyuuga in their swarm; draining him of his chakra while the real Shino stepped out from the shadows of one of the scarce trees in the arena.

Shaking his head as Neji desperately attempted to get the bugs off, the member of Team 8 spoke again, "Close-quarters against me is paramount to suicide. You'd think a prodigy would know that." Shino admonished.

Neji, having removed the remainder of the bugs with his Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation technique, glared at Shino yet again before his eyes widened in surprise. Beneath Shino's coat was a membrane of his beetles, all of them forming together to act as armor under his clothes. Furthermore, the prodigy saw his cousin's teammate smirk at him in a self-assured way. This strategy was a way to lock down the Gentle Fist, and they both knew it. As Neji watched, horrified, even more of the parasitic beetles within his enemy surged out of him, covering the ground in a veritable wave of scurrying, black-shelled bodies.

Neji cursed and ran up a wall of the stadium to avoid the bugs so he wouldn't be sucked dry of all his chakra, glaring as he watched the insect handler just stand there with his hands in his pockets, not moving from his starting position at all since the match had started.

"Hidden Jutsu: Insect Bog," Shino said, revealing the name of his technique. "As you can see, I've had my insects hide underground and multiply for the sake of this fight. Now then, Bug Clone Jutsu." At that, several geysers of the beetles rose as they climbed over themselves and one another, changing color as they did so, until they formed ten exact copies of Shino.

"What's wrong Hyuuga-san?" each of the clones echoed as one. "Surely if you're such an agent of Fate, it will deliver you an answer to triumph in this situation and under these circumstances."

Neji grunted in annoyance from his perch on the wall. Well…this was perfect. This was exactly the kind of situation that the three members of Team Guy who specialized in close-contact battles couldn't handle. As such, they often needed Tenten to save them with by backing them up with distance offensives. But she couldn't come to his rescue this time.

Going over his options, Neji tried to figure out a way to deal with the bugs, the clones, and Shino in an effective manner. He was low on chakra, he had to get in close, and those bugs were relentless in siphoning his chakra when attached to him. The way he saw it, he was in fact out of options.

'But why?' he desperately asked in his mind. 'Why am I losing when it was my fate to win?! It was my destiny to take down those bastards in the Main Branch; so why can't I take down this Aburame and fulfill my destiny?!'

He grit his teeth in rage, angry at himself for not being strong enough while his mind betrayed him and showed him his past fight with Hinata. However, this time his mind made him focus on the expressions of regret, sadness, and guilt in his cousin's eyes as they fought: regret for the life he had lived, sadness for having to face him, and guilt for being given a "better life" in comparison to his own.

'Lady Hinata…' he thought, rage leaving in exchange for realization. 'You really were trying to help me, weren't you? And yet…all I did was bring you down…and try to kill you when you pointed out that I was betraying my own words; that I was fighting my own fate… I see that now…'

His eyes sought out his cousin, and he saw her sitting with her fellow graduates and the sensei of the teams. In but a moment, the two exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes. That moment was enough, for he saw that she had forgiven him and that she still wanted nothing more than to help him.

Giving a ghost of a smile, Neji dropped to the ground and raised up his arm. "Proctor," he began, getting the attention of everyone, "I withdraw."

Genma smirked at that, showing the Hyuuga his approval as he gestured to Shino. "The winner of the first match; Shino Aburame!"

At that declaration, the spectators cheered and applauded for the bug user. However, one voice carried itself over the rest.

"Way to go, Shino!" Naruto cried as he clapped. While he would've wanted to see Neji beaten further, he could accept Shino winning this way. The way he saw it, Hinata's suffering had been slightly avenged, and he'd take that for the time being.

Shino recalled all of his insects before he walked back to the competitor booth, leaving Genma free to call down the next pair. "Alright, I need Sasuke Uchiha and Kankuro of the Hidden Sand to come down."

Before anyone could move, Kankuro called down, "Proctor, I forfeit my match!" Everyone was either surprised or suspicious of this, but the puppet user explained his forfeit. "My puppets won't last long against an Uchiha's fire jutsu. I'd rather not risk my only weapon being destroyed so carelessly."

While many of the spectating ninja accepted that reasoning, quite a few were a bit skeptical. Most puppet users were taught how to effectively use their puppets during disadvantaging moments; such as facing a fire style user. This early forfeit either showed Kankuro lacking faith in his own abilities…or something a bit more worrying.

As for Sasuke, he looked incredibly annoyed at being given such an easy win. He wanted to show off what Kakashi had taught him, and now he'd have to wait even longer to do so. Such an easy victory stung his pride a little.

