Legacy of the Fourth

by Rokudaime-Kage

[AU] Inheriting Yondaime's genius and under the tutelage of Jiraiya and Kakashi. Naruto joins the ranks of Konoha's shinobi at a young age to gain the village's acknowledgement and prove he is Yondaime's Legacy. [I dont own Naruto]

5. Grass Cutter vs Soul Cutter

Sakura POV

Three months has passed since our first high ranking mission. Team 7 under the command of rookie Jounin-sensei Uzumaki Naruto had brought back one of the Sannin Tsunade-hime and the Legendary sword of Nidaime Hokage "Raijin Ken". During those three months, Naruto-sempai brought our already strenuous training regiment up a notch by giving each of us additional weights and teaching us one of his personal jutsu. "Jinsoku Sokushin: Rapid Acceleration" A technique that amplified a nin's speed by 5 fold.

The training that all three of us went thru was really hard almost like going thru hell and back but I guess it was worth it We got the basics of the jutsu that Naruto-sempai used on that Aoi guy.. Tsunade-sama had put up the Medic-nin Academy granted to her by Sandaime-sama. The school opened a week after we came back from the C - B rank mission after getting our paycheck of course. Naruto-sempai gave us our share of the bounty on the rain-nins we defeated. Two members of Team 7 joined the Medic nin Academy , Me and surprisingly the kid in our team Sarutobi Konohamaru.

During those three months we received personal training as well. Each one of the three months one of us would be absent during team trainings for personal training. My personal trainer was Shizune-san , Tsunade-sama's apprentice. She help me get started with basic medical jutsus for field healing and off-field healing. Naruto-sempai also had me train to be in Sync with my inner personality Inner Sakura. I never really knew why I had this split personality in the first place but from Shizune-sensei's diagnosis it must have been because I never showed much anger and mostly hid it deep inside thus the creation of inner Sakura.

The jutsu that Naruto-sempai and I created "SenbonSakura Renda" was now a part of my arsenal. I can use it effectively more than five times a day before collapsing on the ground with chakra exhaustion and stamina loss. Both Shizune-sensei and Naruto even made me eat more and try to raise my stamina. Something I'm really thankful for since now my goal is to be the best Kunoichi in Konoha just like Tsunade-sama.

Konohamaru came next during the second month, he was trained by the Jounin-Sensei Maito Gai. Kakashi-san's insane rival. Seriously the man needed to get a haircut, tone-down on his voice volume and get a fashion designer. Although the man seem to be insane he still knew his Taijutsu. After Konohamaru-kun had his surgery which of course was only approve when Naruto-sempai and Tsunade-sama got the approval from Sarutobi Asuma-sensei and Sandaime-sama.

Konohamaru wanted to increase his strength although that could be done with training as well. With nervousness Shizune-sensei and Tsunade-sama worked on Konohamaru-kun's developing body tweaking on his muscles and adjusting them to accelerate the muscle strength. But something went wrong with the operation , due to Tsunade-sama's alcoholic tendencies had tweaked something that wasn't even suppose to be awakened until Konohamaru-kun got older.

The Sarutobi clan I heard had an affinity with the Ape Family hence their clan name Saru which meant monkey. The clan bloodline relied on borrowing the strength of the strongest of the ape family the Gorilla and other members of the ape family. When Konohamaru underwent the surgery Tsunade-sama accidentally awakened the bloodline causing the young Sarutobi to have his hair grow longer and his arms to be slightly longer than they should be. Of course Sandaime-sama was quite surprise with this sudden development since Konohamaru-kun is the first to ever have the ability awakened.

So now the kid in our team looks more ape than human but laughing at him will only get you either a lot of broken teeth or broken bones. None of team 7 laughed at Konohamaru-kun because as Naruto-sempai said everyone should be respected no matter what they look like or how much they are different in attitude. Konohamaru-kun got training in channeling the raw strength he had in his now two powerful arms from Tsunade-sama and Maito-san. Luckily Naruto-sempai threatened Gai-san that if Konohamaru-kun ever starts wearing green spandex , he would break every bone in Gai's body and use him as a target practice for little old me. Sometimes Naruto-sempai can be really scary , I've even seen his eyes turn blood red but not-like Sasuke-kun's Sharingan it seemed more beast-like and had raw killer intent which even now is giving me nightmares.

Speaking of Sasuke-kun, the number one rookie of the year got personal training on the third month by Hatake Kakashi , Naruto-sempai's older brother. I was quite surprise that Hatake-san had the Uchiha clan Doujutsu in one eye when he wasn't related to Sasuke-kun. I read somewhere that Hatake-san was taught by Yondaime-sama , Naruto-sempai's father. He is also known as Copy-Ninja Kakashi because of the single Sharingan eye and that he had copied over 1000 jutsus. I also found out that Kakashi-san is a pervert who reads Icha Icha Paradise. I swear if I ever find the author I'm going to give him a piece of my mind and introduce him to Senbon Sakura Renda.

Also during those three months , Naruto-sempai helped Kurenai-sensei in training her team. It was a real shocker when Naruto sempai brought Team 7 to Team 8's training field. During the joint training sessions , Kurenai-sensei and Naruto switched with each other. Kurenai-sensei trained us while Naruto-sempai trained Team 8. It was really cool to see Naruto-sempai prove to us again that he would in a few years really become the next Hokage..

Flashback begins

Kurenai was overseeing Sakura and Sasuke's training while Naruto challenged Team 8 to a battle. All four members of Team 8 surrounded Naruto , who was standing casually as if waiting for them to attack. "Well?" Naruto asked just as Kiba and Akamaru roared out a battle cry and charged forward. Naruto turned his head towards the right , watching Kiba and Akamaru's movements.

"You're speed has increased but you're still attacking like a lunatic..." Naruto stated as he briefly caught Kiba's outstretched hand and threw him off towards Shino who had released his Kikai bugs at Naruto. Taking a short glance down Naruto noticed the bugs starting to crawl towards him. He then glanced back up looking at the dark round lenses of the young Aburame heir.

"Impressive move..Aburame-san...you too Hyuuga-san..." Naruto said as he tried to turn his head behind him , only to be met by a small delicate looking palm glowing with chakra. Hinata meanwhile was shaking inside, she was really scared right now the boy infront of her although still a rookie jounin was known as one of the Hokage's top Shinobi's in the village. She had heard of Uzumaki Naruto from her father, that the blonde haired jounin was trained by Jiraiya one of the Sannin the very same who trained the Yondaime.

"You really shouldn't show your fear like that...Hyuuga-san" Naruto's voice snapped Hinata out of her thoughts. Hinata looked down in embarrassment , her cheeks turning red in a blush.

"Go--gomen...Na-Naruto-sempai...I-I pro-promise I'll tr-try better next ti-time" Hinata stuttered refusing to glance up and look Naruto in the eye. The blonde jounin scratched his head in confusion , trying to understand why Hinata was so shy , quite different from the other Hyuuga's he cross paths with. Most Hyuuga's were like they had jack hammers stuck up their asses.

"Come on Hinata-san...Remember what I told you about stuttering?" Naruto asked with a warm smile on his face. Hinata's face grew redder from the way Naruto just smiled at her. Naruto stretched his body and once more motioned for all three to attack. "Your teamwork is impressive...You've at least landed a hit on me two times now..." Naruto said as he quickly moved to the side letting Akamaru shoot pass him. He then whirled around sending a sizable amount of chakra towards Shino to fend of his bugs.

After distracting Shino's bugs Naruto faced Kiba and Hinata. Kiba charged first on all fours with the Hyuuga heiress close behind , pearl white orbs blazing with intensity. 'Good...she's starting to have confidence in her abilities...' Naruto thought as he leaped over Kiba and engaged Hinata in a short taijutsu match. In the background Sasuke and Sakura watched their Jounin leader push Team 8 pass their limits. "Always remember...To never give up...You all have goals still to achieve...and Hinata-san...come here for a minute I have something to teach you"

Hearing their names being called , both members of Team 7 returned to their assigned task mainly , learning some Genjutsu from Kurenai. After giving them the instructions , Kurenai sat back and watch Naruto push her team up the limits. It was really different from the way she trained them , it seems in Naruto's case he stresses Teamwork and respect into the team. he also disciplines them , rather harshly too , from the way all three team member immediately stand at attention when the arrived that morning.

Kurenai watched team 7 for a few minutes before coming to a realization. 'That nut!' She thought to herself as she observed carefully then thought back to the ANBU trainings she'd seen. She then compared Team 7's movements and teamwork to that of an ANBU team. 'Damnit...that Baka Naruto...He isn't training them like genin...' Kurenai thought. 'He's training just like how he trains his ANBU team!' Kurenai thought.

'No wonder those three are far more advanced and their teamwork are already A-ranked.' Kurenai thought as she herself grew a bit jealous at the way Naruto lead his team. She had just recently taught Team 8 the tree climbing exercise which of course earned her a questioning eyebrow from Naruto. Her thoughts were broken when Naruto called for a halt and decided to call it a day.

End of Flashback

I dont know why Kurenai-sensei always asked Naruto-sempai to help training her team when she was doing a fine job but I guess she just liked the way Kiba seemed to shut up when Naruto's around and how Hinata had improved with Naruto-sempai's help. The shy Hyuuga heiress no longer stuttered when she talked and was more confident in her abilities. She seems to have improved in skill as well.

After the three month training regiment, Naruto-sempai surprisingly rewarded us by nominating us for the upcoming Chuunin Selection Exam. I can't wait to try and test my growth against Ino-pig or any foreign Shinobis. Naruto-sempai told us to be prepared for the worse , initially he didn't want to expose us to the Chuunin Selection Exam so early in our Rookie year but with Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei's convincing him. Naruto-sempai reluctantly nominated us.

The first exam was a breeze for me since it involved a paper test although I could have cheated during that test. I saw Sasuke-kun cheat by using his Sharingan to copy the movements of the person infront of him. I was more afraid of Konohamaru since the boy seemed to have been trembling. I thought that Konohamaru would raise his hand and quit, but as Naruto-sempai taught us. Konohamaru didn't give up at all instead the boy was the one who answered the final question of the scary Examiner.

We then started the second part of the exam with another scary teacher. This time the examiner is a woman, and most of the Shinobi are gawking at her despite her threats. She introduced herself as Mitarashi Anko and from the look in her eyes I can tell she's a bloodthirsty one. I've seen those kind of eyes from Naruto-sempai. Suddenly i feel this intense surge of killing intent heading towards us. I desperately calmed my nerves down and tried to glance sideways to see who is staring at me.

Teal orbs met my emerald orbs as he stared hard at me with emotionless almost dead eyes. I shivered as I cast my glance away from the Red Haired Sand-nin. That guy gives me the creeps. After Sasuke-kun handed our papers in and had retrieved our heaven scroll. Konohamaru lead the team to Gate 12 where a Chuunin Examiner was waiting.

"What's the plan Sakura?" Sasuke asked as he sat down on a stump. Konohamaru meanwhile was checking our supply pouches. He quickly pulled out the small radio transmitters that we always carried and threw them each to us. I caught the radio transmitter easily as I set my gaze towards the dark forest beyond the steel fence.

After a few minutes of weighing our options I finally was able to come up with a strategy. "I guess when the exam starts and the gate is open we rush inside and find a good campsite. We have five days for this Exam. Once we find a suitable campsite. Sasuke-kun...You start setting traps and alarms...Konohamaru-kun gather some fruits. I doubt the animals in this forest are easy to kill." I finished as I withdrew my hand from the small layout I drew.

Sasuke-kun and Konohamaru looked at the layout for a minute or two before I erased the drawing with my foot. "Do we really have to wait for the five days to finish?" Konohamaru asked which earned him a irritated look from Sasuke. I let out a sigh as Sasuke said his explained his own plan.

"We cant really wait for the five days to be done. So here is how I see it After we set up camp Sakura since you're the best at Genjutsu...you'll create a genjutsu trap on the pathway." Sasuke said. I gave him a small smile at his praise of my skills in Genjutsu. Months ago Sasuke-kun would have just said he'll handle everything. "Konohamaru and I will set up our own traps and try to subdue any of the teams that fall into your traps."

Just as we finished planning the weirdly loud examiner who seemed to have been embarrassed from the way that weird Grass-nin with the long tongue winked at her. With a command from her the Chuunin guards opened the gates wide open. Serious expressions covered our faces as the three of us rushed into the secluded area. A nod from Sasuke gave us the signal to take to the trees , which earned us a grin from Konohamaru.

Once up in the trees we fanned out keeping only radio distance in order to find a suitable campsite. After a few minutes, a barely audible sound came from my right ear. It was Konohamaru-kun he found a suitable campsite. I immediately headed towards Konohamaru's position. AS I leaped from one branch to another I sense faint chakra signatures following me closely. A smiles formed on my face as I whispered my discovery to the rest of the team. "three blind mice are following me..."

Sasuke POV

"Three blind mice are following me" I heard Sakura's whispered voice while nodding to Konohamaru to prepare for an ambush. I'm glad Naruto-sempai taught us some of the ANBU code although I think some of it is his idea of a joke. I immediately ran up a tree a almost invisible wire being dragged behind me. i watch 7 Konohamaru's ready and waiting armed with explosive tags and the quarter staff.

Sakura came into view stopping in the middle of the clearing. once she stopped her pursuers came down from behind her. I watched as Sakura faked weakness baiting them further into our trap. With a knowing grin which was the signal to spring the trap , Sakura pulled a few strings behind her , launching some of the kunai traps behind her pursuers.

With the kunai traps activated , I quickly leaped out of my hiding place followed closely by Konohamaru and his clones. As i descended on the unsuspecting trio of Shinobi, I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of their Hitai'ate's. Rain-nins... with knowing smirks from my two other teammates, We quickly subdued the jumpsuit wearing Rain-nins. After tying the unconscious rain-nins to a tree, Konohamaru quickly searched their pouches for the scrolls that we needed. After a few minutes of rummaging Konohamaru finally was able to extract the brown earth scroll.

I gave them a nod as I leaped up to the trees heading north towards the Tower. "Let's hurry up and head to the tower" I said into the mouthpiece as a triumphant smirk formed on my face. We traveled at a considerable fast pace , the tower drawing nearer as the screams of other teams echoed through the dark forest.

I set my sights on the location when I felt a fast moving chakra projectile coming our way. 'Kuso...an intruder...' I thought before a large gust of wind blew me and my teammates backwards. Using the training that i had gained from Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-sempai, I easily landed on a branch not far from where the blast of wind originated from. A few feet away from me were Sakura and hanging from a branch above me was Konohamaru.

"Ku...ku...ku...Impressive Sasuke-kun..." A female hissing voice came from beneath the ground as something rose from the ground. I watched as the grass-nin from before rose up from the ground, his long tongue licking at the side of his/her face. 'EEWWW that dude must have one fucked up childhood...' I thought in disgust at the way this person addressed me like he knew me or something.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" I asked while giving off faint signals to Sakura and Konohamaru to be ready for anything. The grass-nin continued to chuckle in a really sadistic way. Without warning the grass-nin made eye-contact with us. immediately my life flashed right in my head, form the time when the clan was still in one piece to that very night when Itachi brutally massacred it leaving only him and me and an unknown other Uchiha alive.

Genjutsu and killer intent combined!' i thought as i urged my body to move, I can sense that the others are in the same predicament as I am. I suddenly heard someone choking from the fear. 'Kuso...Sakura and Konohamaru can't take anymore of this...I can't stand this anymore...Think..Think...' I thought as I tried to remember something that bastard of a brother taught me once.

"Fear is a powerful weapon...but even the ultimate weapon has it's own weakness...The Kanashibari no jutsu although a weak technique in the hands of an amateur. It can be very dangerous when used by a sadist or someone who enjoys killing. the Kanashibari uses a target's fear of death and replays it in the target's mind over and over again or only once. To escape it...use pain..." Itachi's voice came drawling into my head. I remembered that incident after he said that he stabbed me on the leg with his kunai as if to teach me a lesson. I also remembered when Naruto-sempai used that jutsu on me and Sakura kicked me in my family jewels.

The ugly grass-nin was starting to make his way towards me, a dangerous glint could be seen in his eyes. 'shit this guy is insane!' I thought as I finally was able to grab a kunai from my holster and jam the blade into my knee. ironically the same place where Itachi rammed his kunai. Without looking at the shocked look from the grass-nin I grabbed Sakura and Konohamaru and fled to a safer location.

