Chapter 3: The Chunin Exams
Team 7 was making their way back to The Leaf Village. And after a while they were right in front of the gates.
While they were there Sakura got closer to Naruto and then began talking "Um, Naruto?"
Naruto turned around, looked at her, and asked "What's wrong Sakura?"
"Well, I've been meaning to ask you something ever since we first started this mission."
"Ok, what is it?"
"Well, do you... wanna be..."
"Naruto is that you? Just what I'd expect from rookie of the year!" Interrupted Kotetsu.
"Thanks Kotetsu! Anyway, you were saying Sakura?" Asked Naruto.
"I was saying, do you wanna..."
"Anyway, get ready for tomorrow you guys" interrupted Kakashi.
"Why's that Kakashi Sensei" asked Naruto.
"Because I signed you all up for the Chunin exams, which will take place tomorrow" answered Kakashi.
Naruto was so excited he jumped up and down unstoppably and quickly. After a while he ran off yelling out "I'm gonna go get some last minute training from Hokage Jiji!"
"But" was all Sakura could get out before Naruto left via shunshin. She then turned to Kakashi and glared at him. Kakashi saw this and while waving his hands said
"I just saved you from embarrassment Sakura. I did actually sign you guys up but I wasn't going to say anything untill you confessed to Naruto. But since Kotetsu interrupted you, I figured telling him
how you feel after you just got interrupted would be embarrassing" explained Kakashi.
"I should do some training myself, in order to make sure I don't lose to that dobe again" said Sasuke.
Sakura had enough and punched Sasuke in the stomach then said "What did I tell you back in the Wave Country Sasuke!? I told you that if you made fun of Naruto-Kun once more you were gonna pay, and so you did!" Yelled Sakura.
Sasuke got up, dusted himself off, and thought with a smirk on his face 'Wow, Hinata is gonna be very happy when Naruto confesses to her someday.'
"What's with the smirk?" Asked Sakura with a cocked eyebrow
"Dont worry about it" Sasuke replied. 'If I were Naruto I wouldn't go for the ex fangirl of someone else. But who knows, maybe he doesn't care."
(With Naruto)
"Whew rough training session" said Naruto as he exited the Hokage Tower and wiped a bit of sweat off his face It was late at night and he was walking home. He bumped into Hinata and immediately apologized hastily
"Oh I'm so sorry Hinata-Chan"
"It's ok Naruto-Kun" she replied.
Naruto took a deep breath and cleared his head. 'Hinata looks even more beautiful than ever and her eyes are shining so much brighter' Naruto thought.
'Wow, Naruto's physique is becoming so much clearer through his shirt (Naruto had his sweater wrapped around his waist, meaning all that was covering his chest was his mesh shirt. However, his mesh shirt was so wet due to the training session Naruto had that you could see his abs and pecs through said shirt) I didn't know he was this well built. Well, I guess this isn't surpring though, since he is being trained by the Third Hokage' thought Hinata.
Both were unaware of the drool that was leaking from the edges of both their mouths, because of where they were staring. Eventually after the drool fell to the floor they realized what they were doing and immediately said their goodbyes. Parting way they both thought of the same thing
'I hope she/he didn't notice that.'
(The Next Day)
Naruto was walking through the streets of Konoha with Konohamaru. Suddenly, Konohamaru bumped into some guy with purple face paint on and what seemed to be a mummy on his back immediately held up Konohamaru by the collar of his shirt.
Naruto immediately shouted out "Hey pick on someone your own size!"
"Like who?" Asked the boy.
"Like me!" Shouted Naruto while charging straight for the boy.
The boy was getting ready to fight and suddenly they locked hands. Naruto was physically stronger than the boy due to his physique although he was smaller in height. Naruto was beginning to push the boy back and eventually broke ot off and punched him in the face. The boy stumbled back and charged Naruto with a punch of his own. However Naruto began toying with this boy and started dodging all of his punches with little effort (This was because of his reaction speed training from Hokage Jiji in which Hiruzen would use lightning ninjutsu) while at the same time delivering his own. After a while Naruto brought the boy to the ground and was about to knock him out cold untill he heard Sasuke's voice
"Naruto stop!"
Naruto turned back and asked "Why should I, this guy tried beating on Konohamaru!?"
"Because he is attending the exams himself you dobe!"
Naruto exhaled a sigh in defeat and said "Fine, you win Sasuke."
