Notice: I do not own Naruto, and make no claims of copyright on the characters who are not my property. Original characters, however, are mine.

Author's Notes: All right, here we go to finish off the rest of the second round. And then I can move on to the best and most important of the fights (meaning the ones I've been thinking about since before they even got to Stone). In any case, while this chapter may not be the best, the next couple will hopefully be really good.

Oh, and for some reason fanfiction.net decided that I didn't need a space on the main page the last time I updated for some strange reason. Hopefully that problem will not repeat.

Thanks to all who read and review, feedback helps me keep going!

Without, Within

Shiren returned to the waiting room only to watch Gosain pass out down the stairs, his face grim and set. He nodded at her as she passed, but said nothing.
Neji managed a warmer reaction. "Well fought." He told her, with as much warmth as his voice was capable, and smiled, a truly genuine expression, not the harsh mocking smile that he had always worn in the past.
"Thanks." Shiren returned, moving to stand next to him at the railing. "Hopefully Gosain will do as well."
Neji gave the barest shake of his head. "That ninja, Ota, will not be easily defeated."
"Gosain's strong though." Shiren returned, trying to be positive.
It was not hard for Neji to see that she to expected this to be extremely difficult for Gosain, but that she still hoped for him to win. Neji also noted that he shared the sentiment. Gosain has surely achieved his goal even with his first fight, so this doesn't matter toward whether or not he becomes a chuunin, but I would still like to see him pass this obstacle. Certainly it would be better to face him than this stone ninja.
So he stood next to Shiren and looked on, silently supporting the third ninja of their team, the one who had been forced to face his tests before the two of them.
Tsukabe Ota and Kabure Gosain were similar men, sturdy ninja who did not stand out in any real way, obviously strong, but not ones to flaunt it. Gosain was at least a year, perhaps more, older than Ota, but they had similar gazes. These two ninja both understood the harshness of the ninja world in a way few genin achieved before becoming chuunin. As they faced each other it was with respect, ready to test the strength of their opponent.
Examiner Acade stepped between them, and the crowd grew silent. Above, Xi caught the mutters. Since the break this match had been much spoken of. The surprisingly skilled Lightning ninja, the cursed genin, to match up against the strongest genin of Stone, the ninja who had built his strength from no special beginnings to wield the strength of mountains, Tsukabe Ota. When Acade raised his hand absolute silence fell, and high above the Kages shared one last, competing glance, and then focused in on the two small genin upon whom so many were now focused.
"Begin!"
Gosain charged, his steel pole extended.
Ota did not move, but drew a kunai and guarded himself.
The weapons met with a terrible clang, and Gosain flew backward, propelled through the air and the remnants of grass, skidding to a stop only a short distance from the stadium edge. Strong! He noted. There's incredible power behind his taijutsu, but I have the maneuverability advantage.
Hmm...he strikes with a force to almost match Gai-sensei. Neji observed, but he seems to lack speed. If Gosain can use his chains effectively...
Gosain did not waste any time making the attempt. He pulled out the long strands of chain and advanced, spinning them slowly along the ground. When only a short distance separated them he flung the chains up into the air, and dashed forward to attack. "Whirling Stormfront!"
Ota brought his hands together without even looking at the oncoming chains. With deliberate chair he formed a series of seals.
The name of the jutsu was lost beneath the thunderous impact of Gosain's slashing and crushing chains.
The storm of metal drew back, and the crowd gasped as Ota stood there unharmed. Gosain's eyes narrowed. He's covered himself in stone! Bastard! Indeed, Ota's skin was covered in a protective skin of brown stone, apparently drawn up from the ground all about him There were nicks and dings in the skin were Gosain had struck, but no damage had been inflicted.
"What do you call that trick?" Gosain asked his stone opponent.
"Unmoving Stone Form." Ota answered with a voice slow and crumbling, speaking around stone that covered even his face.
Damn, that skin will protect him against my chains, and no kunai's going through it. Gosain circled around, watching Ota turn and observe him. "I'll blow that skin right off!" Gosain shouted. "Stormlash Winds!"