I set Konohamaru and Sakura down by the branch after the effects of the Kanashibari wore off. Suddenly a huge snake slithered from the canopy , it's fangs bared as it shot towards us. 'Kuso...' I thought as we leaped away , my hands finding its way to a familiar pattern of handseals. "Katon:Goukakyou no jutsu!" I proclaimed as i inhaled deep and exhaled a large fireball that began to eat the snake. The snake writhed in pain trying to put out the flames and the onslaught of shurikens from Sakura and Konohamaru.

I scanned the area when the grass-nin appeared again this time riding on top of a large snake. 'Shit!' were my thoughts as I scrambled out of the branch i was in just as the weirdo came crashing down with its pet snake. "What the hell do you want?" I asked as I came into position for a Delta attack formation. I pulled out three kunais from my holster , waiting for the weird person to make his move.

"Ku ku ku...I want...I want to test you Sasuke-kun" The grass-nin replied ,again licking his face with that gross long tongue. Without warning the grass-nin attacked sending the snake he was riding on towards me. I leaped away , my eyes never leaving the grass-nin as i once again performed a sequence of hand-seals. Sakura meanwhile had finished her jutsu. I heard her call out the technique. "Kusaton: Kusa nawashibari! Grass Element: grass rope binder" Immediately the surrounding shrubbery from the trees came to life. Grass grew to great lengths and wrapped around the disguised sannin.

The grass ropes suddenly burst into mud deafening eerie laugh filling the air. "Ku ku ku ku ku Impressive teamwork...but not good enough!" The grass-nin's voice echoed throughout the area. I shivered at the way he said those words, 'This guy is really starting to tick me off' I thought as Konohamaru and Sakura landed beside me. I took out my remaining kunais and some wire.

The grass-nin suddenly disappeared from my sights only to reappear beside Konohamaru and send the boy thru the air. With quick and trained reflexes Sakura immediately threw a pair of kunais to save our downed teammate. 'Shit This isn't going too well and that bastard is toying with us! i thought as the grass-nin sneered at us in a toying matter. After all the training that Naruto-sempai and all the other Shinobi's who have helped me , I didn't like to be toyed with. I am an Uchiha and no one makes a fool out of Uchiha Sasuke!

With my patience growing thin , I closed my eyes as my chakra began to flow to my onyx orbs. 'SHARINGAN!' I thought out loud as everything in my sight became much more clearer. the grass-nin just squealed in delight as if it was happy that i revealed my bloodline limit. Without wasting anytime , I threw the kunais towards the grass-nin, using the wires I immediately controlled its movements.

The grass-nin gasped in surprise as the kunais shot past him and began to wrap the wires attached to him. I opened the Fuuma Shuriken that I had taken from one of my hidden pockets and threw it towards the already wrapped Shinobi. " You're annoying..." I said as the streamlined shuriken wrapped more wires around the grass-nin , using my Sharingan to make sure that the wires were wrapped around vital part of his body. "Sharingan Soufuusha Santachi! Copy Wheel Eye Windmill Triple Blade

After placing the end of the wires in my lips I began to perform a rapid sequence of handseals. After finishing the final seal I called out the technique as the chakra in my lugs began to move towards my mouth. 'Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!" I exhaled letting the flames run thru the wires towards the grass-nin. I watched as my strongest fire jutsu hit its mark , burning the grass-nin to a crisp.

Without waiting if the grass-nin survived I immediately moved to check on Konohamaru and Sakura. I quickly found Sakura with Konohamaru leaning against a tree trunk. I gave them a small smile as I sat down to rest. "Is it dead?" Sakura asked while I just nodded in reply , trying not to let my excitement fill me. Sakura didn't ask anymore questions when the same laugh began to echo thru our hiding place.

"Ku ku ku impressive Sasuke-kun...mastering such a complicated jutsu and using your bloodline limit..." A voice infront of us spoke out as it rose from the ground. The voice was still the same but the face was no longer the gay looking grass-nin but a pale faced man. It stood there the skin which was obviously burnt form the Ryuuka no jutsu falling to the ground in pieces.

"Who the hell are you?" I repeated my question earlier as I stood up trying not to show any weakness. My body was in pain from the constant moving plus the consumption of my chakra. The pale-faced-nin licked his lips before going into a fit of giggles. 'This guy is annoying and has a girly laugh...' I thought while Sakura tried to hide Konohamaru out of sight.

The grass-nin gave me a smirk before answering my question. "My name is Orochimaru...and I have come to test you if you are worthy of my gift" the grass-nin now known as Orochimaru said. My eyes went wide in shock when I heard those words. 'Orochimaru...shit..' I thought when Orochimaru pulled out a sword from his very mouth and charged towards me.

Out of instinct I pulled out Day Walker and brought it forward to block Orochimaru's blade. The two swords clashed together before Orochimaru pushed forward shattering Day Walker's blade. 'Shit!' I said as I stared at the remains of my sword. I barely dodged to the right when Orochimaru made eye contact with me , causing my body to be paralyzed. 'Shit Genjutsu Shibari no jutsu!'

I struggled to move but Orochimaru had other plans as his neck elongated snaking its way towards me. Orochimaru had a grin on his face as i struggles to move. 'Move Damnit! Move or I'll never catch up to him!' I thought desperately. Time seem to slow down when death nears you , I saw my life flash before my eyes and my only regret was I never got to ask that bastard why he did it.

Just as Orochimaru's head came close to me I felt something push my body away from the snake sannin.

Normal POV

Anko leaped from one branch to another , moving thru the dark forest , searching for someone. After the Chuunin had reported about the three dead grass-nins with their faces peeled off, Anko immediately suspected one person to have done it. She gave quick instructions to the Chuunin to contact ANBU as she leaped towards Training Area 44. She met the Rookie 9 Jounin senseis on her way there without hesitation she told them to follow her.

Behind her was Yuuhi Kurenai , Sarutobi Asuma and Uzumaki Naruto in a spread out four man formation. "Anko-neechan who are we looking for?" Naruto inquired as he used his well-trained senses to try and find their query. Anko looked towards the blonde jounin before replying.

"The team from Kusa was ,found near training area 12, heavily mutilated and faces peeled off" Anko answered as she tried to pick up the trail of the snake that performed the technique. "I already asked someone to contact ANBU but I want to catch the bastards that's trying to ruin my exam" Anko said as they stopped to look for any clues. They passed numerous battle grounds, even a massacre between the Sand team and a Rain team , with Kurenai's team witnesses to the bloody massacre.

As Anko lead the three jounin , they suddenly heard the sounds of battle coming from the direction where they were heading. "I can sense the chakra signatures...its..." Naruto said as he sniffed the air to get the correct signature. His eyes widened in shock when he realized the chakra signatures. "Kuso! It's Team 7 and they're against someone who is at least jounin level." Naruto said in alarm as he suddenly vanished in a blur of movement.

"Wai--wait Naruto! Wait for us!" Anko said when the blonde jounin used Shunpa to get to their destination quicker. "Damn that brat." Anko cursed as she and the two remaining jounin quickened their pace to catch up to Naruto. Asuma had already pulled out his knuckle blades for the upcoming battle while Kurenai channeled chakra to her legs as she kept pace with Anko.

Naruto quickly found Team 7 and Orochimaru in the midst of a battle. His eyes narrowed when he felt the suppressed chakra that Orochimaru hid. Orochimaru had Sasuke cornered after finally revealing his true identity. 'Shit!' Naruto thought as he recognized the snakelike way Orochimaru moved. Naruto watched as Orochimaru moved for the killing blow. A flash of pink made Naruto turn his attention to Sakura who had gotten up from where she was hiding towards Sasuke.

Sakura's scream echoed thru the forest as Orochimaru's fangs sank into her teeth. Naruto could see the anger in Orochimaru's eyes when the snake-sannin realized his mistake. Orochimaru released his hold on the still shrieking Sakura as Naruto felt a transfer of chakra between Orochimaru and the pink haired Kunoichi just as Orochimaru began yelling at the girl. Sakura falling unconscious as Orochimaru's neck recoiled back to its body.

"You...You damn brat! I'll kill you for ruining my plans!" Orochimaru shouted as he prepared to finish Sakura and repeat the process of giving the curse seal to the still paralyze and horrified Sasuke. The Uchiha survivor finally able to gain control of his body, anger radiated from him as his Sharingan flickered to life. Orochimaru had a smirk on his face as he performed a series of handseals. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Orochimaru brought his hands to his lips to let loose a large blast of wind when Sasuke suddenly mimicked his movements.

Sasuke called out the technique that he just copied from Orochimaru completely surprising the snake-sannin as the two wind blast collided and dispersed. Orochimaru screamed in frustration but it quickly turned to a full blown laugh as he eyed Sasuke with an obsessive glare. "Your body and eyes shall be mine!" Orochimaru proclaimed as he once again elongated his neck towards Sasuke. A roar from the side distracted Orochimaru as a large lizard leaped out of the foliage and let loose a huge fireball directly in his face.

Orochimaru screamed in pain and anger as he watched as the lion-size lizard land in between him and Sasuke. the lizard was dark in color with a cloth wrapping around its back, the Uchiha clan insignia embroidered on the cloth. "Leave this place you vile snake..." The lizard spoke in a hiss as more lizards of the same size came out. Orochimaru glared in a defiant manner before sinking into the ground.

"I'll be back...you may have protected him but it won't last long...Sasuke-kun will be mine..." Orochimaru said as his head disappeared within the ground. The lizards let out a growl as it spat a sizeable fireball at the dark spot where Orochimaru stood moments before.

As Orochimaru left Sasuke collapsed on the ground from exhaustion and the sudden disappearance of the snake sannin's killer intent. Up in the trees Naruto nodded at what just took place, he cast a worried glance at the unconscious forms of Sakura and Konohamaru. Anko and his two fellow jounin had arrived just as Orochimaru's head shrank into the ground. Naruto quickly told Anko where Orochimaru had fled to. As much as Naruto wanted to help his team , he could not since this was an exam less he want them to be disqualified.

Anko picked up Orochimaru's fleeing trail and motioned for Naruto to follow her while she directed Kurenai and Asuma to contact the Hokage and Naruto's ANBU division. "You two alert Hokage-sama and ANBU Division 6. Tell them Uzumaki-Taichou called them" Anko instructed as she raced towards Orochimaru's location. 'The slimy bastard stopped' Anko thought while Naruto remained silent , his mind worrying over Team 7's well-being.

After the two left Anko and Naruto made their way towards Orochimaru's location, the blonde jounin had a serious look on his face as he placed his ANBU mask. He pulled it up once to bite into his thumb. with a series of handseals Naruto said in a whisper "Kuchiyose: Tate shoshite Tsurugi - Summoning: Shield and Sword" The distinct puffs of smoke made Anko turn her attention to Naruto. "Let's deal with this...Anko-neechan try to remember we are only to buy some time before the old man and reinforcements arrive" Naruto said as he tried to subdue his own anger and lust for revenge on what the snake sannin had done to his team.

Orochimaru looked up to see his former apprentice and test subject. He smirked when he saw Anko but it immediately turned to a dark scowl when he saw the person who landed beside Anko. A blonde haired kid clothed in midnight black with a large sword strapped to his back but what really made Orochimaru's blood boil were the creatures that the blonde haired kid commanded. Warrior toads, one holding a large shield while the other holding onto a zanbatou, not just any warrior toads but direct descendants to the Toad Boss himself Gamabunta.

To Orochimaru this meant only one thing his idiot of a teammate Jiraiya but there was no sign of that pervert. Orochimaru's eye narrowed as he inquired "So Jiraiya thought you were worthy of summoning the toads?" The blonde jounin didn't reply to Orochimaru's question, he just looked down on the snake sannin from where he was situated before calling out a technique. "Suiton:Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

Naruto called out the technique as water particles in the air took shape and shot towards the Snake sannin. Orochimaru smirked as he quickly went thru a series of seals and countered the water dragon. "Senei Jashu!" Anko's voice rang out from Orochimaru's left , snakes extend from Anko's sleeve. The snakes bit into Orochimaru's skin and wrap around him but the snake sannin suddenly melted into a puddle of mud.

Naruto meanwhile was trying to keep track of the S-rank missing-nin, his senses sniffing out the reptile-like stench of Orochimaru. Orochimaru leaped out of his hiding place to strike Anko from behind but the shield toad came from out of nowhere to block Orochimaru's own Senei Jashu. The Zanbatou wielding toad followed up his fellow's block with an attack of its own by a vertical slash at Orochimaru, cutting him in the shoulder. "Curse these toads!" Orochimaru cried out as he leaped away all the while wiping the blood on to the contract on his arm. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Orochimaru called out as a large snake rose from the smoke with him riding on top of it.

Orochimaru had a triumphant smirk on his face as his serpent overpowered the toad duo when numerous clones of Naruto came leaping at the snake. The snake sannin just smirked before blowing the clones away with a Fuuton Daitoppa. Anko leaped at Orochimaru as she started engaging him in a taijutsu match. Orochimaru with his experience easily subdued his former apprentice. Anko once again used Senei Jashu , sending a couple of snakes to try and fend off the snake sannin.

Naruto recovering from the lost of the support from his toad summons and his clones , leaped at Orochimaru engaging the sannin in Taijutsu. Orochimaru who had much more experience than Naruto easily evaded an incoming fist from the blonde jounin. Orochimaru moved his head to the side using his body elongating technique. A loud crash could be heard as Naruto's fist connected with the tree trunk behind the snake sannin. Chunks of bark flew at Orochimaru who had a very grim expression.

With his genius mind Orochimaru put two and two together before he leaped back preparing to call out something. "So Tsunade-hime and that pervert contributed to you're growth...but who are you to have caught the eye of my teammates?" Orochimaru said as a snake slithered out of his mouth ejecting a hilt of his sword. Naruto stood there flexing his hand and breathing hard. Inside of Naruto Kyuubi stirred as he saw the sword that Orochimaru pulled out from his mouth. Kyuubi let out a howl of rage inside of Naruto , immediately making contact with his vessel. "Naruto! That sword...It's the Kusanagi! That vile creature holds the sword that was presented to the Goddess Amaterasu by my Sensei Susano-O-No-Mikoto." Naruto didn't reply to Kyuubi's words but he eyed the sword that now Orochimaru held.

"So this is the legendary sword Kusanagi.' Naruto thought as Orochimaru vanished from where he stood over an unconscious Anko. Naruto quickly turned 180 degrees, bringing Zanpaku out , blocking Orochimaru's attack. Naruto grunted as he felt the power behind the snake-sannin's attack. 'Crap' Naruto thought , pushing his body forward forcing Orochimaru to leap back.

"It didn't shatter?" Orochimaru asked in surprise as he stared at the sword that Naruto wielded. Orochimaru also noted the red chakra that was slowly appearing thru out Naruto's body. "I see...You're the Kyuubi brat..." Orochimaru said with a smirk, swinging Kusanagi as he charged towards Naruto. A large gush of wind shot towards Naruto as he tried to dodge but Orochimaru extended his arm and caught the blonde Jounin's foot. Orochimaru then thrust his sword into Naruto, the blonde jounin exploded into smoke revealing to be a Kage Bunshin.

Orochimaru suddenly felt something land on his arm , he turned his head just as Naruto's fist connected. Orochimaru felt some of his teeth fall of from his gums as he flew back , a crack could be heard as he crashed into a tree. Orochimaru stood up holding onto the bruise that was forming on his left cheek. Orochimaru cursed , his eyes filled with anger , he let roared in rage letting his killer intent envelop the whole area.

Naruto felt the air grow tense , Orochimaru vanished from where he stood and sent the boy flying backwards. Without waiting for the boy to hit a tree Orochimaru followed the boy launching a series of rapid strikes at the blonde boy. Naruto finally landed on the ground , skidding to a stop with Orochimaru standing over him with the Kusanagi ready to stab him. "Time to die brat!" Orochimaru said

Just as Orochimaru drove the Kusanagi down towards Naruto , distinct pops could be heard as hands appeared from behind Orochimaru pushing the snake-sannin forward causing him to lose his balance. Naruto quickly leaped back up and dashed towards the still held captive Orochimaru. Chakra gathered in Naruto's hand as he flew towards Orochimaru who now had 6 of Naruto's clones holding onto him ,trying not to be overpowered by the snake-sannin's strength.

