Shorter than I would like, but I suck at writing actions scenes but I think I did good...

Ino shivered as she looked at the crowd of people before her, bloodthirsty and eager to watch children fighting to the near death. It was a horrifying thought but Ino was ready, she was well trained and had used the month off to mold herself into as powerful a figure as she could manage. She was an entirely new Ino, one that was a product of her new good choices. She was ready to thrive!

All around her was the best chunin candidates of her age, kids that had skill, power and aggression on their side. Well, except for Shikamaru who only had intelligence and nothing else, his laziness would be his downfall, she was sure of it. He was the weakest target there, everyone else and she knew that she could best him. Shino, who she was going to fight first, and then Kankuro if she won against Shino, was probably the second hardest enemy bar Gaara. He had numbers and power with his bugs, and frankly he was really smart. She knew that if she fought him, it could never be a war of attrition. She had to win through effort, and speed and skill.

What made it worse, in her mind, was that she was the first fight... and she had the most to prove, to herself, to her Daddy, to the Hokage, to Rai... to the world.

Looking down at herself, Ino felt pride rise at the changes made to her outfit, reflecting her personal growth. She was still wearing purple, but she had underarmor under everything. She had her tanto across her lower back, and two extra packs on her left leg and hip respectively. One was filled with senbon and the other was filled with medical supplies from her lessons with Rai. Her arms and legs and belly showed her hard work, strong muscles formed and corded to perfection.

She was a child of war and she would not let herself loose.

Absently, she listened as the Proctor dismissed the other and she moved across the field. She fell into a soft stance as she saw Shino standing there, almost absently. She was ready to kick his ass... and she would do it.

"Ready... Start!" The proctor said and she moved before he did.

Without hesitation, she threw a kunai at Shino at almost mockingly slow speeds. The boy turned to the side, dodging the blade, only to go flying when she replaced herself with the kunai and kick his face with enough strength to send him back over twenty feet. He rolled to a standing position, only for blood to fly as she slashed at him six times in less than two seconds with her tanto, using the last slash to put the blade to his throat. "Forefiet, or die!"

"""

"The girl is very good, quite ruthless," Orochimaru told his old Sensei, under the guise of Rasa the Kazekage.

His sensei nodded. " She wasn't like that before, but it seems the rose-colored glasses of a peaceful life is falling off. Such a sad notion, don't you think?"

"Perhaps, but her skill is to be admired. She has shown wise tactics and skills, using that Kunai to replace with. Not many jonin can do that, replacing with something so small."

"Agreed, it is a sign of something to come, but I need to see more if she is to be promoted. I will say I am impressed, she only started to learn Swordplay over the last month and she is already easily more than Genin level with that skill, not quite chunin level but still impressive."

Orochimaru nodded as turned back to the match fully, just in time to watch as the Aburame exploded into a flurry of beetles, chakra sucking beetles. " That is going to be difficult to overcome."

"Quite."

The girl, however, to their shock, vanished in a swirl of leaves, kicking the Aburame boy from his hiding place behind the tree, placing her sword at his throat once more. "I am a sensor, you are going to have to try better than that."

The boy nodded. "I forfeit."

"A sensor good enough to detect him quickly, without having to tap into her chakra for long, that is rare." Orochimaru admitted.

Hiruzen smiled. "That was good, she is far faster and showcased new mastery of the shushin and replacement... she may be a candidate for chuninship after all... but let's see her full showing before I say anything."

"""

Ino ran into the arms of her boyfriend, who was waiting for her in the waiting chambers. "I did it!"

"You did it! Shino is a one trick pony, if he fought back instead of relying on his bugs he might have at least had a better showing. Great job!"

She beamed, curling into his chest for a moment. " I did it... I did it... I did it." Kissing the boy, she pulled back. "Naruto is up soon, let's go watch him."

"Let's."

They hurried up to the watching box just in time to see Naruto get onto the field with Neji.

The fight to come was pretty awesome...

Naruto, with a skill he had never had before, shot toward Neji with blade swinging. Neji dodged and ducked, but Naruto did not relent. Neji lashed out, poking and prodding with great accuracy, only for every blow to be blocked by Naruto's katana. The boys were dancing, a deadly dance in which there was no clear victor. Ino never realized Naruto had so much potential, but boy was it fun to see. She should have realized it though, as Naruto and Rai were based on the same base essence.

Eventually, Naruto glowed red and slashed Neji across his chest before kicking him away, his eyes red with a power she could not understand but could taste. Rage, hate, and pain a mile wide filled the power. "What is that?" She asked Rai.

Rai sighed. "I legally cannot tell you, beyond it being a clan skill... but I can saw it's why you are not allowed to mind swap with Naruto."

She nodded slowly, and shivered, wondering just what was inside of Naruto... that would make Rai look so, afraid.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a joy to write, I loved it.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.