He spun the chains in a cyclic circle, kicking up a great storm of viscous and cutting winds that sheared the grass from the ground and kicked a tremendous amount of dust into the air. Even the stadium walls seemed to groan when struck by that terrible storm. Yet, Ota's skin endured unchanged.
It would have worked against Gaara, Neji determined from his observation place. But that skin is not sand, but solid rock. He's not using chakra to hold it in place; he uses chakra to make his body flex it. It still requires tremendous strength to lift, which is why he hasn't moved much. Still, it can't be blown or ripped off so easily.
Standing next to him Shiren muttered. "What a trick, but there's got to be a weak point. There's always a weak point."
Neji nodded, and he looked more closely at Ota.
The battle went on even as watchers observed, as Gosain continued to circle his still immobile opponent and looked for a way to strike. Finally he gritted his teeth and made a decision. I can't break through or scrape off that armor, so I guess I'll have to strike through it using lightning. That technique uses up too much chakra though, and I still haven't fully recovered from the last fight. I don't like it. Gosain knew the answer to that problem however; I have to do it anyway.
Gosain spun his swirling chains high and wide, and Ota's eyes followed the motion. "Chain Lightning Energy!" Chakra blasted down the chains, converted quickly into electricity, making the chains living lightning bolts. They crashed down, one on each side of Ota, and streaked in to strike his sides.
The stone ninja took one chain strike full on his stony armor, and showed no reaction. As for the other, his left hand reached out and snatched it. Gosain's chakra poured down the chain and into Ota, and the stone armor began to glow with frightful heat in seconds, but that was all the time there was a connection.
Ota pulled hard on the steel chain, with a great and sudden force, pulling Gosain in to him.
Shit! Gosain had time to think, and he struggled to retain a grip on his pole, bracing for the Stone ninja's counter.
"Fist of the Mountain Core!" Tsukabe Ota's right hand, covered in thick stone armor, slammed into Gosain's midsection with a hideous crack that split the stadium. The lightning ninja flew backwards all the way to the wall, to hit with a horrible thud, cratering the wall, and sliding to the ground.
Yet Gosain still held his chain. In fact, as the dust cleared the crowd saw that a cage of chains had emerged behind him, cushioning the strike against the wall just enough. Always keep a hold of your weapon if you want to survive. Gosain smiled as he struggled to rise.
Ota made the best use of his time, striding forward, but he did not let go of his stone armor. Instead he moved with a slow and deliberate pace. With each step he took the stone around his leg surged outward, opening a path so he could move it forward, never breaking contact with the ground.
Gosain, Neji, and Shiren, all searching for the weakpoint in this defense, all saw it at the same moment. He has to touch the ground for his armor to work!
Shuddering against the support of his pole, Gosain rose to one knee. Ota's eyes widened as he raised up the pole.
Lightning surged down the chains and they raced forward under the manipulative force of Gosain's chakra, surrogates for a body that could not stand yet. Gosain brought his pole above his head, gripping it in both hands. "Ground surge!"
The kunai heads of the chains slammed into the ground on either side of Ota. Thunder smote into the ground, and a rippling surge impacted it. For a sole instant a separation occurred between Ota and the ground.
Armor began to crumble the second separation occurred.
"Whirling Stormfront!" Gosain lashed his chains beneath Ota's body, lifting him up further, striking all along the legs are the armor began to separate. He began to hope.
Then a sudden weakness wracked Gosain, and his chains spasmed for a moment. Shit! Not enough chakra!
The chains snapped to equilibrium a second later, but Ota was observant, and he had sensed the moment to counter. Again he grabbed the chains in his left hand, this time the sharp kunai head drew blood, but the stone ninja ignored the pain and yanked backwards.
"So I lose." Gosain muttered as he flew toward the stone ninja.
"Fist of the Mountain Core!" The blow slammed Gosain in the stomach, and forced blood out of his mouth. He collapsed in front of Ota on the ground.
"Gosain!" Shiren called from the waiting room, and she appeared ready to jump down.
"No Shiren." Neji said quietly, extending an arm in front of her. "We can't do anything from here. Besides, Gosain knows we care. What matters is how that stone ninja acts."
Shiren nodded. But then spat out. "I hate to see him go down like that."
For Gosain, lying in the dirt in a maze of pain, it was unpleasant in the extreme. Then he felt a sturdy hand turn him over so he could face upright. Unable to move, he found himself looking into the face of Tsukabe Ota.