Just then a blonde girl with a fan strapped to her back and a red haired boy with a gourd on his back said appeared out of the blue. The girl approached the boy and said
"What are you doing on the ground Kankuro? Did this boy really kick your ass?" Asked the blonde girl.
"What can I say he's stronger than I thought, Temari" said Kankuro.
"It doesn't matter to me, I'll kill him, just like everyone else" said the red haired boy.
"Calm down Gaara, like the Uchiha said, we can't beat them as bad as we want to before the exams" Kankuro said.
Naruto quirked an eyebrow and said "I never said Uchiha."
Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara chuckled then walked away.
Naruto sighed, looked at Sasuke, and asked "Where's Sakura-Chan?"
Sasuke simply shrugged his shoulders and walked with Naruto to their destination. Once they reached their destination they saw Sakura there waiting for them, mainly Naruto as she rushed over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. He blushed in embarrassment due to the fact that everyone was watching but after a while returned said hug. Once they pulled back Sakura looked at Naruto and told him
"I hope you're ready to become a Chunin Naruto. Because you're not becoming one without me" Sakura assured him with a smile. 'Ever since the day you stepped up for me and showed me your strength, I've been training myself, hoping to get you to acknowledge me. However, I know Hinata did the same thing" Sakura thought to herself.
Hinata came as well with her team and Naruto immediately turned his attention from Sakura to Hinata. He was getting a bit jealous by the look of want Hinata was getting from her teammate Kiba. Then Naruto saw her looking back at him, which made him feel happy.
Once Hinata walked into Naruto's line of sight, Sakura noticed Naruto's attention change and felt hurt. She felt even more hurt when she saw Hinata look at him as well and thought 'I better make my move quick' with a look of worry on her face. However, all of these negative feelings went away when Naruto grabbed Sakura's palm and asked her
"You wanna go with me like this?" Sakura felt so happy when he did this that she froze in place, with heart eyes, and a smile on her face. 'Just like Hinata?' "I'll take that as a yes." and so he began leading her into the Academy.
Once team 7 started wandering around a bit they came across a door being guarded by some big guy. Naruto and Sasuke immediately caught on and with the same hand sign called out
"Release!" Immediately revealing the true paths. Team 7 ventured further until they were stopped by a green clad Genin. Naruto and Sasuke asked him in unison "Would you please move out of the way?"
The boy shook his head and said "No I am sorry but I cannot." This immediately made both Naruto and Sasuke angry. The boy continued on and asked "Are you Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha?" Both nodded their heads. "Well then I challenge both of you to a duel" he finished.
Naruto sighed and asked "What's your name?"
The boy replied with "Rock Lee"
"Okay, Look Lee I'm not in the mood to fight and neither is" Naruto trailed off and was interrupted by Sasuke saying
"I've got this"
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked.
"Of course. Give me five seconds" Sasuke replied.
The fight commenced and Sasuke was heavily out classes in speed. So he ended up taking multiple hits over and over again by Lee. Eventually Naruto saw that Sasuke wasn't going to win this and stepped in, immediately stopping Lee's barrage of punches. "That's enough Lee" said Naruto.
"Oh, I see, you wanna go huh?" Lee said.
Naruto sighed and said "Fine"
Lee tried hitting Naruto but like Kankuro was unable to land even one hit and was seemingly being toyed with by Naruto. But, Naruto realized he didn't have time to waste and finished it with one momentum enhanced elbow strike to the stomach successfully knocking out Lee.
Sasuke got a hold of his footing and asked "How are you this strong?"
"Because I'm being trained by Hokage Jiji" Naruto explained.
"Ji...ji?" grunted out Lee in between huffs of air as he was struggling to get up.
"Sorry about that Lee? I didn't mean to hurt you that much" Naruto said while scratching his head.
"What!" Exclaimed Lee. "You were holding back!"
Naruto nodded his head.
"I guess it's not surprising that you're this strong from training with The Third Hokage" said Sasuke with a frown on his face.
Lee jaw dropped "You were trained by The Third Hokage!" He yelled.
"Still am" Naruto reassured.
Sakura was admiring how Naruto showed those two that he was no joke like so many people for some reason thought he was. And so, she rushed over to him and hugged his back, earning a blush from the blonde. While Sakura snuggled into Naruto's neck, Lee realized something and thought
'Wow I was so distracted by these two that I didn't realize this pretty girl was as their third teammate. But judging by how she is snuggling into this boys neck, and hes not telling her to get off, their obviously boyfriend and girlfriend' Lee deduced.