Orochimaru's eyes went wide in shock and fear when he saw what Naruto held in his hand. "That jutsu..." Orochimaru said in horror as Naruto drove the spinning orb of chakra into the sannin's gut. Orochimaru was sent flying but the Rasengan was suddenly destroying a churning puddle of mud. Naruto silently cursed when Orochimaru appeared behind him , sending a round house kick to his head. Naruto tried to dodge but Orochimaru quickly caught up with his movements and sent the jounin flying. Orochimaru was panting holding onto his sides ,where a large wound could be seen. "Rasengan...The Fourth's technique...You're a very dangerous brat...I'll have to kill you now so you won't ruin my plans..." Orochimaru said as he charged towards Naruto.

'Kyuubi lend me your chakra!' Naruto thought as Kyuubi didn't respond in words but with the chakra that the blonde jounin needed. He felt the rush of power as red chakra leaked out of his body. Orochimaru had a smirk on his face , he ignored the growing pain from the wound that Naruto had inflicted on him, but it quickly fell as dozens of clones blocked his path. Kage Bunshins appeared in mid move launching attacks at the charging sannin.

Orochimaru growled in frustration as he tore thru the clones towards the real Naruto who was busy concentrating and performing handseals at a rapid speed. Naruto could see that his clones were easily defeated by the sannin and few were left. Finishing the last handseals Naruto concentrated on the water particles in the air. "Hijutsu: Dai Hyourin Shourou Great Ice Ring Mirror Prison! " Naruto called out as the water particles in the are began to form a ring of mirror prisons.

Naruto held Zanpaku pointing the blade towards Orochimaru as he waited for a moment to break the mirrors into shards and send it flying to the Sannin. Anko meanwhile had finally woken up , she immediately looked around for her former sensei. she then saw the huge ring of ice surrounding Orochimaru with the dozens of Naruto clones waiting outside incase the sannin escaped.

Orochimaru let out a dark chuckle as three of his mud clones rose from the ground facing towards the mirror. "You think a little prison like this will hold me brat?" Orochimaru called out as he did a single seal summoning the Kusanagi sword to him. The legendary sword flew thru the air sending large razor sharp winds as it drew closer to it's current master. The clones tried to protect themselves but the wind ripped thru them making the clones disappear.

Naruto cursed when he forgot about the legendary sword which flew right thru one the mirrors shattering it. Naruto braced himself but was completely off guard when Orochimaru wrapped his tongue around his neck lifting him a foot into the air, the snake sannin then exposed the seal on Naruto's stomach. "Don't get so cocky brat!" Orochimaru roared out as he pulled his hand back, purple flames appearing on each finger. "Gogyou Fuuin! Five Elemental Seal!" Orochimaru whispered, slamming his hand into the seal. A new seal appeared on Naruto's stomach immediately taking effect , cutting him off any form of communication with the Kyuubi.

Anko seeing Naruto in danger immediately rushed to help her comrade. "You bastard!" Anko cursed as she launched a barrage of snakes at the Snake Sannin who had tossed Naruto aside. Orochimaru sliced thru the onslaught of scales from Anko , taking short steps towards the special jounin. Just as Orochimaru reached Anko he felt a familiar presence and chakra signature behind him. Orochimaru also felt at least 20 other chakra signatures he didn't know.

"What are you doing here Orochimaru?" The voice behind Orochimaru said , causing the pale faced man to smile abit before turning around to face the owner of the voice. Orochimaru turned around to see his sensei standing there clothed in the Hokage robes. Orochimaru's serpentine orbs lingered at the 20 or so black robed ANBU who all had canine type mask.

"Sarutobi-sensei...I was just in the neighborhood...checking in if you're still alive and considered in naming me as the Fifth..." Orochimaru replied all the while he prepared to escape. Sandaime just shook his head as he waited for Orochimaru to make his move. Naruto groggily woke up from where Orochimaru had thrown him, he could feel that something was blocking the seal. He also found that his ice ring prison was shattering into tiny pieces from the lack of control and chakra on his part.

Orochimaru turned his attention to the awakened blonde jounin, a smirk forming on his pale visage. "You're pretty easy going now...Orochimaru.." Sandaime spoke as he took a short glance at the Kyuubi vessel before returning to his former pupil. "You didn't finish off Naruto while you had a chance." Naruto meanwhile tried to communicate with his furry tenant but a disturbance was hindering it.

Orochimaru let out a chuckle before locking eyes to both Sandaime and Naruto, letting lose the full force of his killer intent and chakraatsu Chakra pressure . Sandaime stood there calmly while Naruto grunted before calling Zanpaku to his hand and used his own Chakraatsu to combat the snake-sannin's own high pressure. "Oh?...I expected as much from you Sarutobi-sensei...but even with this amount of chakra pressure he can still move? "Orochimaru inquired in a slightly surprised tone. Naruto didn't reply but just directed an icy glare at the sannin , almost seeing fear from the pale man. "You're much stronger than I thought Naruto-kun...Ku ku ku "

"What is your true purpose here Orochimaru?" Sarutobi interrupted as he took a step towards his former pupil ready to take the pale faced sannin down. Orochimaru just gave him a smirk before replying. The Kusanagi sword now landing on Orochimaru's open palm, the sannin chuckling lightly knowing he was already at a disadvantage with ANBU and the Sandaime surrounding him.

"I came to check if my next vessel is ready...sadly...something came up ...ruining my test..." Orochimaru said in a hiss remembering the Fire breathing Lizards that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to the Uchiha's rescue. "Don't stop the Chuunin exam...Sarutobi-sensei or you'll regret it..." Orochimaru threatened as he sank into the ground.

Naruto along with Anko quickly moved to stop Orochimaru from escaping but a signal from Sarutobi stopped them in their tracks. With Orochimaru's departure the huge chakra pressure disappear making Anko and most of the ANBU to fall on all fours suddenly feeling relieved that the threat had left. Naruto dropped on one knee , panting hard from exhaustion and from low chakra. Feeling that it was doing fine , Naruto dropped to the ground unconscious , exposing his stomach to the alarmed Sarutobi , the seal flashing for a few seconds before disappearing again. 'A five element seal!' Sarutobi said as he stared at the spot where Orochimaru sank into. 'What are you planning my fool of a student?' Sarutobi thought as he hoisted the blonde jounin easily over his shoulders.

Those of the ANBU team that had recovered hoisted their still unconscious comrades and Anko , following the Hokage out of the forest and back to the central tower for treatment. A few of them were peering at their unconscious division captain, a few feeling abit of dread when the jounin would wake up and find out that most of them had fallen unconscious and failed to capture Orochimaru.

Kakashi one of the few not to fall unconscious , carried Anko back to the tower. he nodded to some of the team members knowing that they were more than disappointed with the escape of Orochimaru. On his way to the tower, Kakashi spotted team 7 surrounded by a pack of lion size lizards. His eyes widened in shock when he realized what they were. 'Those are...'

Meanwhile down where Team 7 was resting

Sasuke sat across the leader of the lizard pack, beside him were Konohamaru and a still unconscious Sakura. Sasuke cast a worried glance at his female teammate, his onyx orbs traveling to the weird mark on her forehead. Konohamaru meanwhile was tending to Sakura, he paid little attention to the large lizards surrounding them since he saw the Uchiha clan symbol on one of the lizards.

"So let me get this straight...you're the Uchiha Fire lizards?" Sasuke asked this earned him a roar from the leader.

"I TOLD YOU WE ARE NOT JUST LIZARDS WE ARE COMODO DRAGONS!" The leader hissed in rage as it waved its large tail , slamming it on the ground causing small tremors to shake the area around them. Sasuke gave an annoyed look at the komodo dragon before replying.

"Then why haven't I heard of you before?" Sasuke asked , casting a glance at Konohamaru and Sakura to check how the girl was fairing. Konohamaru gave him a small nod telling him the Sakura was stable and had stopped shaking.

"You have not heard of us...young hatchling because...we are only revealed to the Uchiha members once they turn 15 summers old...plus we weren't suppose to come to your aid if it wasn't for the fact that you are the last of the Uchiha since the Weasel boy massacred the clan. We could no longer be summoned by any of the Uchiha's" The leader replied letting out a grunt and a growl to the rest of his pack.

"Weasel boy? you mean Itachi?" Sasuke replied at which the leader nodded before pulling a large scroll from his back. "What's this?" Sasuke asked as he took the scroll and opened it to reveal names of the Uchiha's that had ever signed the summoning scroll of the Komodo Dragons. Sasuke also found that right after his father's name he couldn't see Itachi's name. "Why isn't Itachi's name signed here? Didn't he sign this?"

"No the weasel-boy never under went the ritual of blood pact...Your father was rather displeased with Weasel-boy since he could not be the one to hold up the legacy of summoning the Komodo Tribe" The leader said , just as he wrapped a claw around the scroll and instructed Sasuke on what to do. "Although you are not of age we are allowing you to sign this contract since the Snake tribe has chosen to show itself...sign the contract with your name using blood" The leader instructed.

Sasuke looked at the Komodo Dragon before him before muttering about crazy lizards and insane brothers. Sasuke bit his thumb making sure that he drew blood, tasting the taste of his blood , Sasuke then proceeded to sign the contract right next to his father's name. 'Good...my name is Ryuusuke... I am the leader of this pack but the higher ups and larger komodo dragons can be summoned once you learn how to summon...and submit yourself to them."

Sasuke gave the lizard a puzzled look before the dragon let out a snort making the pack slowly move back into the forest. "You may call on us. once you have learned how to summon ..I suggest you ask the White fang's pup to teach you young hatchling...and don't disappoint us like the Weasel-boy..." Ryuusuke said as Sasuke just stared at his retreating form. 'White fang's pup? Who is that?' Sasuke thought but it was disrupted when Konohamaru tossed a pouch of soldier pills on his head.

"OOWW..You damn brat why'd you throw that at me?" Sasuke said as he picked up the pouch and popped a soldier pill into his mouth. Konohamaru sniggered at Sasuke before replying.

"I already set up a few trap...but I doubt those will hold...plus I need some rest...Wake me up If you need help..." Konohamaru said with a snigger at the last comment as he climbed the tree where they were hiding under and started looking for a suitable spot to sleep.

"Where the hell are you going Konohamaru?" Sasuke asked annoyed by the last comment that the brat had said. After noticing the brat had left him with Sakura who was sleeping ,light muttering could be heard from, the pink haired girl. Sasuke let out a sigh when only a snore from Konohamaru came back as a reply to his question. Muttering curses , Sasuke moved to fix the blanket that Konohamaru had hastily covered the pink haired Kunoichi. he watched as Sakura's face contorted to pain , Sasuke not knowing what to do, tried his best to calm the girl feeling her shiver to his touch.

Sasuke's eyes were fixed on the strange mark that was left on her forehead after Orochimaru had bitten her. Sasuke's visage turned to rage at the thought of the snake sannin. 'That bastard! When this test is over...I'll train as hard as I can...forget Itachi...that weasel brother of mine can wait...Orochimaru's going down putting weird marks on helpless..erm..no Sakura isn't helpless...she's just..violent...when she releases that inner personality of hers..but rest assured the next time I see Orochimaru...I'll kill him'

As Sasuke pondered on the strange mark on Sakura's head all the while keeping his watch over their camp. He heard the feint sounds of battle going around him, a smirk formed on his face while Konohamaru's snores and muttering about beating Naruto-sempai for the Hokage-title. Sasuke got up having had enough of his brooding over his goals , checking the traps that Konohamaru had created.

With his sharp eyes he could see some of the mistakes that Konohamaru had done but with further analysis Sasuke soon discovered that they were purposely done to cover a web of 50 different traps. Sasuke let out a small chuckle at the ingenuity of his younger teammate. 'No doubt the teaching of the prankster...Uzumaki Naruto..' Sasuke thought. Something suddenly caught his eye , seeing some movement from 30 feet away, Sasuke closed his eyes and used his other senses to see who was spying on him.

He could sense three chakra signatures hiding behind some bushes. With a smirk Sasuke just let the three intruders watch , not knowing who was spying on them. He waited for them to make their move, Konohamaru's traps will be enough...for now. Sasuke just sat back until he felt something sharp behind him. Sasuke turned his head to see the remains of his weapon. 'That's another thing that piece of snake dung is going to pay for...' Sasuke thought as his mind drifted off to possible battle plans for the intruders spying on his team.

After three hours of waiting the intruders finally decided to show themselves to the seemingly sleeping Uchiha. They sent a squirrel with an explosive tag attached to its back. Sasuke's eyes opened at the site of the rodent scurrying towards him. Pulling out a kunai, the Uchiha survivor nonchalantly threw the kunai at the squirrel's path scaring the rodent out of its wits. Sasuke quickly got up from where he was sitting , picking up a pebble on his way up and throwing it at the sleeping Konohamaru. "Oi Gaki wake up we have company..."

"Wha-what? Damnit Teme I'm still trying to get some shut eye...Tell them to come back when the sun is out..." Konohamaru grumbled as he shifted his position , trying to get back to sleep. Sasuke sweat dropped at the response that the boy had given him, grumbling Sasuke picked up another pebble and threw it at Konohamaru again. This earned him a yelp from the boy who had fallen from the tree branch he was slumbering on.

"Damnit Sasuke-Teme i told you I wanted 5 more minutes.."Konohamaru whined as he got up from where he fell. his eyes on the three nins that had leaped out of the bushes. Sasuke meanwhile had whacked Konohamaru for the bastard comment. "Erm Sasuke...how long have they been watching us?" Konohamaru asked finally noticing the way the nins that were scowling at him.

Konohamaru observed the intruders , checking their Hitai'ate's which had a musical note engraved into the metal. "Oto-nins? What do you want?" Konohamaru asked, his hands inching to his weapon which he finally had a name for Leviathan Rod after one of the weapons in his favorite manga 'Ragnarok'. Konohamaru noticed that the mummy looking oto-nin seemed to be the leader while the stupid looking one and the female were subordinates.

"We're here to kill Uchiha Sasuke..." The mummified oto-nin announced , immediately moving towards Sasuke and Konohamaru. Sasuke had a smirk when he heard the wires snap when the oto-nin took the third step. Kunais and shurikens flew from hidden traps slicing thru the air towards the alarmed Oto team before the stupid-looking one brought out his two arms towards the flying projectiles before yelling out "ZANKUUHA!" Sasuke and Konohamaru had shocked looks on their faces when a air blast from the stupid-looking nins arms shot a humongous amount of air scattering the blades to different trees.

"Konohamaru...protect Sakura no matter what..." Sasuke said as two other traps were sprung letting lose the logs to come crashing down towards the Oto team but the same-nin performed the same technique , obliterating the logs to splinters. Konohamaru just grunted as he moved back to where they had Sakura hidden from view. Sasuke stepped forward as he analyzed his opponents, from what he could see they were hunting him down...for reasons he did not know.

"Dosu...I want to fight him..." The stupid-looking oto-nin said as he directed both of his arms exposing his palms which had air vents at the center. Sasuke's eyebrow rose a few millimeters at the air vents. The mummified oto-nin let out a chuckle and said not to take too long, which earned him a grin from the stupid-looking nin. 'ZANKUUHA!" The nin known as Zaku cried as he sent his chakra filled air blast towards the charging Sasuke.

Sasuke leaped to the left but the girl from their team came out of nowhere armed with senbon. Sasuke twisted in mid-air to dodge the senbon but it also put him in a vulnerable position. "Zankuuha!" A voice below him called out sending another blast of air pressure at Sasuke. Zaku had a triumphant smirk on his face when he heard Sasuke's cry of pain but it quickly disappeared when the falling Sasuke disappeared leaving behind a log with three explosive notes attached.

'Kuso!' Zaku thought as the notes incinerated and exploded , sending him flying backwards from the blast. He felt his left arm burn from the blast as he rolled right before Dosu. "You bastard..." Zaku cursed as he got up and threw a pair of kunais from his holster. Dosu meanwhile decided to attack the boy Sasuke had left behind, he leaped towards the boy followed closely by Kin.

"Konoha Senpuu!" A voice cried out from Dosu's left , he turned his head only to see a green blur before crashing to the ground from the powerful round house kick that was delivered to him. Dosu recovered easily , holding onto his side from the attach. The mummified-nin glared at the new arrival who wore a green jumpsuit and seemed to have caterpillars above his eyes instead of eyebrows. "Who the hell are you?" Dosu asked.

