Third chapter coming at ya!

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

Usagi no Naruto

Chapter Four: EXPLODE!

Even though he was barely clothed and feeling the fatigue from the fight, Naruto was grinning with excitement as he stared down his opponent. The wind from the day brushed through his hair, making it move like yellow flames while the smoke from his awakened bloodline rose up from the battleground.

Standing next to him, Judy wasn't as excited. She had almost lost her best friend and partner, and it tore at her. When he had nearly been crushed to death, her heart felt equally crushed. But, when he exploded (quite literally) with life, she felt an incredible sense of relief that it only added to the weariness she had suffered from the fight.

"Naruto," she began, sounding concerned.

He looked down at her, still grinning. "Hey now, don't think like that," he admonished playfully, but she could tell he was also reassuring her. "I'm not gonna lose to this guy after everything we've thrown at him." Walking forward, she was left only to stare at his back and saw how he was standing tall and proud. "Have faith in me, Judy-chan…just like I have faith in you."

Her eyes widened at that, but she was left unable to say anything because he had the ground beneath him erupt, sending him blasting forward at high speed.

(RWBY OST: "I May Fall")

With a battle cry, Naruto shifted his body to move into a spinning kick that was predictably braced for by rising sand. This only made him smirk mentally because, as soon as his leg made contact, he expelled the unique chakra he felt made up his Explosion Style, making the sand blast away from him while he only suffered minimal loss of momentum.

Still spinning, he twisted his body to strike with a fierce punch to Gaara's face. The redhead was too surprised by the failure of his sand defense, leaving him ill-prepared to mount a secondary form of defense against the blow. With another expulsion of his bloodline, Naruto's punch erupted into Gaara's sand armor, piercing it with little resistance and sending the Sand Genin back.

Gaara was sent tumbling across the ground while Naruto pressed his newfound advantage and rushed him, making his favorite handseal to create two clones to flank his sides. With a shared nod between his duplicates, the original jumped up slightly and landed the soles of his sandals on the fists of his clones. Both clones used their Explosion Style to send Naruto rocketing forward, and the real Naruto reared back his right hand, clenching it into a tight fist as visible chakra coated it.

Guy and Lee were cheering loudly for the blonde Uzumaki while the remaining Genin were left in silent shock at Naruto's combative display throughout the match. Even the other sensei were hard-pressed to not respect how far Naruto had come along; even before the awakening of his apparent bloodline limit.

Hana, Anko, and Tsume were all sporting fanged grins at the whiskered Genin. Tsume felt some pride for him, but a great deal more for her daughter who had a hand in making the young teen become such a great combatant. Anko was grinning because she felt that the gaki, with his new gift, would be a great asset to a few of her more…questionable ideas. Plus, she felt a rising amount of respect for him at how well he was using his practiced skills in his fight.

As for Hana, she was just happy for Naruto; period. She knew he was dealt a bad hand, she knew he wasn't respected and constantly underestimated, and she knew that he wanted – more than anything – to be acknowledged as a fellow member of the Leaf Ninja Forces. And now, in front of many of his fellow villagers, visiting nobles, and foreign ninja, he was showing his worth; and by the number of people yelling out their support, she knew that he had finally been acknowledged on this day.

'Naruto… You really will become a splendid ninja,' she thought as she watched his chakra-coated hand strike where Gaara was and cause a massive explosion that covered most of the stadium's field.

(End Music)

When he got close enough, Naruto was able to lock eyes with Gaara for a split second. In that brief meeting of gazes, Naruto saw what could only amount to a mirror image of himself before he found friends and precious people; a lonely child, forced to carry a heavy burden and feared because of that burden. However, while Naruto had people who helped him move away from the lonely oblivion, Gaara had embraced that darkness and became the "monster" he was feared as.

After that moment, Naruto redirected his aim for the ground right in front of Gaara, exploding the ground and creating a massive smokescreen of dust and dirt that covered him and Gaara from sight. Within that cover, Naruto stood up and looked down at his fellow child of pain. Teal eyes expressed an emotion they hadn't shown for years; fear.

"Stay back!" Gaara cried, feeling afraid of this person who could so easily break through his defenses. "I won't be erased! You won't remove my existence!"