"Sakura get off Naruto, you're going to send people the wrong idea" said Sasuke. Sakura frowned at him and reluctantly seperated from her hero.
Lee turned to Sasuke and whispered to him "Wait, so they are not a couple?"
Sasuke nodded his head and a smile immediately made its way to Lee. Lee ran over to Sakura and asked "I did not notice you pretty girl, will let me have me the honor of being your boyfriend?"
A silent shake of the head was all Sakura gave making Lee fall face first on the ground.
Naruto spoke up "We should get going, we've wasted enough time here." Both Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement and made their way to their destination.
After reaching the destination they realized what was coming. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remained calm since they were all good at written exams (Naruto is the best but Sakura is the worst) and figured that they had nothing to worry about.
"Oh, hey Naruto" said Hinata shyly from behind Naruto with her team.
"Oh, what's up Hinata" Naruto replied with.
"Hey...Hinata" replied Sakura weakly.
"Hey..Sakura" replied Hinata weakly.
Both knew that they loved Naruto and so they saw each girl as their love rival. Neither of them hated each other though, but that didn't mean that they were ok with the idea of losing Naruto to each other.
Naruto saw the distraught looks on both his lady friends' faces and decided that he should at least try to cheer them up. He got in between both of them and pulled them both in for a tight hug unintentionally being sandwitched by their bodies and earning major blushes from both girls.
'There's no way Naruto is gonna get away with that especially from Sakura. Which is good for me since Hinata's good looking and I already called dibs on her and now Sakura is gonna beat Naruto for doing this to both of them' thought Kiba.
Both Shino and Kiba were shocked when they saw Hinata and Sakura returning the hug to Naruto without a single bit of annoyance.
Sasuke was not surprised at all due to the fact he knew that both Hinata and Sakura love Naruto.
After a bit of time the trio of friends reluctantly let go of the embrace when they heard a voice say
"Lady Hinata and Naruto?" asked a boy with the same eyes as Hinata.
"Neji Nii-Chan" said Hinata happily. "You're in yhe Chunin exams too?"
"Yes I am lady Hinata. Oh this is my team Rock Lee and Tenten. I hope qe get out against each other Naruto" said Neji.
"Hey, maybe if we get put against each other you'll finally be able to beat me" said Naruto.
"Wait a minute, Neji you've never beaten Naruto before?!" Exclaimed both Lee and Tenten.
Neji nodded his head to show affirmation which made Lee and Tenten think the same thing 'Wow if not even Neji could ever beat him, Naruto must be something else.'
Naruto decided to walk around and bumped into some suspicious looking guy with grey hair and glasses. Naruto asked the guy "Who are you?"
"Kabuto" he answered
Naruto and Kabuto talked a bit afterwards and eventually Naruto asked Kabuto
"Since you know a lot about the kids who are competing in this exam, what do you know about some red haired boy named Gaara?"
Kabuto fixed his glasses and answered "Not much, but I do know that he uses what's on his back to fight, just like his older brother and older sister."
With that being said a man by the name of Ibiki stood in front of the classroom and explained how it would all work, afterwards everyone got started.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke immediately got to work. And after a while, everyone left put their pencils down and about 8 teams were disqualified.
Ibiki then told them all in his deep voice "Now listen here, if any of you get the last question wrong, then not only will your team fail, but you also will not be able to ever become a Chunin again in your life." He then said "So if any of you wanna leave, then be my guest."
A few more teams left and then, Naruto raised his hand and yelled out "I'm never gonna give up! I don't quit no matter what! Don't you dare underestimate me either, because I have dreams of becoming Hokage! And I never go back on my word, because that's my Nindo" (People still underestimated Naruto even though he was rookie of the year and training with the Hokage. This was all of course due to the Kyuubi and people believing he can't handle it).
Ibiki cracked his neck by bending it to the left and right then said "Well in that case, You all pass!"
This confused many teams so Ibiki explained and after he was done, A purple haired lady came out of nowhere and answered the question on everyone's mind "My name's Anko Mitarashi! The Sexiest Kunioichi in this village!"
"I don't know about that" Naruto muttered from under his breath.