"Almost." The stone ninja said. "But almost doesn't matter."
"Heh." Gosain spat through the blood in his mouth. "What matters is who's alive at the end of the day, so tell that examiner to get the damn medics."
"Ah." Ota turned away.
There are worse ninja to lose to. Gosain took that much as solace against his disappointment. But you'd better crush him in the next round Neji.
"Winner: Tsukabe Ota!" The Examiner announced.
Neji and Shiren stared down as the medics came and took Gosain away on a stretcher, Neji ignoring that his next match came soon until Gosain was off the field. He found the whole situation disappointing. Gosain would likely have won if Nemari had not been his opponent in the first round. Still, this is not about victory, it is about becoming a chuunin. That much seems likely decided.
"Shiren." Neji turned to her. "I have to deal with this grass ninja, but I expect there will be another pause before the next series of fights. So I will speak to you then."
"Thanks." She replied, but her eyes remained sad. "Let's get to that part right away."
The sadness in her eyes was not something Neji wished to see, but he accepted that this was a difficult moment. Shiren was closer to Gosain than he had been, and it was certainly hard to see him go down even for Neji.
He jumped down to the stadium easily, not bothering to use the stairs. No need to waste anyone's time.
His opponent had walked the distance slowly, and was already there. A simple looking grass ninja with pride in his step. Like all the members of the grass team he was similar to Neji in age, but he did not impress Neji. One a monster, one a strong girl, and then this one, nothing to bother me. The least of the three he is, and I will deal with this quickly, just as before. Doshiyre Masan wore his confidence obviously, but Neji could read him, and he knew this was simply a reaction to avoiding the wrath of Tonetero that had fallen upon Kei. The pair of ninja stood apart. "Do you truly expect to beat me?" Neji asked Masan simply. "You're fast, you block kunai, and you hit hard." Masan listed offhandedly. "Not bad, but I can beat that." "Very well," Neji answered. "I suppose I will have to deal with you then." Acade took up his customary place between the pair. The crowd's enthusiasm had waned at this point. Ota's fight had gotten them excited, and they were waiting for the next matches. Most of the skilled ninja in the crowd had spread the word that Neji was almost certain to win; he had broken the all time record for quickest match after all. The grass ninja might have some skills, but it couldn't possibly do the job. So they watched, rather bored. "Begin!" Acade dropped his hand down, cutting to the start of the match. Neji brought out the Byakugan, and then he waited. His opponent made no moves to attack. "Do you know where the Grass village came from, Leaf ninja?" Masan asked him. Neji said nothing; he was watching chakra gather in Masan's body. "It was once part of the Leaf village you know. We might have left, but we can still use those techniques." Masan raised his hands and moved at lightning speed through a pattern of seals. "Fire Element: Grand Fireball no Jutsu!" The hideous blaze of burning flame shot from Masan's mouth, set to immolate anything it touched. It streaked toward Neji and encompassed his form. "Kaiten!" The fireball blasted apart to reveal Neji spinning through it and streaking toward Masan at the same time. He maintained the Kaiten whirl the entire distance to Masan, which he covered at tremendous speed, and then struck. The hit slammed Masan, who could not anticipate an attack that came from directly through his jutsu. Neji stopped he spin and pursued the grass ninja, striking again and again, four strikes in rapid succession, driving Masan to the ground. He failed to rise a moment later. Neji provided only an instant of opportunity for Masan to rise before placing a kunai at his throat. "How?" Masan managed through a mask of pain and disbelief. "Your flame jutsu is a construction of chakra, without a physical form." Neji answered. "It can be severed by the application of my own chakra, which I can release from any part of my body." High above, the on looking Xi was impressed. You combined your Kaiten with the spin of Shiren's lightning anchor. A surprising move, but effective. Beyond this he noticed something else. Your chakra reserves are increasing, this past month accomplished that much at least, even if you learned no dragon jutsus.
"Winner: Draci Neji!" Acade called out. "There will now be an hour break before the semifinal matches. The first match to be Senirai Shiren of Hidden Cloud versus Tonetero of Hidden Grass. The second match to be Tsukabe Ota of Hidden Stone," Acade paused while the crowd cheered for their favorite. "Versus Draci Neji of Hidden Leaf."