Blue eyes stared down at the redhead with painful understanding, and blonde locks swayed as the teen shook his head. "I don't want to erase you, Gaara… I know how you are feeling, and I want to help you."

"Help me…?" asked the surprised redhead. "Why wouldn't you want to attack me after what I did to that green one? Why would you want to help a monster who fights only for himself?"

"Because I almost became that very monster too."

Gaara stilled in shock at that statement.

"Like you, I also carry something within me that makes others look on me in fear," explained Naruto, gripping where his seal was. "I was so sad…and angry that I wanted to make them go away and leave me alone. I almost gave into my pain…but I was able to stop myself when people saw me for who I really was." A sad smile formed on Naruto's face as he continued, "They saved me, and because of that I made a promise to do everything I could to keep them safe; so that I wouldn't lose the people who acknowledged me." Still smiling, Naruto crouched down and placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder, locking eyes with him. "You have people like that too, Gaara. Your brother and sister obviously care about you; I saw it during your fight with Lee."

Memories of times when Temari showed sincere concern and Kankuro acted in defense of him sprung up in Gaara's mind at the blonde's words. 'They…care?' he thought in shock, truly surprised that the siblings he had instilled fear into could feel that for him.

"Don't let yourself give into that loneliness anymore, Gaara. You still have people who worry about you," he then grinned and thumbed his chest with his free hand, "and I hope that someday…you and I could be really good friends." He saw Gaara stare at him as if he was crazy, and it only made Naruto grin wider. "I believe that you and I can truly understand one another, Gaara. I don't want to leave behind someone who shares my pain." Standing up, he offered a hand to the redhead just as the smoke cleared, revealing the two of them to the masses. "So…what do you say? Would you like to have me as a friend, Gaara of the Desert?"

The holder of the One-Tailed Beast looked to the offered hand before his eyes moved over to the competitor's booth. His eyes met those of his siblings and, with a much clearer head, he was able to see that they were truly concerned about him. He felt a strange, but very welcome, warmth in his heart as he turned back to Naruto's smiling face.

Slowly, he raised his hand up and grabbed the blonde's, being lifted to his feet as the remains of his sand moved back into his gourd. He kept his gaze firmly on Naruto's and the faintest of smiles made its way to his lips. "Yes… I would like that very much, Naruto Uzumaki." He then turned to Genma, said Jonin having recently landed on the heavily damaged field. "Proctor…I withdraw."

Stunned silence overtook the crowd while the senbon-chewing Jonin closed his eyes with an amused smile. 'Can't believe that kid actually won,' he mused before pointing an arm towards the Leaf Genin. "The winner of the third match…Naruto Uzumaki!"

Silence lingered before, up in the stands, Hana shouted out, "HELL YEAH!"

That proved to be the spark needed to set off a round of applause and cheer for the match and its winner. Naruto, stunned by the sheer level of praise, could only look to the spectators in shock. Never in his life did he ever expect to receive this kind of appreciation, and the moment becoming a reality left him unable to respond.

Up in the stands, many of the Genin were in equal shock at Naruto's win while the Jonin gave supportive smiles and respectfully clapped their hands for the Uzumaki. Kakashi, while clapping, sighed to himself at his falter. He had spurned a very promising young man because he wanted to go with a "guaranteed" pick that would've only required a minimal amount of effort. Instead of working with his other student, his own rival had taken the time and energy to mold Naruto from an inexperienced fighter to a respectable ninja of the Leaf Village.

Looking around, he saw that some of the nobles looked to the young Uzumaki with interest and appeal in their eyes. No doubt Naruto's victory would earn him some personally requested missions in the future; not to mention his display of skill, power, and ingenuity practically guaranteed him a promotion to Chunin.

'Naruto, you did excellently,' thought the scarecrow, giving the shocked boy his signature eye-smile. 'I hope you could forgive me for looking you over.'

'I never thought that Gaara would be bested in battle; and by that boy,' thought Orochimaru under the guise of the Kazekage. 'A shame that I lost my trump card. Perhaps it would be best to cancel this operation since Gaara has obviously taken a shine to young Naruto.' Looking over to a nondescript ANBU member, the hidden snake made a hand gesture which earned a questioning one in response. He only nodded at the silent query, earning a nod in response. 'You get to live for a while longer, sensei. But don't think I'm through with your or the Leaf yet.'