Anko heard this and threw a Kunai at Naruto, which he managed to catch in the holder, without flinching. Anko was impressed by this but hid it well and yelled "What'd you say!?"
Naruto smirked and answered her question " I said I don't know about that."
Anko looked at Naruto as if he grew a second head and said/asked "Well if I'm not The Sexiest Kunioichi in the village, then who is huh?"
Naruto looked straight at her, shrugged his shoulders, and said "I don't know."
Anko chuckled and said "See what di..."
Narito interrupted her by saying "I dont know which of the two to say, so I'll just say both." He then pointed at the girls and said "Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno"
'He thinks Im sexy!' Thought both Hinata and Sakura with major red blushes covering their faces.
Anko began thinking 'The kid's got balls, no man ever dares to call me not sexy.' However after a few seconds Anko snapped out of her train of thought and yelled out "Alright, everyone who's left follow me!"
They all did what she said and followed her to their new destination whilst Ibiki was recovering the papers. While Ibiki was recovering the papers he noticed something 'Hmm Naruto and Sasuke would have had the highest points in this test if it meant anything'
(The Forrest Of Death)The Genin formed a line in front of Anko whilst she was giving out the rules and what to do. And when all was said and done all the Genin teams entered the forrest and immediately got to work.
Team 7 made it to a certain point in the forrest and decided that fhey should set camp. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all trying to figure out where to find a Heaven Scroll.
Naruto stood up and asked them "What are some ideas, to get a heaven scroll?"
Sasuke and Sakura both shrugged their shoulders and out of nowhere the answer to their problems comes out of nowhere. Some masked guy came out of nowhere and attacked them and he had a Heaven scroll.
"Whats your name?" Asked Naruto.
"Yoroi, and I'm gonna get that scro..." he was cut off with a kunai through the heart courtesy of Sasuke.
"Nice, Sasuke" said Naruto. Sasuke simply smirked and then finished the job. Afterwards, the guys teammates came by but Sasuke and Naruto made quick work of them. Sasuke walked over to Naruto and the two bumped fists with each other.
They began walking, but after one step they heard leaves crunching. Naruto looked at them both quickly and hastily whipered "Sasuke you stay with me and help me fight and Sakura I need you to run over to the Tower to turn both the scrolls in."
Both Dakura and Sasuke followed what he said and after just a few seconds the attacker came out and revealed himself.
"Orochimaru" was all Naruto could say.
"Oh sss-o you've heard of me haven't you?" hissed Orochimaru. "Im surprised the old man has told his new student about one of his old students."
"Hmm, so this is how he looks?" Deducted Sasuke (Naruto warned Sasuke about Orochimaru).
"Not entirely" said Orochimaru before showing them how he really looked. Naruto and Sasuke held their ground and then went into battle.
Naruto and Sasuke gave it everything they had during the fught that lasted about 30 minutes. They landed many Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu attacks but Orochimaru was proving to be too strong. Untill finally Naruto realized that it was now or never.
"Sasuke, run" Naruto ordered.
"I'm not leaving you behind dobe" he replied.
"What I'm about to do is going to be dangerous and worst of all you'll probe to be a liability. So I'm warning you to run" Naruto grunted out the last part.
"Im not going anywhere"
"Fine at least stand back"
Sasuke reluctantly agreed and took a couple steps back.
"What is it you are talking about little boy?" Asked Orochimaru.
"This" Naruto said softly and hastily. Naruto began digging his claws into the ground, grunted loudly, untill red chakra was suddenly becoming visible, and then finally, one tail of red chakra was formed.
'This boy is the nine tails Jinchiriki?' thought Orochimaru.
Naruto wasted no more time and charged at Orochimaru with all the power he had but it just wasnt enough. They were both taking serious damage especially due to Naruto's use of Kage Bunshin and other types of Ninjutsu, as well as Taijutsu, but Orochimaru was surviving every single hit thrown at him. None of Orochimaru's attacks were doing that much damage to Naruto due to his healing factor but regardless, it was wearing Naruto out.
After a while Sasuke realized that since Naruto is starting to get exhausted, if Sasuke didn't help him out then he would die. Sasuke was starting to get a heavy headache and after awhile, a second tomoe appeared on his eyes.
"Huh, a second tomoe' thought Naruto and Orochimaru.