"O…kay," Genma drawled out, annoyed at the sudden bout of booing and jeers that the spectators threw the Sand Genin's way. It was no secret that many paying officials wanted to see the Uchiha kid perform. "The winner by forfeit is Sasuke Uchiha. The third match will be between Gaara of the Desert," here, the jeering and boos were silenced in almost an instant, "and Naruto Uzumaki."

A stray jeer here and there were heard for Naruto, but he ignored them in favor of readying himself for the fight ahead. Making his way down via the stairs, he was surprised to see a couple of men seemingly waiting for him.

"Hey kid," the first began, "do us a favor and win, will ya? Our…employer would very much like to win with the bet he placed on you."

"So, try not to lose, yeah?" the second suggested before both men walked off, leaving Naruto and Judy alone on the stairs.

"Well…at least some people voted for you," Judy said in hopes of sounding optimistic.

Naruto said nothing as he resumed his walk and stepped out onto the arena. Spotting Gaara already waiting for him, Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat as he made his way over to him and Genma.

Unknown to him, his fellow graduates decided to speak with the Jonin and Chunin with them. "What's the Dead Last wearing?" Ino asked in surprise. "I thought he'd still be in that tacky suit of his."

Lee spoke up in his friend's defense. "Naruto figured out that he should dress more professionally in the presence of potential clients. He said that the Finals not only show off the skills of Genin, but ow they act in and out of the field."

Kiba growled at the scent in the air. "What's with the rabbit smell coming off of him?" He then spotted Judy walking beside Naruto and laughed. "Oh, that's rich! He's got a little bunny to fight with him!"

His laughter was cut short by his mother bopping him roughly on the back of his head. "Don't underestimate them, pup. From what I've seen, she and Naruto make a good pair; and Hana could attest to that."

When the Genin turned to the Chunin girl, she just smirked. "I'd keep a close eye on this match if I were you brats."

Anko smirked as she shifted the empty dango stick in her mouth. "Well, let's hope that Blondie and Bunny Girl make a good impression."

"But what is she?" Tenten asked in confusion.

"If I had to guess," Choji Akamichi, who had arrived near the end of Shino's match, began, "I'd say that she's an animal companion like Akamaru is to Kiba."

"Close," Sakura said in response, looking closer at the rabbit next to her blonde teammate. "I'm leaning more towards a Summon Animal with how she stands and the uniform she's wearing. But when did Naruto get a Summoning Contract?"

"And what kind of summoning is a rabbit?" Ino continued.

Hinata was quiet as her fellow Genin conversed, but she had her hands clasped together. 'Naruto… Be careful,' she mentally pleaded.

Kakashi had his eye on Naruto and his companion. Both stood close to one another and had a similar stance, showing that they were relatively in synch with each other. However, his keen eye also saw that the leg warmers Naruto wore had a bulge here and there, showing weights similar to Lee being held in place.

"How much weight did you give Naruto during the month?" Kakashi asked suddenly, drawing attention from everyone else.

Guy simply smiled and said, "I gave him enough."

Up in the Kage viewing booth, Sarutobi and the Kazekage also gave their pre-fight input. "That Genin of yours is going to lose, Hokage. No one has been able to defeat Gaara; even my Jonin have trouble fighting him."

"Oh, I won't deny your son's skillset and power, Kazekage," replied Sarutobi. "But I wouldn't count out Naruto just yet. He's been known to surprise people pretty easily."

"Hmph. We'll see about that, Hokage."

"Alright then. Are you both ready?" Genma asked.

"Yes, sir," Naruto said in a low tone, not feeling as exuberant as he would usually feel at the moment.

"Hurry up and start this match," Gaara ordered as his brows furrowed to show his annoyance.

Genma scoffed at the order, but he had his job to do so he lowered is arm to begin the match before leaping away. After the starting signal, it was tense as both Genin stood across from each other and did nothing. Judy was ready to act whenever Naruto was ready, and she stood next to her partner with her legs slightly bent.

Naruto took a deep breath before shifting his body into a familiar stance with his legs straight, his left arm pressed against his back, and his right arm forward with the palm facing upwards. Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly at this, and just like in his match with Lee, he shot the cork on his gourd at the Uzumaki.

(Play "Haikyuu! OST: Ue")

However, instead of catch it, Naruto flicked his wrist and smacked it aside before he rushed at his redheaded opponent. Judy responded to her partner's advance by jumping onto his back before kicking off, spinning high in midair with her feet skyward, eyes closed in preparation, and her paws holding senbon needles. In a near blur, Naruto had reach striking distance from Gaara and launched a punch that was immediately blocked by the redhead's automatic sand defense.