While internally he was slightly displeased at stopping his planned attack, he was still quite impressed with Naruto's performance; especially the awakening of the rare Explosion Style. Though, a part of him wondered how he had been able to acquire such a bloodline since it originated in the Land of Stone. He smirked amusedly, already knowing that researching the reason would be interesting to him.

When Baki got the signal for the canceled attack, he was honestly unsurprised. With Gaara being beaten, and having willingly accepted that defeat – along with forging a new bond with the blonde boy – it was expected for the invasion to be seen as inopportune. However, the Sand Jonin made a mental note to speak with his village leader about possibly coming up with a more solid alliance with the Hidden Leaf.

After all, if their Jinchūriki had a new comrade from that village, it would be incredibly difficult to get him to attack his new comrade's home.

In the infirmary, Naruto rested his tired body on a bed after a medic had looked him over. He had been given a short-sleeved red shirt to cover his torso and a replacement pair of ninja sandals while he kept his pants; them having suffered the least amount of damage throughout his fight.

He had his leg warmers back on, along with his leg weights as well. While he would've loved to leave them off, he had made a training regimen with Guy-sensei, and he intended to continue it dutifully.

Judy was laid on his bed a well, her back resting against his side as she relaxed herself. "What a match, huh?" she asked him, earning a small chuckle from her friend. Smiling, she continued, "I'm proud of you, Naruto."

"What're you talking about?" he asked in response, giving her a smile in return. "You were with me all the way; so it's just as much your victory as it is mine."

"I know…but I'm still proud of you. You were able to show just how great of a ninja you are to everyone." Her smile softened as she patted his arm. "You're an acknowledged ninja for sure now."

"Yeah… But, I couldn't have done it without Guy-sensei and Hana-senpai helping me get ready." He grinned at her warmly as he finished, "And I especially couldn't have done it without you, Judy-chan. Without you fighting with me, I doubt I would've lasted half as long as I did against Gaara."

She looked away bashfully, hiding her reddening cheeks from his view. "You would've been fine," she tried to say, but he shook his head.

"No, I wouldn't have. Not only am I glad you were fighting with me…I'm glad that I found your clan's scroll, I'm glad Rukia-baa-chan made you my partner…and I'm glad that I have you in my life, Judy-chan."

Still facing away from him, Judy was able to hide just how red her face was at his warm sincerity. She wasn't expecting him to say something so sweet to her, and she knew that he had meant every word of it. A smile formed on her face before she quickly turned around and hugged him tightly, catching Naruto by surprise.

"I'm glad I have you in my life too, Naruto-kun," she returned, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt.

He smiled at that and hugged her back, enjoying the moment he was sharing with his closest friend. Unknown to them both, Hana had heard it from the other side of the door, and she smiled happily for the both of them. She knew that the two of them would only grow closer through this, and she mentally swore to be there beside them as they moved on throughout their lives.

Following Naruto's victory was a rather long battle of strategy and wits between Shikamaru Nara of the Hidden Leaf and Temari of the Hidden Sand. Both Genin were sharp thinkers, and their minds were put to the test against one another throughout the battle.

The match proved to be the longest one yet, lasting just shy of a full hour before Shikamaru finally caught Temari in his Shadow Possession Jutsu. However, just when the spectators thought Shikamaru would take the victory, the lazy genius forfeited the match on the grounds that he had exhausted nearly all of his chakra reserves with his failed jutsu attempts.

While angry at how she won, Temari was still happy that she had made it to the semifinals of the Chunin Exams. However, given that her next opponent had beaten her brother – as well as changed him for the better (which she was immensely grateful for since she had missed him dearly) – the future Wind Mistress of the Hidden Sand already made plans to concede victory to Naruto.

While she would've loved to have a go at him, she wanted to respect her little brother's newly formed friendship with her fellow blonde. But, she would be sure to challenge him to a spar sometime in the future.

For now, she would just relax and enjoy the final matches. After all, with the invasion canceled, there was nothing to really worry about anymore.

By the time Naruto and Judy returned to from the infirmary, the small break between the first matches and the semifinals had ended. Shino was now scheduled to be facing Sasuke, and Naruto was honestly on the fence on who he believed would win. Both Genin were good – great, even – and they came from two respected clans of the Hidden Leaf.