'I guess its time for me to retreat, but first' Orochimaru pushed Naruto away and rushed over to Sasuke and bit him in the neck. A curse mark appeared on Sasuke's neck which caused him to stumble back a bit.
Naruto landed one last good hit on Orochimaru before he left and reverted back into his regular state. Naruto immediately turned to Sasuke and asked him "Are you good?"
Sasuke nodded and the two began making their way over to the Tower but were stopped by sound Ninjas. Naruto and Sasuke decided that they were too tired to make this longer than it had to be (The curse mark branding, fighting, second tomoe wore Sasuke out) so they decided to just use their own fire attacks. It worked, all three were burned to a crisp, then Naruto and Sasuke decided to rush over to Sakura at their fastest speed.
After a while they heard someone scream and Sasuke said "Ignore it." But he didn't say it quick enough as Naruto was already gone when he turned back. "He just can't turn his back on someone can he?" Was all Sasuke said before running over to Naruto's direction.
The source of the scream was just a few steps away from where they were, so they arrived instantly. And both saw a hungry looking bear.
Naruto rushed without thinking and knocked out the Bear with one punch. He looked down to see a girl with red hair clinging on to a tree for safety. He jumped down and explained to Sasuke "I thought the voice was either Sakura or Hinata."
Sasuke sighed and told him "Well at lwast you had the right intentions, come one lets get out before this girl or her team sees us." Naruto nodded in agreement since they would both prefer not to fight due to their exhaustion.
Little did they know that the red haired girl saw that Naruto saved her and admired Naruto for his strength and bravery.
(Inside The Tower)
Naruto and Sasuke eventually made it inside the tower and saw that Sakura was nowhere to be seen. Naruto then looked at Sasuke and asked him "She made right?"
"I think so" Sasuke answered.
And both got their answer when Sakura came down from the stairs of the Tower and ran over to Naruto hugging him tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder and said in a shaky voice
"I...thought..you...died...Naruto"
Naruto brushed some of her hair away and said "Its okay, I'm here now Sakura. And my chances of dying are as short your hair, although your hair is and always will be beautiful" (Sakura cut her hair because of the tournament that is sure to take place) Sakura blushed and snuggled deep into Naruto's warm neck.
After this moment all three of them made it to the room that they would be sharing. Sasuke immediately went to sleep due to his exhaustion. Naruto and Sakura soon followed suit.
(The Tournament)
Team 7 met every other team that made it in the first floor. As soon as Naruto spotted Hinata he immediately greeted her.
"Hinata-Chan!"
"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata replied.
They gave each other a hug and shortly afterwards, Sakura joined in. They broke off once the Tournament was announced.
And the Tournament began.
Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka
Naruto looked at Sasuke and told him "Actually give me five seconds" and then went to the stadium and so did Kiba.
'If I beat Naruto then maybe Hinata will finally see that I'm better than him' Kiba thought.
Hayate the proctor anounced "Three, two, one, begin!"
1
"Fang Over Fang" announced Kiba as he and Akamaru his dog dis their signature move.
2
Naruto stood still and held his fist to his side.
3
Kiba and Akamaru meet Naruto's Chakra enhanced fist.
4
Kiba and Akamaru are sent flying and destroy one of the walls.
5
"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki" announced Hayate.
Kiba was immediately given medical attention and Naruto just went back up to his spot.
Sasuke saw the smirk on Naruto's face and said "I'll commend you for that, you actually kept your word. But give me five seconds next round"
"Alright, you got it" Naruto said.
Choji Akimichi Vs Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke made his way down and so did Choji.
"Begin" Hayate announced.
1
Sasuke made his handsigns.
2
Choji puts down his chips and says "Baika No Jutsu!"
3
Sasuke puts his hands close tk his mouth and says
"Goukakyuu No Jutsu!"
4
Choji gets hit by the fire and like Kiba launched to one of the walls with about the same impact (Because of Choji's Jutsu) as Kiba had.
5
Hayate says "The winner is Sasuke Uchiha."
Sasuke walked back up the stairs to meet Naruto and gave him a smirk.
Naruto held up his hands and said "Alright, alright I'll comment you too."
Sakura was about to tell Naruto the same thing Sasuke did, but then realized she isn't as strong as the two boys (Sakura has been training physically ever since Naruto first stood up for her, but she still isn't anywhere near as strong as Naruto or Sasuke).