"The new arrival gave him a too cheerful smile before replying "My name is Rock Lee. Konoha's beautiful green beast" Lee introduced as he moved into his lotus fighting stance. Sasuke landed beside him a short glance at the green clad genin before returning his gaze at the Oto-nins. "SASUKE-KUN WHAT HAS HAPPEND TO THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWER SAKURA-CHAN?" Lee asked , his round eyes never leaving the oto-nins.

"Someone attacked us...Sakura saved me by pushing me away...she took the blow for me..." Sasuke replied with a sweat drop at the loudness of Lee's voice, his eyes turning red his Sharingan flaring to life at the very thought of Orochimaru. lee nodded in reply before disappearing from Sasuke's side only to appear below Dosu and kicking him in the chin sending him high into the air. Sasuke followed suite attacking Zaku with taijutsu as well.

Sasuke quickly found out that Zaku was weak in taijutsu because of the air vents in his arms. Sasuke turned his gaze to Dosu as Lee disappeared again only to appear behind Dosu in mid-air. Fascinated by Lee's technique Sasuke would have watched some more if it wasn't for Zaku sending another air blast at him. Dodging quickly Sasuke quickly performed a series of handseals before blowing a barrage of fireballs. "Katon Housenka no jutsu!"

Zaku smirked as he use his Zankuuha to extinguish the flames but he failed to notice that Sasuke had hidden shurikens and kunais within the flames. Zaku cursed, wincing in pain as some of the projectiles hit his arms and shoulders. Dosu meanwhile wasn't fairing too well , his world was spinning as earth came crashing into him. Lee piled rived Dosu into the ground which had suddenly swollen up and caught them in a sort of a cushion.

Lee came out of the cushion wobbly, while Sasuke threw a punch at Zaku who had buried his hand on the ground to save Dosu from Lee's devastating taijutsu technique. Konohamaru meanwhile pulled out his staff and was fighting Kin who had snuck up on him to try and take him as a hostage. Lee rushed at the still wobbly Dosu , throwing a punch at the mummified nin when Dosu took a step back and threw a punch of his own. Lee out of reflex leaped back letting the metallic object attached to Dosu's arm brush pass him.

Immediately Lee felt the world around him spin as he fell to the ground, the breakfast he had earlier coming back. Dosu had a smirk behind the bandages, watching in glee at the sight of Lee vomiting his morning meal at his feet. Konohamaru meanwhile had several Kage bunshins attack Kin. the girl thinking that Konohamaru wasn't much of a taijutsu fighter came close in hope of escaping the wrath of the boy's quarterstaff. When she got close the sound girl got the shock of her life when Konohamaru used his ham sized hand to punch her. Kin felt the air escape her lungs as she slammed right into Zaku.

Konohamaru breathed hard , feeling the exhaustion from the previous battle they had a few hours ago with Orochimaru. He still wasn't feeling a hundred percent after that fight and was currently low on chakra after creating 4 Kage bunshins and using a chakra enhanced punch. He cast a worried glance at Lee when Zaku out of rage sent a Zankuuha slicing towards him. Konohamaru tried to leap away but due to his exhaustion he wasn't able to, Sasuke was also not faring well with Dosu and Zaku double teaming him.

Konohamaru tried to get up but his body struggle to muster up energy to get up. Zaku was walking towards him while Dosu was still fighting Sasuke who was dodging as much as he can trying to avoid Dosu's vibrating sound speaker. Konohamaru closed his eyes when Zaku came close to him. The air around the area they were in suddenly felt heavy as a evil and yet familiar chakra skyrocketed from behind Konohamaru.

Konohamaru quickly turned around , not noticing that Zaku and Dos were also looking at what was standing behind him. Sasuke meanwhile cast a glance at the now awakened Sakura. Both male members of team 7 felt the sudden shift of Sakura's chakra, they also noticed the strange mark on her forehead glowing purple before spreading all over her body as she emitted eerie purplish black chakra.

'What the hell?' were both Sasuke and Konohamaru's thoughts when Sakura's voice which almost sounded like her inner personality asked them a question. "Sasuke-kun...Konohamaru-kun...who did that to you?' Sakura asked as the chakra around them moved in a swirling pattern , more petal shape marks spreading all over her body.
Dosu meanwhile tried to hide his fear from what he was seeing. 'Kuso...I thought the Uchiha was suppose to receive the curse seal not the girl...This is bad...Orochimaru sent us out here to be killed that bastard...'

"We did" Zaku boasted pointing a finger to his chest, Dosu cursed at his side , whispering for Zaku to shut up. Zaku gave an annoyed look at Dosu , completely ignoring Dosu's warning. "Che I don't care what you're doing but you and those three btches are going down..." Zaku proclaimed as he directed his air vents towards Sakura who had started walking towards him. "Die Btch..ZANKUUKYUHA!" Zaku cried as he poured a huge amount of his chakra into his air vents sending a much more powerful air blast.

When the smoke cleared after the attack Zaku let out a chuckle at the sight. There was not a single trace of Sakura or teammates. "See Dosu...I told you I could take care of them..." Zaku said in a sneer but he never heard Dosu's reply because Sakura's voice came from above them. Zaku growled in frustration when he caught sight of the pink haired Kunoichi who was beside her teammates.

Sakura disappeared from her spot , appearing on the ground running towards Zaku. Zaku smirked at the stupidity of the girl as he released another blast of air. his smirk disappeared when Sakura did the unexpected and tore thru the air blast like it was nothing yelling out her attack. "Senbon Sakura RENDA" Sakura roared in a voice which didn't sound like her own , instead of the usual blue chakra claws that usually sprouted from her retractable claws, black chakra claws with a length of 10 inches were slicing thru the Zankuuha.

Zaku cried in pain as Sakura began to slice at his arms , the black petal like marks on her body glowing a menacing red as she attacked him some more. "You're proud of these arms aren't you? and You like inflicting pain? Try having a monthly period." Sakura screamed as she continued to attack the already unconscious Zaku. Two pairs of hands caught Sakura's shoulder, Sakura flinched at the touch on her shoulder as she started to calm down , the black marks retreating to her forehead. Sakura collapse on the ground , Sasuke catching her just as two nins leaped down from the branches above landing beside the unconscious Lee.

The remaining conscious Oto-nin Dosu Kinuta stood there shaking at what he just witnessed. he reached into his pocket and pulled out his earth scroll. He faced Sasuke holding out the scroll to the Uchiha. "Uch-Uchiha-san...We are no longer able to fight...please accept this as a peace offering for ..now..." Dosu said as he placed the scroll on the ground and left dragging his two teammates with him. "The next time we meet..We will not back down..." Dosu said as he disappeared into the forest dragging Zaku and Kin with Zaku's head hitting the rocks on the ground in Dosu's haste.

Sasuke let out a sigh of relief when Dosu left but he immediately tensed up when he remembered the two new arrivals. he turned to face them after picking up the scroll. He watch as the female ,who had her hair tied in a bun and was wearing an oriental style of clothing ,was slapping Lee trying to wake the energetic genin , while the Hyuuga was looking at the waking Sakura. "Wha-What happend?" Sakura asked as she got up but quickly fell down after her body refused to respond.

"I'll explain later..."Sasuke said as he turned to the Hyuuga who was still looking at Sakura before returning his gaze at Sasuke. "You want something?" Sasuke asked but the Hyuuga just snorted and started walking away. The girl on their team had finally woken up Lee who immediately went ranting about Youth Power and other such things.
"What scroll do you have?" Sasuke asked again and the Hyuuga ignored his question.

"We-we have a Heaven scroll...Uchiha-san.." The girl replied in a stutter while trying to hide her blush from Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes from the way the girl was looking at him before holding out the earth scroll that Dosu had given them. The girl had a surprise look on her face when Sasuke had handed the scroll to her. The girl tried to protest knowing that Neji would never approve of being given the scroll.

"Don't worry we already have our scroll...plus you guys seem strong and I want to fight strong people in the future..." Sasuke explained as he turned to his side , checking if Konohamaru and Sakura were okay. Seeing as they were just trying to rest up Sasuke tossed the scroll to the girl before leaping up to the trees towards the tower. Konohamaru and Sakura with a nod of thanks to Lee, followed Sasuke's lead towards the tower.

Team 7 traveled towards the tower at a fast pace not wanting to catch anymore unwanted attention. On their way there , Sasuke filled in Konohamaru and Sakura on what happend while Sakura was out. Konohamaru already knew most of what happend since Sasuke had explained it to him earlier. "So...that grass-nin we fought escaped after the arrival of Komodo Dragons?" Sakura asked as she tightened the knot on her hitai'ate securing the cloth to not reveal the curse seal that was now placed on her forehead. 'Great Ino-pig is going to make fun of me now...' Sakura thought with a sigh, her body felt exhausted and she couldn't feel her chakra reserves returning..

Soon Team 7 reached the edge of the forest with the first floor of the tower could be seen. Nodding to each other Konohamaru , Sasuke and Sakura leaped from the tree they were standing on and landed on the ground only to break to a full run towards the tower despite their exhausted state. Arriving at the sealed doors, Konohamaru quickly tore the seal on the door handles and quickly pushing the door open.

Once inside Team 7 looked around trying to find any signs of life but only found a large tablet that had instructions in a form of a poem. Sakura sat down on the ground relieved to be done with the second exam, casting a glance at the tablet she read it silently while Sasuke held onto the two scrolls that they had. "Sasuke-kun...toss the Earth Scroll to Konohamaru-kun.." Sakura instructed which the Uchiha survivor did. "Now open the scrolls at the same time..." After the two opened the scroll smoke began to emit from the scrolls.

"Kuso!... Konohamaru toss the scroll to the ground.. It's a two part summoning scroll of sorts" Sasuke yelled as he tossed the scroll on the ground with the Earth scroll landing on top of the scroll. With a loud bang smoke erupted from the two scrolls as someone appeared before them. Sasuke and Konohamaru quickly moved infront of the still sitting Sakura ready to defend their teammate. From the smoke a brown haired-Chuunin emerged with a grin on his face, his hands wiping the sweat from his scarred nose.

"Iruka-sensei..." Team 7 greeted with relief on their voices. The academy teacher grinned at them congratulating Team 7 on passing the second stage of the Chuunin Selection Exam. The scarred Chuunin then lead team 7 to a room where they could rest. Sakura and Konohamaru immediately dived into one of the futons to sleep. Sasuke meanwhile let out a sigh as he took the chair from the side of the room and sat down to rest.

"You guys stay here and rest...I'll inform Naruto-dono that you guys have arrived." Iruka announced as he closed the door leaving Team 7 to get some much needed sleep. An hour later a knock on their door woke up the occupants, rubbing the sleep from their eyes Team 7 tried to compose themselves as Naruto entered the room. Following Naruto were Sandaime Hokage and the second examiner.

"Hokage-sama...Naruto-sempai" Team 7 greeted in unison as they stood at attention. Naruto waved at them to relax which they complied immediately.

"Congratulations in passing the second stage...' The Hokage said with a gentle smile. Team 7 beamed although they were still lacking in energy. "From the reports of Mitarashi Anko and your jounin sensei...You met a S-rank criminal in the forest..." As Sandaime said this Sakura's hand inched its way towards her forehead. "and from what Naruto-kun has told and what the person who did that to you...He left Haruno-san a little gift" Sarutobi continued with a thoughtful look on his wrinkled face.

"Hokage-sama...what does Orochimaru want?" Sasuke asked moving towards Sakura to try and comfort her. The Hokage looked at Sasuke for a moment before replying.

"My old pupil...my foolish pupil...has this sick dream of learning every jutsu in the world...also an ambition of being immortal" Sarutobi began while Sasuke stood there deep in thought what it meant. "for that purpose...Orochimaru has created a series of kinjutsu...an immortality jutsu and the curse seal which gives power to those inflicted with the seal...but it comes at a price of the victim's life...1/10th of a chance in survival...Consider yourself lucky Haruno-san..."

"bu-but Hokage-sama with all due respect... I don't want this vile thing on my forehead! being ridiculed for having a large forehead is enough! having this seal isn't helping it either!" Sakura said in anger the curse seal flashing, her inner personality agreeing with her in a dark tone. Naruto watched his team, observing their situation. He stayed silent tuning out Sakura's rant, his eyes traveling from Sasuke to Konohamaru then to Sakura.

"Orochimaru is after Sasuke...and I can figure out why..." Naruto finally spoke surprising Sakura and her teammates when they realized that Naruto was still there. Sasuke turned to Naruto, his eyebrows raised to asking why him. "Sasuke...when you fought Orochimaru...didn't you notice how he kept on praising you for your eyes?" Naruto said , the Uchiha survivor's eyes widening in realization as to why the snake-sannin was after him.

"As for Sakura...removing the curse seal will only lead to her death...a containment seal can be used to stop the staining of her mind...judging from how her Inner personality hasn't surface yet... I would think that the curse seal isn't affecting Sakura's state of mind but it is starting to affect and invade her inner personality...and hindering her control over her chakra..." Naruto said his analysis of the situation. Anko meanwhile had a confused look as to what Naruto meant by inner personality.

"Good Analysis Naruto-kun...but a containment seal relies on the person's will and determination...also there is no one who has that much knowledge on seals.." Sarutobi replied while trying to think up of a plan to help the pink haired Kunoichi. Naruto was silent again for a few minutes before listing off a few people he knew who was capable of creating and making seals.

"I may have found a solution...although I'll have to rummage thru Father's notes...A containment and chakra conversion seal...Might as well use Ochi's gift for the best.." Naruto said with a soft smile to his team giving them an assuring smile that he was going to help them. "Sakura...when you are fully rested ...We'll start with the sealing process It will only take a full 48 hours...Sasuke...Konohamaru take care of Sakura until she is well rested..contact me when she is at full strength...Do not leave this room unless you are escorted by ANBU...There is still 72 hours left to this exam..use it to rest or train..perfect your techniques or chakra control...just remember what I told you about not leaving the room ." Naruto said in a commanding tone, Team 7 nodded in affirmation.

Sarutobi nodded at what Naruto just said and quickly left the room with Anko feeling that Naruto had the situation under control. After the Hokage had left Naruto gave them instructions on what to do before telling them to get some rest and conserve their chakra and energy for the next part of the exam. With that Naruto left Team 7 to discuss among themselves while he and the Hokage began preparations for the seals to be done on Sakura a few hours later.

Time jump to Three days later. With the presence of Tsunade , Naruto and Sandaime they had Hatake Kakashi place a containment seal on Sakura to not let the curse seal further spread its influence. As Naruto had predicted Sakura was out for two days because of the strain and draining of her chakra. Naruto , Sasuke and Konohamaru observed Sakura's progress and how the seal was holding up. With a satisfied report on the return of her chakra at a rapid rate , Naruto gave Sakura the okay to start preparing for the next stage.

The second stage of the Chuunin Selection exam had finally ended with 7 teams making it to the tower. The first team to arrive was from Suna setting a record of four hours the fastest in history. The next team was from Konoha, Yuuhi Kurenai's Team 8 with a record of 14 hours and the third record also from Konoha Uzumaki Naruto's team 7 with a record of 48 hours.

All of the teams were gathered in the central chamber where the Hokage and all of the jounin-senseis stood at attention. The Hokage then proceeded to explain the significance of the Chuunin Selection exam. Most of the genin teams tuned out the old man's words their eyes wandering to the other genins in the room sizing them up.
A sick looking jounin suddenly leaped infront of the Hokage landing in a kneeling manner. Sasuke immediately recognized the sick jounin who had announced that there were too many genins for the Finals.

The sick looking jounin, known as Gekkou Hayate faced the 7 teams that were gathered inside the tower. "cough As I told Hokage-sama Cough.. There are a lot of genins who passed the second exam. We have cough concluded that before the Third and Cough Final Test which are one on one matches. Cough We will be holding the preliminaries exam" The special jounin said in a barely audible tone. "Those of you who are in need cough to medical services and cough dont feel fit in participating in the next test may raise cough your hand."

A hand came up from the far right followed by a voice "I'd like to quit the exam." Most of the genins and jounin present turned their attention towards the silver haired genin who had just quit. "The second stage is enough for me..." The silver haired genin said, all eyes of the higher ups were looking at him curiously. Sandaime had a twinkle in his eye when he made a brief eye-contact with the eldest genin in the assembly.

"Your name?" Hayate asked as he pulled out a clipboard from Anko to check the name off as a quitter.