But, that's where their similarities ended in his eyes. Where Sasuke focused on a mix of close and mid-range based combat, Shino was more focused on mid to long-range. Sasuke incorporated taijutsu and ninjutsu in his style while Shino mainly used his bugs with a slight use of ninjutsu added in to enhance his prowess with them. Also, Sasuke had Fire Style under his belt while Shino had some basic knowledge of Earth Style and poison-based techniques.

In a strategic sense, it was a front-line combatant (Sasuke) against a saboteur (Shino).

'But then again, Sasuke never got a chance to show what he had learned from Kakashi,' mused Naruto, unknowingly approaching where his fellow Leaf Genin were sitting with their sensei, the Inuzuka women, and Anko.

Seated on his shoulder again, Judy saw that her friend was lost in thought, so she subtly helped him avoid bumping into people by gently moving his head in the directions he needed to go. After all, the head of anything determined where it went; even a human. No need to let him accidentally run into a wall, a seat, or a stranger.

"Naruto, my friend!" Lee called out with a wide smile, breaking the blonde Uzumaki from his thoughts and getting his attention. "You and Judy-san did excellently in your battle! Your Youth really showed itself throughout the fight!"

While both of the rabbit affiliates gave awkward chuckles at his exuberance, they were thankful for his support. "Thanks, Lee. I just hope Judy-chan and I can keep up the pace we've made."

"We're good for short bursts, after all," Judy added jokingly. "We don't have a dog's stamina."

"Damn right you don't," Hana teased as she moved over to them and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Still, great job out there, Kit (1). You too, Bunny Girl."

Judy had her ears drop while her nose twitched in annoyance at the nickname; but she said nothing. 'Gotta remember to plan a really SPECIAL prank for her with Naruto-kun.'

"So, what was that back there when you exploded?" Choji asked curiously, snacking away on a bag of chips. "Did you learn that during the month?"

"Actually," began the blonde, "I have no idea where that came from. I think it might be a bloodline."

"It is," Kakashi clarified, earning the attention of the Genin. He held back a guilty look at seeing both Naruto and Judy giving him straight-faced stares. "That was known as the Explosion Style, which is a mix of Lightning and Earth Styles in tandem. The odd thing about that style though is that it originated in the Hidden Stone."

"And those guys have been butting heads with us for years," Asuma Sarutobi commented, stamping out his used up cigarette. "Even before Lord Fourth made himself Enemy #1 in their books, the Leaf and Stone have never really gotten along."

Kurenai hummed thoughtfully. "So, the question is how Naruto got that bloodline if their village is constantly against us…"

"It should be obvious," Tsume spoke up, looking a tad annoyed at how her fellow Jonin had to think it over. "Either a deserter of the village or an immigrant with the dormant bloodline left the Land of Stone, traveled to the Land of Fire, and became an ancestor of the pup's."

Naruto looked surprised at that. "A part of my family came from the Hidden Stone?"

"It's the best assumption we have to go off of, pup," Tsume answered. "The only thing to figure out is if it came from your mother's side or your father's." Her thoughts then turned inward. 'It must've come from Minato's side of his family. The Uzumaki were the Leaf's allies; making them a fellow enemy of the Hidden Stone.'

Before anyone else could comment on it, Sakura called out excitedly, "Sasuke-kun's match is starting! Go, Sasuke-kun!"

"Go, Sasuke!" Ino cheered along with her before both of them glared heatedly at each other.

Tenten shook her head while resting it against her palm. "I can't believe I'm associated with them as kunoichi…"

She wasn't expecting an arm to wrap around her shoulders, or for that arm to belong to the violette Special Jonin. "Don't think about it too much, girly. You see, while they are so focused on impressing some boy, you've been focusing on your career. You'll be leagues ahead of them before the end of their first year of duty at this rate."

Hana plopped down in the other seat next to the bun-haired Weapons Mistress, grinning brightly. "The best part of this is that men will respect you more for being a supporting member of the village. Not to mention that strong women always have more appeal than pretty girls."

"And besides," Kurenai added with an amused smirk, "just because you'll be strong doesn't mean you can't also be a beautiful woman at the same time."