He then spun away from a tendril of sand that tried to grab him, flicking out a kunai from his holster and slicing away at the sand while staying on his toes. His eyes flicked upward, seeing Judy in position, before he coated the kunai in chakra and slashed directly at Gaara. The enhanced kunai cut away at Gaara's sand, leaving an opening big enough for Judy to flick her senbon at Gaara.

While senbon alone aren't necessarily deadly, combining them with a natural wind affinity like the one Judy has balances it out. And she used her affinity to her benefit by increasing the speed and piercing potential of the needles she threw at Gaara. With the opening stopping most of Gaara's resistance, they easily stabbed into Gaara and were able to pierce deep enough into his sand armor and puncture skin.

Gaara grunted at this, and his sand responded to his discomfort by shooting upwards toward Judy. When it got close, she disappeared in a burst of smoke and Naruto took her place. However, when he was pierced by the sand, he too disappeared in a burst of smoke, showing that he was just a Shadow Clone. The real Naruto and Judy were behind Gaara, with Naruto extending his leg and Judy balancing herself on it in a crouch.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Do it," she answered.

He nodded once before he spun on his balanced leg, gaining momentum before thrusting the leg that held Judy toward Gaara. Judy responded in kind by kicking off Naruto's leg, adding speed to her leap, before she rolled and had her own feet aimed at Gaara's back. She then began to spin in a corkscrew fashion while wind chakra was focused on her legs, producing a small cyclone.

"Maelstrom Kick!" she cried as he strike broke through the sand and struck Gaara, the blunt force making him stumble forward as she kicked off of him and landed perfectly on Naruto's shoulder as he threw a pair of white shuriken. The shuriken had black seals on them, but no one knew that but the two of them as Judy sent forth a Great Breakthrough to increase their speed.

"Release!" Naruto roared, holding up a ram seal when the shuriken got close enough to Gaara. The seals on the shuriken lit up before they both exploded like twin Bomb Tags.

(End Music)

The explosion was blocked by the sand, but it kicked up enough smoke and dust to enshroud Gaara and block his view. Naruto took this moment to leap back before leaping high up the arena wall, having to kick off the wall to get higher about halfway. Once he was at the top, he pulled off his leg warmers, revealing a pair of weights on each of his legs while Judy removed her own and sealed them away.

Kakashi narrowed his eye at this – and Sasuke narrowed his own as well – and wondered how much weight his student was removing. He and the other spectators saw the blonde teen stand up and casually let go of the weights, letting them fall to the ground below. As soon as they struck the ground, they both kicked up earth and dirt due to the weight, acting like small explosions from the impacts points they made.

"It's like watching Lee all over again," Kakashi heard Sakura comment, and he couldn't help but agree with her; which concerned him. Lee's weights were a major focus of his training; over a year of dedication to them. Naruto only had a month of it by his calculation, and yet his weights were already close to Lee's own in mass.

(Play "Naruto OST: Beautiful Green Beast")

"Alright, let's rock!" the crowd heard Naruto declare before he and Judy both disappeared in a blur.

At this point, Sasuke activated his Sharingan because he had lost track of Naruto as soon as he vanished. 'When did the loser get that fast?' he asked in shock.

When Naruto and Judy appeared, they were both on opposite sides of Gaara and lashed out at his sand with twin kicks. Gaara's eyes widened at the memory of Lee's inhuman speed during their fight, and he had his sand shoot out hardened sand shuriken every time he caught a glimpse of his opponent and his rabbit companion.

"Over here!" echoed Judy's voice, and he sent shuriken towards it, missing entirely.

"No, here!" Naruto's voice called out, making Gaara growl as he sent a wave of sand this time, but still hit nothing.

"RIGHT HERE!" both of them shouted as they struck home and hit him; Naruto with a knee to his stomach and Judy with a kick to the back of his head. The combined blows kicked Gaara off of his feet and flip once before landing roughly on his stomach. Meanwhile, both Naruto and Judy reappeared a few feet away, sliding to a stop due to their momentum.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked. "Am I not going fast enough for ya?" He grinned brightly at Gaara giving him a death glare as he stumbled to his feet. "Just say the word and I'll go even faster!"

'Faster?' Kakashi and Sasuke both thought in slight shock. 'Is he wearing more weights?'

Guy saw his rival's expression and chuckled quietly. He was enjoying his rival witnessing what he missed out on in Naruto.