"Yakushi Kabuto" The silver haired genin responded idly pushing his glasses back into place with the tip of his finger. Naruto , Anko and Ibiki watched Kabuto talk some minor chit chat with his teammates before leaving the arena.

"Now that cough there are no more cough quitters...we will cough start the preliminary cough matches." Hayate announce getting back everyone's attention. With a slight pause , Hayate pulled out a rectangular box from one of his pockets and pushed a button. Two panels slid out of the wall to reveal a black screen. "If cough you would please direct your attention to the screen we will now see who will fight first."

Everyone's attention were trained on the flashing screen , watching names flash for a few seconds before changing. the screen kept on beeping making everyone in the room anxious on who would fight first. Finally the screen slowly stopped beeping , the names flashing infront of the first persons to fight.

Akadou Yoroi VS Haruno Sakura

"Will those whose name Cough are shown on the cough screen remain..." Hayate announced , his eyes looking at the assembly who had not moved at all.

Everyone blinked at the screen before Sandaime coughed and Hayate told the respective Jounin's to usher their teams to the balcony. Naruto went to Team 7, telling Konohamaru and Sasuke to go first while he talked to Sakura. When Konohamaru and Sasuke were out of earshot Naruto then whispered something to Sakura. "Remember the seal isn't done yet...so use your chakra wisely or finish the fight quickly...and don't let activate the curse seal or ANBU will kill you before you can blink." Naruto said casting a short glance at Sakura's opponent. "True strength of a Shinobi lies in life-risking battles...true strength in a person comes from protecting precious ones...Now show these people that you've grown up Sakura"

After that advice Naruto gave Sakura a cheerful grin before climbing up the stairs towards the balcony leaving Sakura with Hayate and her opponent. "The only rules are there are no rules...I will end the match when one is unconscious or surrenders or dead." Hayate said before holding out his hand signalling both combatants to be ready. "Hajime!' With those words Sakura and Yoroi leaped backwards distancing themselves from each other.

Naruto leaned against the wall while the others watched Sakura's match. Naruto closed his eyes tuning out everyone as he stepped inside his mind. When he opened his eyes again Naruto was infront of Kyuubi's cage where the great youkai was sleeping. "Are you awake?" Naruto asked staring straight into the dark cage where the sounds of breathing could be heard.

"Yes I'm awake Naruto..." came Kyuubi's voice, two large crimson orbs stared back at Naruto who just nodded in reply.

"How are you?" Naruto inquired while he created a chair and sat down waiting for the other entity with him to come inside the chambers. The Kyuubi let out a yawn creating a large gust of wind inside the room.

"I'm doing fine although I'm still tired from what we just experienced...I might not be able to supply you with as much chakra right now...draining the effects of that five Element seal took a large size of my chakra.." Kyuubi said letting his tails flick at the bars of the gate causing ripples to occur. "The seals are strong again and aren't disrupting it's normal functions...Thank the big boobied healer slug woman for me Naruto" The Kyuubi said the last part with a perverted giggle.

"Mmmhhmmm I guess that's good...and I'll tell her that...perverted fox..." Naruto said with a grin when Zanpaku finally stepped into the room. The black clad entity nodded in greeting to Naruto which the blonde jounin returned. Naruto began to inspect Kyuubi's cage to see if what Kyuubi said was true.

"Naruto-sama...The match between your subordinate is getting interesting..." Zanpaku spoke, nodding to Kyuubi in respect although Kyuubi just growled in annoyance before turning it's back on the two. Grumbling could be heard from the great beast, If Zanpaku had heard it he chose to ignore the light whining of the Bijuu.

"Oh and Naruto...I sense an old acquaintance of mine nearby...A fellow trickster...Be careful...he seems to be unstable right now" Kyuubi said in a chuckle as if remembering his past. Naruto took a look at the great gate that held Kyuubi before walking out of the chambers but not before saying. "Understood..."

Zanpaku watched as Naruto left the room before turning his attention back to Kyuubi. 'So When are you going to really tell Naruto your real name?" Kyuubi's voice came in a whisper the beast afraid that his vessel might find out that Zanpaku wasn't really the spirits name.

"When Naruto-sama is ready...For now he is too young to handle both your power and mine...In a few years or so...maybe..." Zanpaku said with a small smile on his face before walking out of the room leaving Kyuubi alone again.

"Well yeah me too...I'd like to see the kid become something great...even greater than ...than...Bah...I am not saying his name as if I'm praising him!" Kyuubi said to himself , grumbling about getting too soft ever since he was stuck in a flesh-bag.

Naruto opened his eyes in the real world , watching the match between Sakura and Yoroi. Sakura was breathing hard and kunais littered the ground. Her opponent Akadou Yoroi had his arm out which was glowing. Naruto's eyes narrowed when he saw what Akadou Yoroi was doing. Yoroi kept on advancing on Sakura who was trying to avoid Yoroi's glowing hand.

Sakura quickly took a step back , throwing her remaining kunai at Yoroi who had dodged the kunai again. 'Shit out of Kunais...I can't waste my chakra...and this guy' Sakura thought , maneuvering her body to the right , sending her left leg crashing into Yoroi's gut. 'He's draining my chakra with that hand of his' She heard Yoroi gasp in pain before the man grabbed her by the forehead and began to suck her chakra again.

Sakura screamed as she felt her chakra start to deplete and the curse seal begin to hurt. Sakura quickly kicked Yoroi again making the older genin let go of her. From the background Sakura could hear those who know her cheer. She caught a glimpse of her teammate Konohamaru and his two ham size arms along with Naruto's curious gaze.. Sakura smirked when she suddenly got an idea on how to end the fight. Thinking up of a fast plan , Sakura stopped and gathered some of the remaining chakra to her leg.

Yoroi came charging towards Sakura when the pink haired Kunoichi suddenly stopped and sent her heel crashing on the ground. The tiles flew up into the air cutting at Yoroi's cheek. Sakura's visage now had a grin, she then started releasing the weights on her legs before dashing towards her tittering opponent leaving a cloud of dust and a trail of pink streaks. Yoroi recovered quickly from his initial shock but it was already far too late Sakura was in range for an attack.

From the balcony above all of the Konoha Jounin's had shocked looks imprinted on their visage. one thing were all on their minds 'That's...' They watch as Sakura dodged Yoroi's attempt to catch her before clenching her fist and 6 inches of chakra blades grew from her knuckles. "Senbon Sakura Renda!" Sakura proclaimed as she started her frenzy of wild swipes at her opponent.

Yoroi grunted as the blades cut thru his clothes and skin but honor bound by the task that Orochimaru had given him. Yoroi quickly sidestep to escape Sakura attack and try to catch her from behind. Sakura could barely stay conscious , she could feel most of her chakra gone from the last attack and the pain on her forehead intensifying every passing second. 'Shit! Not now...' Sakura thought as dark chakra began to seep into her body, she could feel the petal like marks forming from the seal.

Sakura mentally restrained the seal urging it to back down all the while gathering the last of her chakra to her fist. Just as the curse seal returned to its dormant state her Inner personality decided to show off it's own power. Yoroi came in with his hand glowing ready to suck out Sakura's chakra. Yoroi then saw Sakura's face which if it hadn't been a life-risking battle Yoroi would have been soiled his pants. Sakura had an insane look on her visage that gave a message 'Touch me and I rip your spine out of your ass'

'SHONNARO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Inner Sakura screamed as she pulled her fist back and rammed her glowing fist right into Yoroi's face. Yoroi flew from where he stood to the far wall where an imprint of his body could be seen. Sakura was breathing hard, most of her chakra gone and the curse seal started to return the pain growing. Hayate walked over to the crumpled Yoroi , checking if the older genin was still conscious. Hayate had a smile on his sickly face when he found none along with a broken nose and a broken jaw.

"Cough...Winner Haruno Sakura!" Hayate announced before signalling for the medic teams to collect the unconscious Yoroi and the winner of the bout. "Cough Medic teams please check if Haruno-san has any injuries..." Hayate said which the medic teams immediately complied. Hayate started the black screen again while Naruto collected the sleeping Sakura.

Naruto carried Sakura up the stairs , noticing that most of her fellow rookies except her teammates were casting weird looks on her. "How is she Naruto?" Kurenai asked trying to hold back the rest of the rookies. Naruto gave her one of his grins before laying the pink haired Kunoichi in a sitting position beside her teammates.

"She's doing fine just exhaustion at least the containment seal held...and her training paid off" Naruto said in a cheerful tone clearly happy that Sakura had passed the preliminaries. Yamanaka Ino of Team 8 watched her rival win the match, Ino stared in disbelief as Sakura punched the older dude into a wall. Ino also noticed the black marks on her forehead which quickly disappeared. Her rival was taking her job as a Kunoichi much more seriously than she had thought.

'What the hell did Naruto do to that girl?' were Asuma and the other's present thoughts. They knew that Naruto took training seriously but they never imagined that the boy could make the pink haired girl who at her time at the academy was completely useless and only a hindrance to any team turn to a strong Kunoichi. Naruto had a grin on his face as his eyes roamed around the chamber , watching the looks on everyone's face at how much Sakura has progress. 'you guy's haven't seen nothing yet...' Naruto thought with a smirk his eyes directed to the two remaining genin members of Team 7.

Lee was in heaven when he watched Sakura in action, he could feel her youthful passion burst thru as she came out triumphant in a battle she couldn't have won due to her inexperience. Lee cheered loudly together with Sakura's teammates, the bowl cut boy also stared at the Jounin-sensei of Team 7. Blonde hair , black clothing and a large sword carried on his back. 'He had heard about Team 7's Jounin commander. Hatake Kakashi's adopted younger brother and ANBU Division Captain at the age of 12 thus surpassing Uchiha Itachi's achievement.

'Naruto-sempai shines with youthful passion and his power glows brightly but he doesn't outshine Gai sensei!' Lee thought happily , a blazing flame could be seen in his round eyes. The green clad genin turned to his idol with pride and admiration. he flashed a toothy grin before giving Gai the trademark nice guy pose. "LEE!' Gai shouted joining the green clad genin in his nice guy pose.

Everyone ignored the shouting match turning their attention to the second match of the preliminaries. "Cough...The second match is between Aburame Shino vs. Kankurou of the Sand" Hayate announced calling the two genins to come down into the arena. The two combatants came down from opposite balconies, both of them glaring at each other.

Once the two of them were face to face with each other Hayate immediately started the match. Kankurou dropped the large bandage package he had from his back, with a confident smirk he waited for his opponent to attack. Shino stood there his hands inside his pockets, his glasses covered eyes observed his opponent. Shino could hear the buzzing that his destruction bugs were giving off when they detected an outside source of chakra nearby. Shino hid his smirk behind his collar then spoke his first warning to Kankurou.

"Give up...If you fight here...you won't be able to get up for a week.." Shino said still standing his ground waiting for Kankurou to make the first move. Kankurou's glare intensified as he rushed Shino throwing a punch aimed at his head. Shino merely raised an arm to block the punch, with that single punch, Shino felt the difference between skin and hard wood. Kankurou quickly went behind Shino and wrapped both arms around the Aburame Heir.

"How about you give up?" Kankurou said with a grin as he started to squeeze Shino. From up the balcony the members of the sand team had annoyed looks on their faces. 'Kankurou isn't taking this fight seriously' were Baki and Temari's thoughts Gaara' were on the lines of Kankurou is an idiot. Shino did not respond to Kankurou's taunt in words but he quickly drew his arm forward and drove his elbow back , the sound of wood cracking could be heard.

This only caused Kankurou to squeeze harder as sand began to fall from his face revealing the distorted face of a puppet. All of the rookie genin had looks of horror when they saw that Shino was holding the wrong opponent. Kiba and Kurenai had knowing smirks on their faces when destruction bugs began to flow out of Shino's body and the boy also began to melt into bugs. The wrapped package began to unravel the bandages revealing Kankurou who wasn't looking too happy about being discovered. Kankurou also had a look of horror when he felt his chakra being drained at a rapid pace.

The destruction bugs was now completely covering Kankurou's puppet, some of the destruction bugs were already traveling down the chakra strings eating their way towards Kankurou. "As I said when the match started...forfeit or be rendered unconscious" A voice from behind Kankurou spoke. Kankurou turned his head to look at his opponent along with two clones who had six kunais aimed at specific points in Kankurou's body.

Kankurou gritted his teeth as he released his chakra strings and held his hand up in defeat. "Winner Aburame Shino" Hayate announced earning cheers from the Konoha genins.

'Damnit...I can still fight but if I'm injured I'll be useless in the invasion...' Kankurou thought as he collected Karasu and began rewrapping the bandages around the puppet and making his way back up. On his way up he could feel Gaara's cold and dark stare, Kankurou shivered at the feeling. When he arrived on their spot Temari immediately began to berate him on his stupidity when her ranting was stopped suddenly. Gaara stepped forward sand sinking down on the floor and moving towards him. "Don't fail again...or I'll kill you..."

Kankurou gulped at those words and mumbled an affirmative to his younger brother, as much as he cared for Gaara he was still scared shitless of the boy's power. Everyone else ignored this weird exchange between psycho brothers and psming sisters because everyone's attention were on the next combatants.

Uchiha Sasuke VS Dosu Kinuta

Sasuke had a smirk on his face when he saw the name of his opponent. Dosu also had a hidden smirk behind his bandages visage thoughts of revenge came into mind. Hayate eyed the two genin before stepping back and starting the match. Most of the rookie genin and jounin-senseis watched in earnest at the match of the Uchiha Survivor.

"No running away this time..." Sasuke simply said as Dosu gave him a snort before lashing out with his metallic arm. Sasuke quickly leaped backwards making sure that he was at a distance. Dosu followed Sasuke although the sound-nin was barely able to keep up. Sasuke observed his opponent as he continued to dodge. From what he could see Dosu did not have any other techniques except the Kyoumeisen.

'Damn...I can't get close and I hope he cant use a long range version of that Sound wave attack...I got to finish this fast..' Sasuke thought as he quickly leaped over Dosu and sending a kick at Dosu's head. The mummified-genin brought his gauntlet arm forward to send a sound wave at Sasuke. The Uchiha smirked, his hand catching the sound-nin's hand in mid punch. His smirk was turned to a look of shock when he suddenly felt the vibration of Dosu's attack.

Sasuke fell to his knees, his stomach wanting to vomit it's contents. 'Crap this guy...' Sasuke closed his eyes , gritting his teeth as he subdued the pain and dizziness on his head. In the background all of the Konoha-nins were cheering Sasuke on, Naruto just watched before he leaned close to the rails and shouted. "Sasuke...what the hell are you doing?" The statement from Team 7's Jounin commander seem to have snapped Sasuke back.

Sasuke looked up seeing the stare from Naruto and his teammate who was watching and cheering him on. Dosu came rushing forward to finish of Sasuke with a kunai. The Uchiha survivor ducked below Dosu's kunai and sent a vertical kick to Dosu's chin sending the genin up into the air. From the balcony three people recognized the move, Naruto's eyes narrowed when he saw Sasuke disappear from the ground.

'That's my...!' Lee thought as Sasuke flawlessly copied the Konoha Kage Buyou, getting behind Dosu for a follow up attack. Dosu quickly brought his hand up to try and twist his body in the air. 'This time it's original' Sasuke seeing this finished the handseals he was doing. "Katon:Goukakyou no jutsu!" Sasuke proclaimed , sending a large fireball pointblank at Dosu's body. Dosu's body was then engulfed by the red hot flames of Sasuke's signature fire jutsu. Reaching the peak of his first kick, Sasuke felt gravity return its claim on his and Dosu's body.

Everyone watched as the flame started to burn thru the bandages that covered Dosu's body. Sasuke noticing that the bandages, were protecting Dosu from the flames. Switching to Taijutsu, Sasuke sent a kick to Dosu's side then another kick and a punch before wrapping the still struggling sound-nin with the remaining wires he had. Sasuke then jumped backwards somersaulting, twisting the wires around.

Sasuke landed on the ground as he pulled the wires making Dosu's descent faster. With a loud crack Dosu landed on the hard floor head first. Sasuke breathed hard as his red Sharingan eyes returned to it's onyx color. Sasuke quickly pulled out a pair of kunai and threw it at Dosu's direction. the sound the metal piercing thru metal could be heard when the kunai's connected with Dosu's vibrating sound speaker thus disabling it.