Tenten nodded in understanding, and she smiled at the pep talk the women gave her. "Thanks."

Guy had manly tears flowing at his female student getting out of her "funk" while Lee was surprisingly subdued. Instead, he had a thoughtful look on his face while his large eyes looked back and forth between Sakura, who he harbored a crush for, and Tenten, who had been a supportive female voice in his life.

Hinata, who had also been listening, wondered if a certain boy would notice her more if she was stronger. Self-doubt almost reared its ugly head for the umpteenth time in her life, but she was able to surprisingly quash it and focus on a new goal; prove herself to everyone so that he would finally notice her.

Naruto saw that his fellow male Genin were more focused on the match below, not even listening to the conversation. He had his eyes closed and arms crossed as he mused, 'I wonder how strong mom was…and how she got dad to notice her.' Internally sighing, he was once again frustrated at not knowing what his parents looked like. If strong women were also beautiful, how beautiful was his mom? Shaking his head, a smile formed as he thought, 'I bet she looked like an angel. And even if she didn't, she was my mother and I'm proud to be her kid.'

Down below, Sasuke was forced to keep his distance as clones of Shino charged at him; each of them made of dozens of chakra-eating beetles. If even one of those clones broke apart close enough to him, he would be a victim of chakra siphoning in an instant.

Sasuke was proud – no one doubted that – and he held pride in his clan, his skills, and his power. However, two things stung that pride; his inferiority to his murderous brother, Itachi, and his average levels of chakra. While Uchiha held more chakra than most regular ninja, it was only by so much, and he knew he wouldn't last long against Shino's beetles; not like Naruto, who had proven time and again t having MASSIVE stores of chakra.

Kakashi had even supported that fact by saying that Naruto held chakra stores equivalent to a Kage already; even if he had poor control as the drawback. But still, Sasuke held wonder at what he could've had the potential to do if he had that amount chakra within him.

Going through handseals, Sasuke unleashed a barrage of small fireballs that targeted the clones while also pulling off a Substitution Jutsu with the one closest to Shino. With the success of that, he was able to use his newly trained speed to close the gap between him and the Aburame.

'Right there!' he mentally cried as he used a quick burst of chakra to make himself go faster, appearing in a blur right behind Shino and aiming a rising kick at his head. When the blow landed, Sasuke smirked, but he lost it and retreated with a startled grunt when he saw that his target had only been a clone.

He frowned at this, knowing that his Sharingan should have seen right through a clone, but his dilemma was answered when he saw that one of the clones in the group now held Shino's natural chakra system.

"You aren't the only one who has training with the Substitution," the Aburame heir stated, fixing his shades. "So long as I have my beetles keep making themselves into clones," a clone formed right as he was saying this, returning the number of copies to five, "then I have plenty of chances to move away from your attacks. I don't even need to use my chakra to maintain the clones; only give the initial amount needed to start the jutsu."

Sasuke grit his teeth at that. He wasn't prepared for this. He had been so focused on Kankuro and Gaara (who Kakashi said was practically guaranteed to win against the loser) that he didn't think of the other participating Genin. 'Dammit,' he cursed. 'I was careless… I didn't expect the loser to win or for Neji to lose. He was the Rookie of the Year before me and is supposed to be a genius of the Gentle Fist while Gaara had an ultimate defense. Why did those two win when the odds were against them?'

"You can prolong the match as long as you wish, Uchiha-san; but in the end you won't win." Resting his hands in his coat pockets, Shino continued, "I don't usually prefer to point out these kinds of situations since it makes me come off as arrogant. But, surely you can see the outcome as well, can you not?" Shaded eyes met red ones as he finished, "You're a skilled Genin, Uchiha-san, but you didn't plan ahead this time."

Sasuke was tempted to pull out his trump card, but he caught Kakashi's gaze and saw the man shake his head; as if he knew what he was thinking of doing. Grunting in frustration, he tried to think of a way to turn the tides in his favor.

"Looks like the prick's in a bind," commented Kiba with a grin. "Just goes to show that he's not as tough as he says he is."

Sakura took offense to that and shouted, "At least he made it to the finals and didn't get farted on!"

Stifled snickers and giggles came from her outburst while Kiba went red in embarrassed rage. He would've snapped at her, but someone else cut him off.