(End Music)

"Don't you dare mock me, Uzumaki!" roared Gaara as his sand stabbed into the ground beneath him. In multiple parts of the ground, cracks formed before sandy tendrils with claws broke through. "Now, make me feel alive!"

'Crap,' Naruto cursed as he and Judy were forced to stay on the move, avoiding sand claws that flew at them, swiped at them, and erupted from the ground. "Judy!" he called, jumping over a sand claw with his legs doing a near split.

"I know!" she called back, finding enough space to do her part. Strapped to her lower legs were two holsters, each holding ten senbon needles. These holsters allowed her to shot a needle with a well-aimed kick, so long as she used wind chakra to do so. With the room she had, she pulled off consecutive spinning kicks, launching a senbon enforced with sharp wind with each kick.

The sand that defended Gaara this time, however, was thicker since it was reinforced with ground up earth from beneath them and the arena wall that was partially submerged. So, the senbon were stopped by the defense, even though the tips were able to poke through the sand veil. When Judy stopped her kicks, she barely leapt away from an arm of sand, but she ended up being led to an erupting sand tendril the grabbed her and flung her at Naruto.

"Judy! He cried in alarm, catching her and being pushed back a bit from her momentum. With a grunt, he held onto her tight while she gave a small cry of pain, having been squeezed tightly by the crushing sand. As he held her, he looked up just in time to see a tremendous wave of sand heading for her.

"Sand Tsunami!" Gaara cried, hands clapped together as the sand picked up in front of him and rolled forward, much like the name implied.

Naruto glared hard at the sand wave, tucking Judy beneath his left arm while his right hand held up a half ram seal. "No choice then… Resistance Seal: Release!" he cried as the back of his orange top formed into a black butterfly shaped marking before shattering like glass. He then used his right hand to pull off his scarf and tossed it away, the heavy thud it produced showing that it too was weighted.

"Just how much weight did you make him wear?" Kakashi asked in growing shock.

"I'll admit that I was unaware of his Resistance Seals, but I knew about his leg weights and asked Tenten to make his scarf weighted," Guy answered.

"You told me it was for your training though!" accused the weapons mistress.

"I had to lie so that Naruto's training would remain a secret; just like how you were helping Neji perfect his Rotation in secret," shot back the Jonin with a smile, and she blushed at the truth of his retort. "At any rate, Naruto's fast enough now to show one last hoorah before he ends the match."

"Tell me you didn't…"Kakashi pleaded, but it was in vain when he saw Guy regard him with a serious face.

"I helped him have a real chance to advance instead of brushing him aside, Kakashi. You lost any right to overview his training when you chose Sasuke over him."

The silver haired Jonin wanted to fire back, but he had nothing that would help him. So instead, he turned back to the match, making sure to have his Sharingan active to keep better track.

Forming a clone, Naruto handed Judy over to it before it leapt off to the top of the arena wall to keep her out of danger. When the wave finally crashed into him, no one heard a cry of pain or anguish from the blonde Uzumaki.

(Play "Naruto OST: Rock Lee's Hidden Lotus")

Instead, they heard a shout of surprise come from Gaara when Naruto appeared in a blur of black and orange, striking Gaara in the face with a sharp left hook. He moved with his punch, going for a roundhouse kick before vanishing in another blur. When he reappeared, he completed his roundhouse and struck Gaara in the back of the head, disorienting him enough for four clones to come into view and simultaneously kick Gaara upwards into the air.

With chakra empowering their legs - and multiple kicks from the start – Gaara floated upwards with more ease than Lee had in the Preliminaries. Naruto then had his clones jump up and kick the redheaded Genin a second time, sending him higher while the original Uzumaki appeared behind him with the Dancing Leaf Shadow technique. The spectators also all took note that Naruto's bandages on his arms had been loosened and floated beneath him and Gaara.

What many didn't see – save for the more observant ninja – was that Naruto had two sealing tags in his hands. While he had his bandages wrap tightly around Gaara, he slammed the tags on the redhead and they both gave off a deep red glow. "Sealing Art: Restraint Seal!" Naruto cried, and Gaara felt his body lock up involuntarily. "Here we go! This is my…" he began as he had them plummet to the ground headfirst, both of them in a high velocity spin that looked like a dropping cyclone to the masses, "PRIMARY LOTUS!"

With that battle cry came the impact, and it was intense. The arena was rocked by the force, and many rocks and patches of dirt were kicked up upon the landing while the sand that had tried to get to Gaara floated in midair without any form of direction or guidance. Many people tried to see through the cloud of smoke, dust, and sand for any sign of the two Genin.