Hayate raised his hand and announced Sasuke as the winner of the bout. Ino and Tenten were shouting loudly on how Sasuke had won against his opponent. Most of the jounin had looks of admiration at Sasuke's show of skill in the Sharingan. Sasuke after being checked by the medics for injuries , climbed back up to the upper level where Konohamaru and Lee congratulated the Uchiha survivor. Sasuke returned both their greeting with a smirk, the Uchiha then turned to Team 7's jounin commander who was still looking at him.

"Good Job...although next time don't copy techniques...you aren't ready for..." Naruto said giving Sasuke a fox grin before the blonde jounin turned his attention back to the screen. Sasuke had a small smile on his face before collapsing on the ground , his body in pain from the use of the Initial Gate. "You're not ready for that yet...that's why your body is reacting as it is...but since you already copied part of Lee's technique...only that part...nothing more." Sasuke nodded as the onyx eyed genin leaned against the wall to rest, casting a short glance at his pink haired teammate who still hadn't woken up.

The blank screen gave the beeping sound again, showing everyone who was going to fight next, Lee's cries of excitement echoed around the chamber when he saw who was going to fight next. Hayate coughed trying to block the shouts coming from Gai and Lee who were celebrating. Naruto , Asuma and Kurenai were covering their ears from the loud shouting of the two green clad Shinobi.

Rock Lee VS Akimichi Chouji

The Akimichi heir meanwhile was shaking in fear when he saw his name being displayed on the screen. "I-I don't wanna fight!.." Chouji stammered as he tried to gather his courage. A reassuring hand landed on his shoulder , which prompted Chouji to turn his head to Shikamaru who had a lazy grin on his face. Asuma meanwhile was trying to think up of a way to motivate Chouji.

"Shikamaru...I..I'll never be able to beat that thick brows..." Chouji said but Shikamaru just shook his head muttering how troublesome. Shikamaru just sighed , his genius brain couldn't really think of anything with out using the taboo word on Chouji. Finally after carefully thinking about his words Shikamaru began his reassurance on his best friend.

'Oi Chouji...you remember what Naruto told us when we trained together? Never give up..and you haven't even tried yet...So..just go down there and show them your stuff" Shikamaru said giving Chouji an assuring smile. "As troublesome as this exam is...it's time for you to show what you're really capable of." Shikamaru said while Ino also chose to voice out her own opinion although hers was more of a way to get the Akimichi heir pissed off.

"Oi Chouji...did you know that green clad jounin and his clone are making fun of you? I heard that Lee guy call you a fat-ass during the first exam..." Ino whispered to Chouji , winking at Shikamaru who just grumbled about troublesome women.

"Chouji...If you fight...I'll treat you to that restaurant you wanted to go to..." Asuma added , Chouji who was glaring dagger at his soon to be opponent , had a huge grin on his face when the words "Treat' came to his ears. Thoughts of 'Eat-all-you-can barbecue' came to his mind as Chouji yelled a battle cry as he made his way down towards the arena.

Hayate quickly started the match after seeing the way Chouji was glaring at Rock Lee. "YOSH! It's my turn to finally shine! Gai-sensei is watching me!" Lee ranted while Chouji was turning red with anger.

"You'll pay for calling me a Fat-ass! I'm not fat I'm big boned!" Chouji yelled as he performed a single seal. "Baika no jutsu!" Chouji quickly grew in size and began compressing his limbs into his body. With his limbs safely tuck inside his fat, Chouji began rolling towards the still ranting Lee. "Nikudan Sensha!" Chouji yelled as he rolled over the distracted Lee.

Lee recovered with ease, quickly leaping back up and shaking his head. "Wha-Who dared hit the face of the beautiful green beast?" Lee said as he went into his stance. "Gomen Chouji-san...You caught me unprepared...It won't happen again." Lee said giving Chouji a nice guy pose before going back into his fighting stance. Lee ran straight at Chouji who still glared at the advancing boy.

"Konoha Senpuu!" Lee roared as he delivered a powerful kick to Chouji. Chouji raised his hand catching Lee's foot and swinging the thin boy to the ground. Up on the balcony Gai was shock at just how the Akimichi had easily caught Lee's foot and threw him to the ground. 'Impossible! There's no way that rookie could just pick up Lee and throw him around like a doll' Gai thought , his eyes darting to the emotionless Asuma and a cheering Naruto. 'Eh? Naruto-kun is cheering Chouji?'

Down below Lee had gotten up from where an imprint of his face can be seen on the floor. 'He's strong...naturally strong...' Lee thought as once again prepared himself to attack the Akimichi heir. Shikamaru sat back from where he was watching , seeing Chouji fight using his real strength. 'As troublesome as it is...Chouji is the strongest genin in this arena...forget strength in mind...because of the Akimichi's natural love for food they also possess natural strength...almost rivaling the strength of Tsunade-sama.'

"LEE!" Gai's voice echoed inside the chamber , the bowl cut boy quickly leaped away from his opponent to look at his sensei. "Lee! TAKE IT OFF!" Gai said proudly, showing off the shiny teeth that he had. Most of the Jounin's present had their eyebrows raise at what the loud and weird jounin meant. 'Take what off? Take off that suit?' Kurenai and Anko had disgusted looks on their faces. "LEE It's ALRIGHT I'LL ALLOW YOU TO Take OFF THE WEIGHTS" Most of the people were covering their ears while Lee had a giddy look on his face.

Unfastening the clasp to the weights strapped around his legs , Lee held the two large strip of bars before dropping them to the ground. A huge cloud of dust erupted from where the weights cause the ground to shatter , leaving two large craters, with Lee in the middle a huge grin on his face. "YOSH NOW CHOUJI-KUN I'll SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE FLAME OF YOUTH!" Lee shouted as he disappeared from sight.

Chouji for the first time in going into the match felt fear, the bowl-cut guy was strong he'll acknowledge that but he didn't know the loud and Gai replica was holding back so much. Chouji gulp as the ground erupted flashes of green could be seen. The Akimichi heir was feeling dizzy from the way Lee ran circles around him. As if by magic Lee appeared infront of Chouji in a low crouch. Chouji quickly tried to back away to kick Lee but the green clad boy beat him to it.

Lee connected with a vertical kick to Chouji's chin sending the Akimichi Heir several meters off the ground. Seeing as his kick didn't give out the desired results it should have brought, Lee quickly followed Chouji into the air , continuing to kick the boy higher. Three packs of gourmet pork chips fell out of the chubby genin's clothes as he continued to rise higher. Chouji had his hands on a seal ready to perform his Baika no jutsu not noticing that his hidden stash of food had fallen out. Just as Chouji began to gather the much needed chakra, bandages began to cover the chubby genin.

Everyone in the balcony watch as Lee covered Chouji with the bandages in his arm and begin to spin towards the ground. Lee spun with Chouji in a devastating pile driver. Most of the participants had held their breaths at what was about to happen to the Akimichi heir. Even the members of Team 10 were worried when they saw Lee and Chouji descend towards the ground at an alarming speed. Before both of them could land Chouji did the unsuspected. "Baika no Jutsu!"

Chouji's enlarged form tore the bandages to shreds just as they landed on the ground. Lee not wanting to give up held onto Chouji as they landed on the ground, but instead of a crash they bounced off the ground as if Chouji had become a rubber ball. Lee was thrown off Chouji when they bounce , he had not expected that they would bounce. Chouji regained his form but his eyes were swirling from being spun around.

Lee got out of the rubble from where he had crashed, he felt groggy from the impact, there were some chips scattered around the rubble. Lee had a smile on his face although he was confused why there was food on the arena, he had never fought anyone who could ever make him go all out. 'I'm sorry Gai-sensei...I want to prove to everyone here that I can be a great ninja with just Taijutsu...so I must bloom the second time...' Lee though as he prepared to open the celestial gates that he could open.

Chouji meanwhile was looking for his stack of food , feeling his clothes for them but he couldn't feel it. He searched the area but he couldn't find any then his ears sensitive only to hear the sound of food. Chouji turned towards his opponent then down to the ground where Lee stood. Scattered on the floor were his three packs of gourmet pork chips, adding two and two together.

"YOU BASTARD YOU ATE ALL OF MY FOOD!" Chouji roared as chakra rose from his body. Lee had a confused look on his face which turned to a look of horror when Chouji extended his arms and yelled. "Bubun Baika no jutsu: ARMS" Both of Chouji's arms grew in size , his hands easily catching the still confused Lee and then proceeded to pound the sophomore genin.

Up in the balcony Asuma felt everyone from the Konoha side stare at him in disbelief while Shikamaru was following Naruto's example by banging their heads on the wall, grumbling about Chouji's stupidity. Lee felt Chouji's full strength and he was excited to have been able to battle such an opponent but Lee had activated the heal gate, raising his stamina and temporarily healing his injuries.

The Akimichi heir continued to slam Lee on the ground, wanting to end the fight as soon as possible. He hadn't even mastered the partial multi-size yet, out of pure luck and rage he had successfully pulled it off although Chouji felt his chakra reserves depleting at a rapid state. 'Shit... I'm gonna get my revenge on this guy and win this fight!' Chouji thought as his fantasy about Eat-all you-can barbecue came back to his thoughts. 'Mmmm barbecue...i can almost feel the hot beef slices in my hands...eh hot?...AAHHH MY HAND.. The guy with the caterpillars is burning my hand with his chakra!'

'THE THIRD: Life Gate OPEN!'

Lee drew his arms together, his skin turn to a reddish color as chakra exploded from his body. Chouji hastily put Lee down , shaking his hands trying to put out the burning sensation he got from the fierce chakra.

Naruto leaned on the railing , his eyes calmly observing what was happening on the arena below. He shot a glare at Gai who had come to boast about Lee already being the winner of the match. "Super-Brows ...Tell me Lee isn't going to do what I think he's going to do" Naruto said in rather serious tone. Gai just gave him a wide grin before turning back to watch the match.

'The FOURTH: Harm Gate OPEN!'

Lee let out an inhuman growl as more chakra began to seep into his muscles. Chouji although already weak from all of the fighting he had to do and no food to replenish his chakra, knew that after this last attack the match would be over. 'I'm out of chakra and I'm tired already...Maybe Asuma-sensei will still treat me even if I lose...or forfeit' Wanting to end stop the match already , Chouji started to raise his hand to forfeit. He also didn't want to be on the receiving end of whatever the caterpillar kid is going to do. "I for-" Chouji started to say but Lee had already started his technique and from the noise that Lee was giving off no one heard Chouji.

Panicking at not being heard Chouji used the remaining amount of his chakra to go into his multi-size form in hope of avoiding serious injury. Lee vanished from everyone's sights, the tiles on the floor shattering from the force of Lee's advance towards the enlarging Chouji. With a powerful kick to Chouji's round form, Lee sent the boy flying up into the air again.

Everyone watched as Lee punch and kick Chouji with his new found high speed. Team 10 and Naruto had worried look on their faces when Lee had started his technique. Gai although pleased with Lee for proving to everyone that he could be a great ninja even with taijutsu only, felt that the last technique was abit overboard. Hayate meanwhile although he could stopped the match was unable to stop the boy from starting his technique.

"URA RENGE:EXTREME LOTUS!" Lee roared, smashing his fist and foot onto Chouji's prone form. A sickening crash could be heard as both combatants fell to the ground. Silence enveloped the whole chamber as smoke flew from the debris, moments later the smoke cleared to show the unconscious form of a bleeding Chouji. Lee also lay on the ground, unmoving.

Hayate waited for a minute for any of the two to stand up but seeing that both would be unable to get up. Hayate coughed before raising his hand to announce his verdict. "Since...Akimichi-san is knocked out...and the genin Rock Lee is too injured to continue...I declare this match a draw..." After saying that Hayate immediately called for the medics.

Gai felt cold from the way Naruto stared at him icily. He could feel the killer intent being directed at him, and he couldn't even yell about the flaming passions of youth. " I don't care about the flaming passions of youth o whatever reasons you have...As much as it gave that boy a chance to excel in his only field of expertise. It may also have caused him too much even for his dream..." Naruto said in a cold serious tone , his cerulean eyes had an icy glint as he continued to talk to Konoha's resident Taijutsu Master.

"The extreme lotus is a highly dangerous technique...It is both damaging to the user and the receiver of the attack...Super-Brows you better hope Thick-brows is going to recover from this injury because...If he dies...it'll be your fault for teaching a technique knowing the consequence if it were used but since I know you have your own reasons for teaching him...just hope that Tsunade-kaasan can heal him because if she can't...you have shattered Thick-brow's dream of becoming a great Shinobi." Naruto turned around , letting his gaze fall on the huddled forms of Shikamaru , Asuma and Ino.

"How is Chouji?" Naruto asked as he joined Team 10. Ino jumped a few inches in fright. Shikamaru turned to Naruto giving him a small smile.

"Akimichi-san will live...thanks to his use of his family techniques...the fat in his body cushioned the blows of the Extreme lotus to a certain extent although because of chakra depletion and stress, Akimichi-san fell into unconsciousness just before he impacted on the ground." The medic-nin examining Chouji reported while the other medics delivered some news to Gai. From what Naruto could observe from Gai's grim expression, his earlier examination of what happend was true. 'Thick-brows' muscles snapped and the strain on his body was too much.'

"Cough...Fifth match Kin Tsuchi vs. Ten Ten"

Everyone except Gai ignored the match between the two Kunoichi, their thoughts were still on the previous fights. The Hokage and the rest of the jounin were gauging on
both genin's abilities. With a shake of his head Sarutobi turned his attention back to the match below. Much to his chagrin, the match was just finishing. Apparently the Oto-nin Kin Tsuchi wasn't a match for Ten ten.

Bladed weapons were scattered on the arena floor, blood was dripping from the wounds that were inflicted on Kin. Ten ten had a serious look on her face as she prepare to hurl another barrage of kunais at her opponent. Kin Tsuchi now unable to hold back the pain she was feeling from her injuries and in between her lower region. Kin cried out "I Forfeit!...I can't take this anymore...Ooww..." Kin doubled over as she held onto her stomach, feeling blood flowing between her thighs. 'Curse this Dysmenorrhea!'"Cough...Winner by Dysmenorrhea...Tenten" Hayate announce quite oblivious to the murderous glares that were sent his way by the Kunoichi inside the chamber and one bowl cut Jounin who was raving about the flames of youth and the pureness of puberty. Kurenai and Anko having enough of Gai's boisterous yelling, made their way to where the green clad Jounin stood. Being oblivious to the killer intent sent his way Gai kept on raving until it was too late, Kurenai and Anko double teamed on the Jounin and pounded him into the wall.

As soon as the medics carried Kin out of the chamber, Hayate announced the next team to fight. He coughed before announcing the match as the names flashed on the screen above. "Sixth Match: Inuzuka Kiba vs. Sarutobi Konohamaru" Everyone tensed when they heard this, most of the people groaned when Kiba cheered at his luck in fighting such an opponent. Konohamaru meanwhile was grinning since it was finally his turn to fight.

"Yahoo! This is our lucky day Akamaru! We get to fight Dobe-kun!" Kiba cheered loudly, a bark accompanied his yelling as the dog-boy made his way down the stairs. Konohamaru had also gotten down and was twitching from the Dobe-kun comment Kiba made. Sending a glare to Kiba, Konohamaru tried to calm his nerves waiting for Hayate to begin the fight.

Up on the spectators , Most of the Jounin and Hokage were watching the fight curiously. Dog vs. Monkey a match that hadn't happend since Sarutobi Asuma vs. Inuzuka Hana fought in the Chuunin exams five years ago. "This should be an interesting match...Last time...Inuzuka Hana owned Asuma who had a coughing fit after inhaling the smoke from Inuzuka's smoke bomb.." Sarutobi said with a chuckle. Kurenai, Anko, Ibiki chuckled with the Hokage, glancing at the chain-smoking Jounin.

The match had started and all the two combatants did was stare each other down. They started circling each other , trying to attack if an opening showed itself. Kiba his patience growing thin. let out a frustrated growl and charged forward, ramming his elbow into Konohamaru. The boy seeing Kiba's elbow brought his arm out catching Kiba before skidding a few meters away from the dog-boy.

Konohamaru quickly brought his arms on the ground, slamming them with all of his strength. The arena floor shook from the tremor of Konohamaru's fist. Kiba unprepared by the boy's actions was sent sprawling backwards. Akamaru ready to defend his master , leaped into action , fangs bared at Konohamaru. The young Sarutobi ducked down letting Akamaru fly pass but Kiba who had regained his composure quickly rammed his elbow again to the unsuspecting Konohamaru.