"I'm sorry about that," Naruto apologized, getting Kiba's attention; as well as the others. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I guess I just overdid it and my body reacted." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, giving off a guilty smile at the same time. "No hard feelings, Kiba?"

The Inuzuka scowled at Naruto and almost told him to forget it, but Akamaru gave off a small whine. When he turned to his partner, the little ninken gave off a bark before jerking his head to Naruto and Judy. Kiba didn't look to be a fan of the idea, but he relented with a heavy sigh. Turning away with a scoff, he said, "Yeah, yeah… No hard feelings."

Naruto grinned at that before returning his attention to the match. Beside him, Kakashi looked down at the Uzumaki, regret in his visible eye. He missed a real gem with his student, instead letting someone else awaken that raw potential he had inside of him. Idly, he wondered what would've been different if he gave Naruto the attention he needed.

An idea finally came to Sasuke and he pulled out every smoke bomb he had in his ninja pouch before throwing them in spaced locations; enough to almost cover the entire stadium field. Using the cover of smoke, Sasuke then pulled out his ninja wire and some kunai knives while using his Sharingan to measure how long each piece of wire would need to be cut for his plan.

Once the wire was cut into proper pieces, he tied them to separate kunai and then tossed them all at various points in the arena walls that surrounded him and Shino; making his location be the epicenter of his next technique. He took the ends of wire that he still had beside him and quickly tied them together, wincing when they cut lightly into his skin.

As soon as he finished, the smokescreen cleared and there were only five copies of Shino that were seen; meaning that either the original found a hiding spot, or he was trying to make another feint to use against Sasuke. Deciding not to dwell on it – especially since he was already this far into his plan – Sasuke held the tied wires between his teeth and went through the necessary seals for one of his strongest jutsu.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" From his mouth, fire erupted and caught the wires aflame, sending the fire down their lines and making the view from above look like a flaming spider's web. He then took out one last kunai and had it anchor the tied wire ends to the ground while he saw the clones react naturally to the fires. He frowned when he saw that Shino wasn't among them and used his eyes to try and find him.

Unfortunately…

"ARGH!" Sasuke gave off a startled cry as a hand broke through from the earth and grabbed his ankle in a vice-like grip.

"I have you now," came Shino's voice from beneath the ground before, in a manner almost exactly like how Kakashi had done, the hand dragged Sasuke into the earth up to his neck and trapped him. In front of Sasuke, Shino made another break in the ground and climbed out of it; though he looked winded. "It took more chakra than I hoped to use, but I'm pleased that I was able to successful utilize my Headhunter Jutsu. I'm impressed with your attempt to flush me out, but you let me have my own opportunity to win when you made that smokescreen." Crouching down, Shino held a kunai to the neck of Sasuke as the Uchiha practically sneered at him in growing rage. "You have lost, Uchiha-san."

Landing beside them, Genma called out, "The winner of the first semifinal match is Shino Aburame!"

Many supporters of Sasuke in the stands groaned at the Uchiha's loss; the most vocal of them being the ones who placed such heavy bets on his victory. The rest of the spectators applauded the Aburame heir's triumph, impressed with how he baited Sasuke and turned his own plan against him.

"Sasuke-kun…lost?" Sakura asked in shock, and Ino was no better. In fact, the blonde kunoichi couldn't even speak through her surprise.

Kiba was cheering loudly for his teammate while Hinata and Kurenai clapped and smiled warmly. Asuma and Guy also applauded the Aburame while the male Choji and Lee gave supportive smiles. Kakashi looked slightly surprised, but he dropped it for his regular lazy look.

"I suppose I didn't train him enough to handle someone like Shino," he mused aloud. "Oh well. There are winners and losers for everything, and he could only get stronger from this loss, after all."

"All too true, my youthful rival!" agreed Guy with his signature grin and thumbs-up.

With Judy and Naruto, the rabbit girl asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Shino really proved himself," Naruto answered with a smile. "Sasuke is tough – I won't deny that – and Shino showed himself to be tougher. He definitely earned that win."

Judy smiled back and nodded before she said, "You face that fan user next. Any ideas?"