(End Music)

Finally they saw movement, and it was the form of Naruto, body tucked in a crude ball as he back-flipped away from the impact zone and landed near the arena wall. As soon as he landed, he groaned and fell to a knee as he tried to regain his breath. His face was dripping with seat from the strain of opening the Gate of Opening, but he held off on using the Gate of Healing for the moment. He needed to see what Gaara would do first.

From the dying smoke, he saw that Gaara had tried to replicate what he did against Lee when he used the Hidden Lotus; having his gourd soften itself into sand to weaken the impact. It was effective to an extent; but because of the sealing tags Naruto had used in conjunction with the Lotus, it didn't get to dissolve fully. This was supported by Gaara weakly rolling his body onto his front while he had the sand tendrils help him to his feet.

"Dammit," Naruto cursed between breaths. "What does it take to beat this guy?"

To his discomfort, he heard chuckling come from Gaara; the kind of chuckling that came from someone not fully right in the head. The chuckling grew in volume before it became laughter. The laughter unnerved Naruto and made him increasingly nervous before his body's instinct to flee was barely held back when Gaara raised his head with an insane grin.

"Yes… Just like that one in green, you've actually managed to hurt me and question my existence," he said aloud, and Naruto forced himself to his feet through the fear he felt. "But unlike him, you won't live through your success."

Naruto was caught by surprise when he felt something wrap around his leg. Looking down, he was horrified to see that it was sand coming out of the ground behind him, and it quickly wrapped around him and pinned him to the arena wall. 'Shit! Gotta open the Second Gate!'

He forced his body to open said Gate, but it wasn't enough to help him break through the encompassing sand. He struggled in vain before locking scared blue orbs with menacing green ones. "I'll enjoy feeding your blood to Mother," Gaara said as the sand began to squeeze him tight.

"Naruto!" cried many people, but it was Hana and Judy that were the loudest.

"Get out of there!" screamed the Chunin in panic.

"Let him go!" Judy yelled as she kicked off of her partner's clone and flew at Gaara in a desperate attempt to stop him. 'Why isn't Kurama helping him?!'

"Now…DIE!" Gaara roared, as he closed his hand.

(Play "Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST: Battle Scherzo")

However, with his roar came one from Naruto as he called on every ounce of his chakra and tried to expel it from his body. To his, and everyone else's shock, it worked; but not in the way he expected.

Instead of a surge of chakra, a heavy explosion erupted from the blonde Uzumaki, forcing the sand to expel from his body and shoot in every direction. Judy was forced to use a Replacement Jutsu to avoid getting hit as she reappeared next to her partner.

"Naruto!" she cried in concern, taking note of his appearance.

He was breathing heavily, his top having been completely ripped off from the expulsion of sand and his explosive chakra. Down on one knee, he slowly regained his breath and forced himself to get back up on his feet. "I… I'm okay," he reassured her between pants. "I just… I don't…"

"Easy now," she urged him, helping him stand. "We need to stop this match before you get killed."

To her worry, he shook his head and actually grinned. "No… I think…I might have a shot now," he said in reply, voice growing stronger as he faced Gaara once again. Holding his right arm outward to his side, he clenched his fist and tensed his muscles, sending chakra through them and producing another brief explosion from his fist; much to everyone's surprise.

'It can't be,' Sarutobi thought in surprise, only knowing of one village that produced the kind of chakra Naruto just used.

'That was…' Kakashi thought as well, eyes wide in vague memory of the specific ninja capable of making chakra react like that.

Guy, however…

"YOSH! GO Naruto, AND LET YOUR YOUTH EXPLODE SOME MORE!" he cried out, and this proved to be the spark needed to get more of the spectators cheering for the blonde Genin.

"Go get him, kid!"

"Kick his ass, Blondie!"

"You got this, Whiskers!" Hana cried in conjunction with other fans, relieved that the young man she had bonded with was alive and kicking.

Naruto's grin grew with every cheer. "Alright… Let's finish this off with a BANG!" he declared, punching his fists together, having them give off a small flash.

(End Music)

Tada! Chapter Three for you all on American Independence Day! Happy Fourth, my fellow Americans!

At any rate, Naruto's bloodline has finally been revealed; the Explosion Style, which is a mix of Lightning Style and Earth Style chakra!

In the next update, watch Naruto EXPLODE and face off against Gaara for Round Two!

Until next time!

pain17ification

uuuuh

I got nothing

still uploading Pain's chapters