"Heh...Damn dobe trying to act tough...Call the match Ref...He wont be getting up anytime soon" Kiba said with a grin, facing Hayate who had not moved an inch. Konohamaru meanwhile groaned in pain, pushing himself up from where he had landed. 'Stupid Dog-boy...' Konohamaru thought as he dusted himself off, trying not to wince in pain. Kiba turned around in shock to see Konohamaru who had a ape-like grin on his face.

"What do you mean call the match Dog-breathe? The match just started!' Konohamaru said, charging towards Kiba on all fours, using his large arms to move towards the Inuzuka boy. Kiba and Akamaru quickly leaped to the side , barely avoiding the charging Konohamaru. Kiba crouched low, his hands in a tiger handseal. 'Shikakyu no jutsu!" Kiba's appearance took to a more canine form as he charged Konohamaru.

"Tsuuga!" Kiba roared , shooting towards Konohamaru in a drill like fashion. Konohamaru alarmed by the speed that the dog-boy was moving , tried to leap out of the way. Akamaru seeing this chance in Konohamaru being too focused on Kiba leaped at Konohamaru pouncing on him. The pounce sent the two of them crashing to the ground. Akamaru let out a happy bark to its master who had a satisfied smirk on his face.

Konohamaru growl in pain as he pushed himself up, his other hand holding onto the wound that Akamaru had inflicted. 'Stupid dog...' He thought as he drew back his fist and rammed it into the ground again sending a tremor like wave in Kiba's direction. On instinct Kiba leaped into the air, Konohamaru had a grin on his face as his hand were in a cross-like handseal. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Poofs of ninja smoke appeared beside Kiba as four pairs of hands came out of the smoke, latching on to him.

Konohamaru leaped into the air, spinning three sixty degrees as he sent his left fist into Kiba's stomach. "Gori Ken!Gorilla Fist" The force of the blow sent Kiba flying into the wall, debris flying everywhere. Konohamaru landed on the ground. panting heavily from the exhaustion of forcing his body to move at such speed. He wasn't use to trying to keep up with the Inuzuka boy with his weights on. A bark from his right brought him out of his thoughts as Akamaru bit his arm in an attempt to hold the Sarutobi boy in place.

"AH RABIES!...You stupid dog! Get away from me! Get away from me you bitch!" Konohamaru yelled as he swung his arm around, slamming the pup on the arena floor. Everyone in the arena were silent , sweat drops could be seen on the back of their heads. 'Bitch? Isn't Akamaru male?' Shikamaru thought as he let out a tired sigh. Grumbling to himself he continued to watch the rather interesting match below. Naruto meanwhile was trying not to laugh at Konohamaru's language.

"You prick! What the hell did you do to Akamaru?" Kiba yelled when he got up moments later to see his pup lying beside him weak from being thrown around like a rag doll. "I'll get you for that!" Kiba growl as he popped a soldier pill into his mouth and popped two into Akamaru's muzzle. Akamaru's fur turned into a bloody red color letting out a feral growl as it leaped onto Kiba's back. "I'll finish this match once and for all! Ninpou Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu!" Kiba called out. Akamaru immediately was covered with ninja smoke.

Konohamaru meanwhile took out his Leviathan Rod and had three Kage Bunshins with him. 'I guess this is it...' Konohamaru thought as he pulled out three green strips of paper and handed them to the clones. With a knowing nod from the clones, Konohamaru leaped out of the way as Kiba and Akamaru came from two directions, in a pincer like maneuver. "GATSUUGA" Kiba roared, the drilling effect of their claws, created scratch marks on the floor and on Konohamaru's side. Konohamaru let out a scream of pain as Kiba and Akamaru hit him with their drill-like attack.

'Crap! This isn't good...Im seriously running out of chakra and I'm just continuing to run...what to do...what to do...' Konohamaru thought as he spun his staff to try and deflect Kiba and Akamaru's attacks. Kiba stopped a few meters away from him , his claws sliding onto the floor. "Heh...As I thought you haven't improved Konohamaru" Kiba taunted as he once again charged forward along side Akamaru.

Just as Kiba and Akamaru came close to Konohamaru two of the clones leaped forward taking the attack. Konohamaru quickly took this chance and took a swipe at both Kiba. The clones poofed out of existence, as Kiba and Akamaru landed behind Konohamaru. "No more clones now Akamaru...Let's finish him!" Kiba yelled as he reached into his pouch and threw two round objects at Konohamaru. The two objects bounced a few times before it started emitting gust of dark smoke completely covering the area. Konohamaru meanwhile closed his eyes seeing as the effects of the smoke bombs were the same as the Kirigakure no jutsu. Konohamaru sent his remaining chakra to his ears and nose.

The sound of Kiba and Akamaru's drilling attack came close. Konohamaru hearing the sound getting closer , moved his staff towards the direction and extended it's length. Swinging the staff around Konohamaru felt the metal hit something, he waited for smoke to clear to reveal Kiba and a now normal looking Akamaru. Konohamaru grinned as his remaining clone who had been hiding behind Konohamaru ran towards Kiba. Kiba grunted in pain as he got up, Akamaru rose from Kiba's side whimpering in pain.

"Heh Lucky shot Dobe..." Kiba said a feral grin formed in his face as he reached into his pouch again to take out his spare soldier pill. His hand scavenged inside the pouch trying to find the two remaining pills he kept for safe keeping in case the jutsu had worn off. 'Where is it? I know I kept it inside my pouch..Where is it?' Kiba thought as he desperately tried to look for it. Kiba looked around to see if the two pills had fallen out of his pouch during the skirmish.

"Looking for these?" Two voices came from opposite directions. Kiba and Akamaru turned to face two Konohamaru's who each had a soldier pill held out in the palm of their hand. Kiba could see which one was the real Konohamaru because of the wounds on the boy's arm and clothes. Kiba growled in anger as he crouched on the ground before launching himself towards Konohamaru. Even if Akamaru wasn't in on the fight he could still take on Konohamaru.

Konohamaru and his clone quickly leaped out of Kiba's way, Konohamaru quickly landed on the side , planting the green strip of paper he was holding. Looking over to his clone he saw that the clone had planted the strip of paper as well. Kiba quickly performed a three sixty turn , and charging forward again. "TSUUGA!" Kiba spun wildly towards Konohamaru who was smirking as he covered his nose and mouth with a piece of cloth.

Green smoke began to rush out of the paper as it ignited, creating a smokescreen that gave off a rather strong smell. Kiba doubled over holding onto his nose as he tried to shake off the smell. "WHAT THe HELL IS THAT SMELL?" Kiba yelled as he tried to focus but tears had began to form over his eyes obscuring his view. Konohamaru didn't waste anytime as he sent his clone to Kiba and kick the Inuzuka genin up into the air.

"That's called Skunk stink Kiba...and Now it's payback time for calling me Dead last" Konohamaru said as he threw Leviathan towards Kiba. he then had his hands in a seal. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Four clones popped into existence surrounding Kiba in the air. "Now I'll show you my new jutsu!" "Henge!" The clones were covered with ninja smoke as they transformed into various creatures. The smoke cleared to reveal that the clones transformed into a Tiger, a Turtle , A phoenix and a dragon. "Here I go Kiba..."

One by One the four transformed clones attacked Kiba while Konohamaru waited on the ground gathering the remaining pill induced chakra into his hand. "Suzaku" The flaming bird struck Kiba making the boy scream as burning scratches formed in his shoulder. "Byakku" Razor sharp winds cut thru Kiba's arms. "Seiryuu" Kiba felt really cold as the dragon passed him. "Genbu" The turtle smashed its hard shell onto Kiba's frozen scorched and already cut up stomach , sending the Inuzuka genin crashing onto the arena floor.

Konohamaru landed on the ground before Kiba panting heavily as he surveyed his downed opponent. "Yonjin no Yaiba RendanBlade of the Four Gods Combo complete..." Konohamaru proclaimed as Hayate checked Kiba before announcing that Konohamaru had won. "Yata!" Konohamaru started celebrating by jumping around. Everyone from the Konoha side cheered.

Konohamaru turned his gaze towards the Sandaime , his smile grew wider when he could see that his grandfather had pride in his eyes along with his uncle Asuma who still had a cigarette in his mouth. "Good Job Konohamaru...You've grown..." A voice from behind Konohamaru suddenly spoke. The young Sarutobi turned to see Naruto with a wide grin on his face. Konohamaru mimicked his grin before following the blonde Jounin back to the balcony so Hayate could announce the next bout.

"Next Fight...7th cough Match: Subaku no Temari vs. Nara Shikamaru" Hayate announced.

"How troublesome...Why Do I have to fight a girl..." Shikamaru complained as he thought of just giving up but Ino and Asuma were already directing the lazy genin down the stairs. Shikamaru let out an exhausted sigh while his opponent the sandy blonde with the four pigtails gave him an annoyed look. Shikamaru ignored Temari's glare , his eyes looking around. His gaze after a while of getting use to the arena went back to Temari who was now sporting a pissed off look.

"Cough..Begin..." Hayate said as he leaped back , Temari immediately bringing her fan around , snapping it open letting loose a gust of wind shoot out towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru meanwhile had leaped above the wind using chakra to lengthen his jump. 'Suna Genin...Hhmm They use Fuuton jutsus and Puppetry...' Shikamaru thought as he landed back on the ground a few feet away from Temari.

"Nice Dodge...but that'll be the last time you escape me...Ninpou:Kamaitachi!" Temari cried out , swinging her fan again. Shikamaru seeing her movements and the chakra enhanced winds gather around her fan quickly tried to move but he had timed it too late. Shikamaru was blown backwards , sending him crashing into the far wall. Up in the balcony his teammates were cheering for Shikamaru yelling for him to stop lazing around and use his 16 hit combo. Shikamaru grumbled inwardly 'I dont have a 16 hit combo...Sheesh...troublesome...I can't forfeit because I cant lose to a girl...and I can't hit her because she's a girl...hhmm...' Shikamaru thought as he got out of the rubble and try to check for any broken bones or such.

"Heh...Is that all? I knew it...Konoha Genin are weak..." Temari taunted trying to get a rise from her opponent who had a funny pineapple shaped head. Seeing no reaction except the same bored expression on Shikamaru's visage, Temari growled in frustration. She had never seen a lazy and weak looking genin ever. "That's it I've had enough of you giving me that lazy look! Kamaitachi!" Temari roared as she swung her battle fan sending wave after wave of razor cutting winds.

Shikamaru seeing as there was no escape decided that he would try and hug the wall he was backed into. 'Che just a little more...' Shikamaru thought as he pulled out some kunais and shurikens from his holster. As soon as Temari stopped her assault of Kamaitachis , Shikamaru made his move sending a barrage of his remaining kunais and shurikens at his opponent.

Temari smirked when she saw the pathetic attempt of attack from Shikamaru. With a quick swing of her fan the projectiles fell to the ground with a clatter. Shikamaru was kneeling on the ground , his hands in a seal while his whole body was covered in shadow due to the canopy of the balcony. "Kage Mane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru proclaimed as his shadow began to extend forward towards Temari.

Seeing Shikamaru's shadow start to slither its way towards her, Temari gave an inaudible gasp as she leaped away avoiding the shadow knowing that coming in contact might be fatal for her. Shikamaru kept his visage as calm as possible , his eyes following the shadow and Temari's movements. Temari meanwhile halted from moving when she noticed that Shikamaru's shadow had stopped its assault. 'I see...It has a certain range...as long as stay out of its range Im safe' Temari thought.

Temari's smirk returned as she marked the floor with her fan. "This is the limit of your technique!" Temari proclaimed as she swung her fan again letting loose another barrage of razor sharp winds with a cry of "Kamaitachi." Shikamaru grunted as the winds sent him crashing into the wall, Everyone above him could not see what Shikamaru was doing since he was hugging the wall.

Temari seeing her chance that Shikamaru would not be able to dodge. "Hugging that wall and trying to hide won't get you anywhere...Che...I knew it...Konoha Genins are weak...and cowardly.." Temari taunted deciding that she just finished the fight since she felt Gaara's patience growing thin. "Kamai-" Temari started to cry out as s she swung her fan but she soon found out that she no longer had control over her body.

"Kage Mane no Jutsu success" Shikamaru proclaimed , his hands in a seal, his whole body hidden in the shadows of the balcony. "since you can't see from behind...I'll let you look behind." Shikamaru turned his head making Temari turn her head revealing the shadow from the wall which she was really close to had extended and connected to her own Shadow.

Temari's expression was one of shock and fear, fear of loss and fear of the wrath of her youngest brother if she lost. "Kage'Ei! Shadow Phantom" Shikamaru whispered , his hands forming in a seal resembling the Hand seal for Kage Bunshin. Temari growl as she tried to use her chakra to get loose from Shikamaru's shadow binding technique. Shikamaru set his gaze on the Suna Kunoichi, pouring his chakra into the shadows.

Beside the young Nara two arm like shadows extended from the shadows from the walls beside him. As the dark form raced towards Temari it began to take shape, resembling the features of Shikamaru himself. "I wasn't suppose to use this technique...because I don't like showing off and its too troublesome..." Shikamaru said, in a bored tone.

'Troublesome...Don't have much chakra left might as well finish this off' Shikamaru thought, his hands moving to a different seal , engaging the final parts of the jutsu he had created out of boredom. Ever since he befriended Naruto, Shikamaru had gotten the idea of training for fun from the hyperactive boy, since he hated being berated by his nagging mother, Shikamaru decided to train with Naruto at least once a week. The training paid off with Shikamaru developing the Shadow Phantoms, his own version of the Kage Bunshin, clones literally made of shadows.

"Ei - Tetsumaki Phantom Whrilwind" The phantoms converge on Temari, covering her by twisting around her body. Everyone in the stands paid extra attention to the strange jutsu that Shikamaru had just performed. Most of the Elite Shinobi had surprised looks on their faces, the Nara clan held no such jutsu...There was no technique from the Nara in the Konoha Clan Archives that resembled such a technique. Sandaime blew out the smoke from his pipe a smile forming in his old face. "It seems we have another genius in the genin ranks..." Sarutobi said.

Asuma meanwhile let out a sigh of relief, Shikamaru wasn't going to lose. Hayate declared Shikamaru as the winner of the match after the lazy genin released Temari from the Phantom Whirlwind. Kankurou immediately leaped from the balcony to retrieve his unconscious sister. 'i don't know which I'm gonna be more afraid of...Gaara's wrath or Temari's sour mood once she wakes up...I hate being the middle child...' Kankurou thought leaping back into the balcony. Gaara didn't comment on Temari's loss, he gave her a quick glance before turning his gaze at the 8th match.

Two pairs of pearl like orbs had opposite reactions, One had fear while the other had excitement in the pearl white orbs of both members of Konoha's Top Clan. "Hyuuga Neji vs. Hyuuga Hinata" The electronic board flashed while the spectators were silent, some of the genins were silent buried in their own thoughts while others eyes were narrowed. The air grew with tension as both members of the Hyuuga made their way to the arena below.

On his way down, Neji's shoulder was grabbed by his green clad sensei. "Neji...don't bring your hatred for the Main Family...into this match.." Gai warned in a hissed tone as much as the loud jounin could muster. Neji gave Gai a fierce glare before continuing on his way. Gai let out a sigh and looked at each of the Konoha Jounin gathered in the chamber.

Hinata made her way towards the arena despite her shaking legs and shock upon discovering her opponent for the preliminaries. 'Why of all opponents It had to be her own cousin Neji.' Hinata shook herself, letting the fear be buried away. " I can't show my fear here...I've come this far... I can't back out...I can't...because right now...right now...He's watching me...' Hinata thought, casting a short glance to the blonde Jounin who treated her equally and spent some of his time to help her train.

All of the Konoha Jounin and Sandaime had their eyes concentrated on the arena below. 'This should be an interesting match...A Hyuuga Main House vs. Hyuuga Branch House Match' were the thoughts of the older and experience Shinobis gathered in the chamber. Hayate meanwhile let out a cough trying to let his sickness show much of his nervousness. He heard from Gai that Hyuuga Neji hated the main house with a passion. 'This is the worst and best possible match up for the preliminaries'

"Hinata-sama...before this match starts...You are not fit to be a Kunoichi...You avoid conflict...and have a sense of inferiority...I advice you to forfeit this match now" Neji said, his white orbs giving his cousin a piercing glare trying to make his point. Hinata just looked at Neji with the same white orbs but without the glare.