"I'll probably just out-speed her and try to make her lose her fan. That seems to be her main source for combat, after all." He shrugged with a grin and added, "I was never one to plan ahead. Like Guy-sensei said, I work best on the fly."

"True," agreed Judy and the two shared a small laugh before they heard his match be announced. However…

"Proctor, I forfeit!" Temari's voice was heard from the competitor's booth. "I used too much chakra in my last match and I've seen enough of Uzumaki-san to know that I can't win."

Both Naruto and Judy blinked, the two of them at a loss for words at the unexpected declaration. "Did… Did I just get moved up to the finals?"

"I…think so?" Judy answered, still thrown for a loop.

Down below, Genma had to give the Sand kunoichi a nod for her reasoning. It was sound and she knew when the situation was too much; just like a Chunin would be expected to do. So, with that, he called out, "The final match then will start immediately! Shino Aburame and Naruto Uzumaki, come down here!"

'The boy will win this one,' Orochimaru mused assuredly. 'While Sasuke is unable to handle multiple opponents, let alone chakra beetles, the Uzumaki boy has his own clones and plenty of chakra.' His disguised eyes looked down to the Aburame, seeing his body slouched slightly from fatigue. This made him smirk. 'The Aburame boy is also on his last legs while Naruto looks fresh. Just goes to show how impressive an Uzumaki's body is. A shame I couldn't mark him as well. His chakra stores, natural healing, AND the Explosion Style? It's far too tempting.' He sighed in disappointment. 'What a waste to be serving a place like this…'

"Are the two of you ready?" Genma asked.

"Ready to go," Naruto answered with an excited grin while Judy nodded from his shoulder.

When the Jonin turned to Shino, the Aburame was silent for a few moments. This made him repeat the question. "Are you ready, Aburame-san?"

Shino took a breath, still feeling worn from his previous battles. Raising his gaze to Genma's, he shook his head and answered, "No, I'm not ready for this, proctor. I've exhausted myself too much throughout these matches. I concede to Uzumaki-san."

Naruto gave a small gasp of shock while Judy's own eyes widened. Throughout the audience, everyone looked on in surprise at the declaration of defeat; one made before the match even started.

Up in the Kage Booth, Orochimaru smirked behind his veil while Sarutobi just smiled proudly at Naruto. 'You actually won, my boy. Your parents would be so proud of you.'

"In that case, the winner of the final match, and the Chunin Exam's Combat Stage, is Naruto Uzumaki!" declared Genma.

That statement was enough to make Naruto grin wider than ever before he leapt up and gave a loud cheer. That cheer spurned others to join in, and soon most of the stadium was applauding for the Uzumaki boy. The loudest of them were Guy and Lee, the Inuzuka women, and Anko (who had placed a huge bet on Naruto after his first match).

The other Genin were left in shock at this, along with the other sensei, while Sasuke seethed in jealousy. 'Why…? Why did he win? He's supposed to be a loser! He couldn't even get Kakashi to train him, and yet he was able to beat Gaara and then just become the winner by forfeit?! Why?!'

The jealousy he felt made his Curse Mark pulse, and as it did, Orochimaru only smirked wider in his seat. Stopping himself from chuckling, he thought, 'Soon Sasuke…you will be mine.'

1~ Rabbit younglings are called kittens or kits, just like cats and foxes

And there's the end of the Chunin Exams! Naruto has become the winner, and all he had to do was beat Gaara and offer him a genuine friendship (just like in canon)!

The end might've been anticlimactic, but a part of me REALLY believes that how it should've happened for this. Sasuke is good for a Genin, but I feel Shino is more levelheaded and could come up with a workable strategy against him. That's why I had him win against Sasuke.

I can also see Temari respecting her reformed brother's new friendship by helping said new friend. Plus, she really did get worn out by Shikamaru since their match was, in fact, the longest one of the finals. So that's why she forfeited.

And then Shino forfeited because he couldn't recover enough for the final match. Naruto can bounce back quickly; proven MULTIPLE times throughout the series. So, that's why Naruto was given the victory!

I hope my reasons make sense!

Until next time!

pain17ification

another one bites the carrots

I love what pain wrote but~
gonna have to work on more interactions with Judy and Naruto. gonna need some fluffy moments. more fluff! one of the things I have to work with...as well as working on their fighting style.