Sakura Haruno Vs Ino Yamanaka
Sakura smirked knowing that this was gonna be easy. So she told Naruto the same thing Sasuke did and Naruto agreed. Sakura made her way down to the arena and was ready. Ino did the same, hoping that if she wins Sasuke will notice and acknowledge her.
Hayate looked at them both and said "Begin!"
1
Ino rushed Sakura and Sakura stood still with a cocked fist.
2
Ino ran into Sakura's fist and was instantly knocked out.
3
Hayate looked at Ino's lifeless body and called out "Winner, Sakura Haruno."
Sakura walked back to her spot and was smiling due to how happy she was that Naruto was gonna acknowledge her. Now granted, he has acknowledged her many times before but this will be the first time he actually acknowledges how hard she trained to get strong.
Once Sakura reached Naruto, Naruto held out his hand and said "Well done Sakura-Chan."
Sakura took his hand, but then pulled him in for a kiss in the cheek. Once the kiss happened Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata (Hinata saw that from her stance) immediately paled. Sakura shook it off after a while and pointed at her own cheek, signaling to Naruto that she wanted a kiss on the cheek in return. Naruto immediately shook off the pale face and obliged. Once Naruto retreated his lips from Sakura's cheek, Sakura fainted.
Hinata was on the verge of tears due to the fact that Sakura got the upper hand with Naruto. But she shook it off and decided that she would impress Naruto with her own power too.
Hinata Hyuga Vs Temari
Hinata made her way to the Arena waiting for her opponent (Hinata is fighting Temari and not Neji because Naruto saved her from the Cloud Ninja that tried kidnapping her and not Hiashi. Therefore Hizashi did not die and the fights that Neji already lost to Naruto taught him an even bigger lesson against destiny) in order to get acknowledged by her hero.
Hayate looked at both combatants and yelled out "Begin!"
Hinata called out "Byakugan!"
Temari pulled out her fan and got to business.
"Fūton: Kazekiri No Jutsu!" Temari yelled out.
"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō!" Hinata exclaimed.
The two attacks cancelled each other out. Then Hinata went for Jūken strikes whilst Temari went for the Fūsajin No Jutsu over and over again. The battle was long and hard, but eventually both girls ended up in a Taijutsu battle (Hinata ended up making Temari use up all her chakra and Hinata was still high in Chakra) which immediately gave Hinata the upper hand and in just a little bit, the win (Hinata trained with Naruto ever since he was starting to get trained by the Hokage).
Hayate stopped the fight and looked at Temari's lifeless body. "The winner is Hinata Hyuga" He said.
Hinata was trying to catch her breath and eventually, she did. After she did, she ran over to Naruto's side instead of her team and hugged him tightly. Naruto hugged her back and after a while she copied Sakura by giving Naruto a kiss on the cheek and receiving one in return also making Sakura jealous and like Hinata, Sakura was on the verge of tears. And Hinata like Sakura fainted as soon as the kiss was made.
Naruto looked at her lifless form and decided "Her team needs her." So he picked her up bridal style and began walking over to her side, making Sakura even more jealous in the process.
As soon as Naruto layed Hinata down on the ground close to her team, the next match was called.
Shino Aburame vs Tenten
(Shino won easily without breaking a sweat)
Shikamaru Nara vs Kin
(Shikamaru won after a bit of effort)
Neji vs Kankuro
(After a long fought battle Neji was able to win)
Misumi vs Gaara Vs Lee
(Misumi diedpretty quickly and it was just down to a one on one)
(And after a long and gruesome match Gaara won after breaking one of Lee's arms and legs)
After that match ended, some of the remaining fighters pulled out a piece of paper which had the name of their opponent for them in the next rounds. Hayate announced that the fights would take place in a month APnd afterwards everyone went home.
Except for Hinata, Naruto, and Sakura who were walking to the Ichiraku ramen stand together. Both girls were snuggling into an arm of Naruto each while doing this (Hinata left and Sakura right) which gave them attention from people that were looking. It was a bit embarrassing for Naruto but he shook it off since his two female friends were happy.
After the three were done eating, Naruto paid for all of it and everyone went home.
(Naruto's Apartment)
Naruto got to his apartment and decided to take a rest "I'm gonna have to train extra hard in order for me to win this tournament, aren't I? Well, it's a good thing I love to train." After saying this Naruto went to sleep.
To Be Continued...