"I-I'm sorry Neji-niisan...I--I can't do that..." Hinata replied, never letting her eyes leave Neji's face. "I joined the Chuunin selection exam...in the hopes ...of changing myself.." Hinata said in her soft voice. Neji's eyes narrowed in disgust at what he just heard.

"I see...as I thought...You main house Hyuuga are spoiled...Change? You can't change...It is impossible...It is even impossible to change a elite to a loser..." Neji spat out, veins emerged from the sides of his visage as his bloodline limit activated itself. "With my byakugan I can see that all of this is an act..."

"Yo-you're wrong Neji-niisan I-I joined the exam on my own free will." Hinata said with a stutter at first but manage to muster enough courage to say it in a firm tone but Neji didn't hear any of it. Neji just snorted at what Hinata just said, a smirk forming on his lips. 'Pathetic...' were Neji's thoughts as he eyed the wimpy looking girl before him. 'This is the heir to the strongest clan of Konoha?'

"You can never change...You can't change Fa-" Neji said but before he could finish.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted, completely surprising everyone, the usually silent Jounin just shouted . Naruto's cerulean orbs had an icy glint to it as the blonde jounin glared dangerously at the Hyuuga sophomore genin. "Is that all you're good at? Talking? Hinata says she joined the exam on her own free will...That alone has already proven that she intends to change herself...So shut up and fight already..."

'This guy...' Neji thought, looking at the Jounin's icy stare. "Hmpf...Fine..." Neji said as he let his body slide into the Hyuuga fighting stance. Hinata slid into the same stance as Neji. Hayate seeing as the talking was done started the match. Hinata rushed at Neji, pulling back her fist then pushing it into a open palm forward thrust. Neji calmly moved his body a step backwards, evading the simple move.

Hinata quickly pivoted using her left foot, dodging Neji's own open palmed strike. Hinata lowered herself into a crouch in an attempt to sweep Neji. Neji quickly leaped out of the way, when Hinata came up with two rapid strikes to Neji's chest. Everyone in the balcony watch intently at the match than seemed that Hinata had in control. From Naruto's side Sasuke and Konohamaru were silently watching the match rooting for their own year. 'Naruto-sempai is watching Hinata-san...Show Neji and everyone that you've changed.'

"Hinata...show him that he's wrong!" Naruto said, giving the Hyuuga heiress a warm smile. Hinata nodded, once again rushing towards Neji who just had a smirk on his face effortlessly evading Hinata's attacks. 'What a loser...rooting on Hinata-sama even thought Fate has already chosen me as the victor...A loser of a Jounin... Rumors are rumors...He can't be that strong...' Neji thought as he caught Hinata's arm, her hand inches from his chest. With quick finger jabs, Neji closed the tenketsus in Hinata's arm disabling her ability to expel chakra thru that arm.

"It's useless...You can't fight fate...You won't change anything!" Neji continued to be little Hinata, slapping away her arms and sending an attack of his own. Neji narrowed his eyes when Hinata also deflected his attacks. Finally losing his patience in testing Hinata's ability in the family fighting style, Neji chose to bring the fight up a notch, sending the Hyuuga heiress crashing onto the arena floor.

"Is this the ability of the Main House?" Neji sneered as he began his psychological attack on Hinata again. Hinata coughed up blood, pushing her body back up, once again ready to face her cousin. 'No this isn't...' Hinata thought as she concentrated a portion of her chakra to her remaining arm. 'Concentrate...form the chakra into a blade of sort..' Hinata thought as a blue glow emerged from her palm. 'I can still move...I can still fight...I can't lose...especially when the person who I admire is watching me...'

'Just as Naruto-san has shown me...' Hinata thought as she rushed her opponent despite her body already at it's limits. "Ninpou: Chakra no Yaiba!" Hinata cried out as the chakra gathered in her palm solidified to form a short blade made out of chakra. Neji took a step back in surprise from the strange jutsu that Hinata had created. "You Btch...Who taught you that?" Neji asked as he quickly gathered chakra thru out his whole body.

"From the person who acknowledges me...and the person I admire" Hinata simply said although the last part was more of a whisper to herself, her eyes filled with determination and hidden courage, rushing Neji with a powerful forward thrust, thrusting the chakra blade like a lance. Neji smirked before a bluish glow covered him.

"Foolish...Your futile attempt doesn't change your fate!" Neji said as he cried out his own technique. "HAKKESHOU KAITEN!" Neji roared as chakra exploded from his body in a spinning manner. Neji spun like a top as the chakra created a protective dome around him deflecting Hinata's chakra blade. The two attacks collided with each other, Hinata once again was blown backwards this time hitting the wall with a loud crash. Neji came out of his Kaiten with a satisfied smirk. "A loser will always be a loser" The sound of moving rubble caught Neji's attention, Hinata stood from the debris although abit battered but still able to fight. Hinata's eye's still had that determined look which infuriated Neji. "Impossible...how can you still be standing after a direct hit from my Kaiten?" Neji said in a angry tone. Hinata didn't respond with words but she slid back into the Jyuuken Fighting stance.

Hinata charged forward, although her insides hurt, she pushed her body which was already at it's limits. "I never back down...This is Shinobi Way..." Hinata said, her voice strained from crying out in pain. Blood dripped at the side of her lip as she reached Neji. Hinata thrust her hand forward but Neji caught it inches from his chest. With rapid strikes, Neji closed the tenketsus in Hinata's remaining arm, rendering both her arms useless.

"Forfeit...Hinata-sama...You have already lost...You can not win against me...Fate has already ordained me as the victor when our names were chosen to fight..." Neji said, staring at Hinata's struggling and beaten form. Hinata spat out the blood, before rushing at Neji, aiming a closed fist at the Hyuuga prodigy. Neji had a smirked on his face , easily evading the attacks that Hinata sent his way. "Why? Why do you continue to fight?" Neji said just as he pushed aside Hinata's arm and pushing his own palm to Hinata's chest.

Hinata coughed up blood, her body limp from Neji's Jyuuken strike. Neji stepped sideways letting Hinata fall to the floor in a heap. "You're attacks have done nothing...continuing this match is pointless..."

Up in the stands Kurenai was worried for Hinata, she could clearly see that Hinata was at her limits. 'She won't be able to stand up after that deciding blow to the heart.' Kurenai thought a smile forming in her face. 'But...but Hinata has shown that she truly wants to change herself...You've taken a large step Hinata...Good job in showing everyone...' Her thoughts were wrenched away when she heard Naruto once again shout. 'This is another surprise...the silent Naruto...being loud...I guess he just hates people belittling anyone...especially when it's family.'

Everyone had their eyes glued to the arena below, Naruto finally let his anger ebbed abit. Hinata although she could no longer use her arms and hands to attack pushed herself up. She used her left arm to hold onto her right when she stood again. "Why Hinata-sama? Forfeit...If you continue...You will die...There is no need to suffer...Forfeit...Destiny has already declared me the victor" Neji said in a angry but pleading tone.

Hinata stared at Neji for a few seconds her steely gaze turned back to her usual kind gaze. "It-it's not true Neji-niisan...I know that...that the one suffering from the destiny of the Hyuuga Main and Branch house...is you..." Hinata said struggling not to pass out. Neji meanwhile glared at Hinata, for the first time during this match, Neji lost his cool.

Neji felt his body trembling in anger. 'How dare she...how dare she try to pin the blame on me...' Neji thought as he tried to calm down but despite his efforts Hinata's words was ringing inside his head. Unable to take it anymore Neji charging forward in anger, intending to end Hinata's life. Hayate and the Jounin had alarmed looks on their faces when they saw what Neji intended to do. "Neji-san Stop!...This match is over!" Hayate shouted as he made his move to stop the enraged genin. Neji shook in anger as he counted the steps before he would deliver the finishing blow.

All of the genins watch in horror as Neji raced forward arm's extended with palms glowing. All of the jounin and Hayate moved to intercept the Hyuuga prodigy before the enraged boy did something he would regret later. Neji was only a few steps from delivering blow when a hand appeared to his side, immediately halting his progress. "Wha-?" Neji said as he stared at the person holding his hand.

Naruto stood by Neji's side, his hand holding onto Neji in an iron grip. "This match is over..." Naruto said as Hayate and the other Jounin namely Kurenai and Gai arrived only a second later. Neji glared at the blonde rookie Jounin, before glaring at Gai as if daring the man to say anything.

"So even the Jounin came to stop the match...more special treatment for the Main house..." Neji said in a bitter tone. Naruto finally let go of Neji's arm while Kurenai and Hayate yelled for the medics so they could rush Hinata to the ICU. Naruto after checking Hinata's status, started to walk back to the balcony. "Hey that..Loud Jounin over there..." Neji called to Naruto's retreating back. Naruto stopped in his tracks, turning his head to face Neji with a emotionless look. Gai's eyes went wide in shock at what Neji just called the rookie jounin.

"Neji...Stop it..." Gai warned but Neji paid no heed to the green clad Jounin.

"If you're really a Jounin and a Shinobi...cut out the cheering for others...Only losers do such things...But I guess You're a loser as well..." Neji said with a smirk. Gai was even more alarmed when Naruto just stood there glaring at Neji. Naruto turned around, ignoring Neji's taunt which made the Hyuuga prodigy to try and infuriate the 13 year old. "Heh...I heard you're an orphan...Your father must have been to ashamed to even keep you...He must have been a loser too since You're a loser.." Neji said, a smirk forming in his face.

'Uh oh...' were Sasuke and Konohamaru's thoughts along with Kurenai and Gai. "Neji...You are way out of-" Gai started to reprimand Neji but he noticed that Naruto had disappeared from infront of them. The next thing Gai knew, Neji was sent flying to a wall, with Naruto standing where Neji stood before. 'Such speed...even faster than me...Shunpo' Gai thought as he tried to calm Naruto down. "Now...now...Naruto-kun...Don't be too hasty...I'll reprimand my own subordinate..." Gai said in a pleading tone.

"Your student has step out of line Maito-san...He may make fun of me...I'll let that slide...but he has step out of line in talking about my father...and the fourth Hokage.." Naruto said, the last part more of a whisper so only Gai could hear. Naruto then turned to Neji who had gotten out of the wall trying to figure out why he was in the wall in the first place. "Hyuuga-san...I dare you to say that to me again..." Naruto said.

Neji smirked then said. "Your Father is a coward and a loser..." Naruto disappeared from where he stood while Neji activated his Byakugan. Sandaime watched from his place, he really should stop the fight from escalating but then the Hyuuga boy had just called his successor a coward and a loser something he wouldn't slide. Neji could see everything with his Byakugan, well almost everything since right now he couldn't see the blonde Jounin anywhere.

"Heh...for a genius...he sure is an idiot...Ey Sasuke wanna bet if Neji will still be standing with his manhood intact?" Konohamaru said to Sasuke, the Uchiha prodigy just snorted before giving the young Sarutobi a smirk and a nod. The Hyuuga may be said to be the strongest clan but as of this time there were Four people in the village stronger than the Hyuuga mainly Sandaime Hokage, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Team 7's Jounin-sensei Uzumaki Naruto. Despite coming from the bloodline of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto relied on his speed , strength, training and experience and his sword. Sasuke turned his onyx orbs at the large Katana like weapon leaning against the wall.

Neji suddenly felt chakra rocketing towards him, he gathered his own chakra ready to perform Kaiten to defend against the attack. "Kait-" Neji cried out as he started to spin when a fist materialized out of thin air and collided with his gut. 'Impossible! He broke thru my Kaiten as if it was nothing...who is this guy?' Neji thought as he was sent rolling to the ground. Once he finished rolling the boy lost consciousness when Naruto appeared above him, a hand extended with sudden flicking action. Neji lost consciousness just as Naruto finger flicked the Hyuuga prodigy's forehead. With the Hitai'ate on Neji would be out for hours but still be able to train without suffering from any brain damage. Up in the balcony Sasuke grudgingly handed Konohamaru 10000 Ryou for the lost of the bet.

The sand team were all staring at the Blonde Jounin who was covered in a mix of blue and red chakra. Gaara could feel Shukaku waking from it's slumber for once it wasn't raving like the lunatic, instead Shukaku was shaking in fear from its containment seal. Gaara for once in his 13 years of existence felt the demon inside of him whimper in fear and heard a barely audible whisper. "No...It can't be...It's him..."

Gaara stared at the blonde jounin who had calmed down and gone back to his team who were silent. From the way Shukaku reacted, Gaara decided he should avoid this black clad Jounin at all cost. The youngest of the sand trio turned to his elder brother. "Kankurou" Gaara said making the puppet user jump a few inches off the ground.

"Ye-Yes Gaara...what is it?" Kankurou said in a stutter, he really thought Gaara wanted to kill him but his red haired brother just looked at him with slight amusement before giving him orders.

"Find out about that Blonde Jounin..." Gaara said in a monotone voice before turning his gaze back at the screen which had displayed his name and the remaining sound genin. Kankurou having been given his orders quickly transferred to the Konoha side to inquire about the blonde Jounin. Looking at the group of remaining leaf-nins, Kankurou decided to talk to the weapon specialist.

"Hey uum...Leaf- Kunoichi...Can I ask you something?" Kankurou said in greeting. Tenten looked at Kankurou in confusion. She raised her eyebrows trying to figure out why the Sand loser was coming over to ask something.

"Erm..Ok..." Tenten replied, really weirded out that the make-up wearing genin was standing close to her. Her hands were itching to reach inside her weapons pouch and stab the genin.

"What do you know about that Blonde Jounin guy?" Kankurou asked giving Tenten a smile.

"Oh..him...He's Uzumaki Naruto...recently promoted Rookie Jounin...I heard he is a ANBU Division captain before he got promoted.." Tenten replied, eyeing the blonde jounin who was talking to his subordinates clearly ignoring the match below which from what Tenten could tell was one-sided. "He's suppose to be faster than Gai-sensei and from what he showed us earlier I guess the rumors are true...I mean...I didn't even see him move..."

Kankurou nodded, his mind replaying the short scuffle before Gaara's match. 'Yeah what she said is right...This Naruto guy might be dangerous...especially when the time comes to execute the plan...' Kankurou thought waving a thanks to the bewildered weapon specialist then going back to their side. As he reached where Baki was guarding Temari, Gaara appeared in a whirlwind of sand, unscratched. Down below his opponent, Abumi Zaku, was being carried in a stretcher by the medic nins, both his arms missing.

"Weak.." Gaara said as the boy stood there like a statue. Kankurou shivered in fear at what his brother might be thinking now. Then next match which was the last one was totaly boring, it involved two Konoha-nins, a blonde Kunoichi and the remaining teammate of the quitter, who had a weird ability. Kankurou watched the last match in boredom, yawning when the girl performed her technique when the older genin used his weird stretching ability.

Finally the preliminaries ended with the Kunoichi declared as the winner when she made the older genin forfeit. Everyone gathered back into the arena below as the Hokage with his aide came down to announce the final matches. "The Final Test will happen a month from now...The next matches will be the same but with a much larger audience...The final matches are as follows" Sandaime said as he received a scroll from Hayate, which he read before letting the sickly Tokubetsu Jounin announce the matches.

"cough These are the Final matches" Hayate said showing the Genins present the scroll which held the list of Matches before going into a coughing fit. All of the genins that advance took note of their opponents.

1st Match: Haruno Sakura vs. Hyuuga Neji
2nd Match: Aburame Shino vs. Yamanaka Ino
3rd Match: Nara Shikamaru vs. Sarutobi Konohamaru
4th Match: Subaku no Gaara vs. Uchiha Sasuke
5th Match: Tenten vs. Winner of 1st Match

After looking at the matches, Sandaime dismissed all of the genin, and went back to his office followed by the Konoha Jounin at conduct a meeting on the matter of the Chuunin Final Exams and the arrangement for the guard duty. Tsunade would already be in Sandaime's office waiting for the preliminaries to be done.

Naruto meanwhile finished writing something into the third scroll. Each of the scroll had the respective names of his subordinates. With a final stroke, Naruto placed the scroll onto his side. 'Time to prepare team 7 for the Finals...' Naruto thought as he disappeared, He was eager to instruct his Team on the Finals he also wanted to give them orders for the Finals.